DIN2304 bonding system quality standard - new bonding standard for the automotive industry

Car manufacturing is like a grand symphony, and every detail needs to be accurate. Among them, bonding technology is a silent player. Although it is unknown, its importance is self-evident. Any negligence in bonding may lead to detuning of the entire movement, causing significant economic losses to automobile manufacturing. Therefore, for the bonding process, we must have a rigorous and professional standard system to protect it.

DIN2304, this wise man in the industry, points out the direction for the bonding process. Like a rigorous conductor, it stipulates a series of management specifications from technology to organization to ensure that every note can be played accurately and protect the reliability of the product. For the automotive industry, the presence of this conductor has undoubtedly injected strong impetus into lean management and "zero-defect" production.

However, the recent recall incident of a certain company has sounded the alarm for us. Because there is insufficient adhesive for the panoramic sunroof panel, it may cause the sunroof panel to fall off while driving. This safety hazard has caused consumers to have deep doubts about the quality of car bonding. In fact, similar problems are common in the automotive industry. From interior parts to front windshields and side windows, bonding problems may occur. These problems not only damage the image of car companies, but also bring potential safety risks to consumers.

So, why don’t car companies strictly control bonding quality during the production process? The reason is that many car companies have always regarded stamping, welding, painting and final assembly as the four main protagonists of vehicle production, while the bonding process is often marginalized and only regarded as a supporting role. This has led many automotive designers to ignore bonding technology, mistakenly believing that quality can be guaranteed as long as the glue is applied correctly. But in fact, the bonding process involves many aspects such as strength verification, reliability verification, fatigue and aging verification, etc., which are all important links that cannot be ignored.

However, bonding technology, as one of the most important connection technologies in the 21st century, is gradually becoming the key to lightweight design of future automobiles. It can not only realize the connection of traditional steel, aluminum and composite materials, but also reduce the weight of the entire vehicle by reducing the number of connecting parts. In the context of the country's increasingly stringent requirements on automobile fuel consumption, lightweight and bonding technology will undoubtedly become the new focus of competition among car companies.

Many foreign car companies have actively deployed in this field. For example, the BMW Leipzig plant in Germany has achieved mass production of all-carbon fiber composite cars i3/i8 by introducing a fully automated glue production line. This production line subverts the traditional automobile manufacturing process, eliminating the welding process and using a robot-automated gluing process to assemble the body frame. This not only improves production efficiency, but also simplifies the body surface coating process due to the excellent anti-corrosion properties of carbon fiber and adhesive, greatly saving production costs and time. Behind this is the strong support of the DIN 2304 guidance standard.

Whether it is the bonding of car body structural parts or the bonding of window glass and interior parts, a mature and reliable bonding system is required to ensure quality. Although most automobiles have a mature quality management system QMS (such as TS16949, etc.), these systems are often too general and cannot be used as a dedicated means of quality assurance. Therefore, we need to refine these systems into specific technical specifications and specify the corresponding process organization structure to ensure the correct application of bonding technology. Only in this way can we ensure that every car can drive on the road safely and reliably.

The three pillars of DIN 2304 are:

First, the adhesive joints are classified into fine grades based on safety requirements;

Second, clarify the responsibilities and division of labor of bonding supervision to ensure that everyone performs their duties;

Third, rigorous verification of the load and stress endured by the bonded joint during its entire life cycle. Through the fine management of this series of DIN 2304 standardization, the bonding production process is optimized to form a clear framework as shown below.

Conclusion: With the widespread application of bonding technology in the automotive industry, quality control of bonded joints has become a key challenge faced by various companies. Through the implementation of standardized quality management and organizational management, production stability and reliability have been greatly improved. This is not only the secret weapon for Chinese car companies to achieve technological leadership, but also the only way for them to go global. The DIN 2304 bonding system standard has undoubtedly injected strong impetus into the rapid development of Chinese car companies.

Note: Yifa Bonding and Composites Research Institute, as the exclusive strategic partner of German Fraunhofer IFAM in China, is committed to promoting EN17460 and DIN2304 certification audits, project support and consulting in China. At the same time, we carry out three levels of bonding training and examinations issued by Fraunhofer: EAE European Bonding Engineer, EAS European Bonding Technician, EAB European Bonding Operator (European Bonding Operator), as well as Composite-D composite material design, Training and examination for Composite-M manufacturing, Composite-R repair and Composite-S technicians. In addition, customized special training courses related to bonding and composite material applications are also provided. As of October 2023, Yifa has successfully trained more than 5,500 engineering and technical personnel at all levels with bonding qualifications, and has helped more than 300 customers obtain EN17460 (formerly DIN6701) and DIN2304 qualification certificates issued by Fraunhofer IFAM.