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JOINING IN CAR BODY ENGINEERING CONFERENCE NORTH AMERICA
From the current global increase in vehicle electrification to the growing need for more ambitious digitalization and sustainability goals, the automotive industry keeps evolving. The more complex the situation, the stronger the need for solutions that support efficiency. The growing variety of battery housings, the rising number of cast parts – they all require new joining technology solutions. These, in turn, determine the extent to which these new developments become a success story.
About the conference
In 2025 , the Automotive Circle again brings together interested international engineering experts in Rochester, Michigan, to share and discuss their latest technical progress reports and application-oriented innovations concerning all joining technologies for series production in the body shop which are relevant to the North American market.
In cooperation with:
#ACJoiningUS
Insightful Technical Presentations
Our line up of industry experts will share their knowledge and vision, shedding light on the latest advancements and emerging trends.
Outstanding Networking Opportunities
Connect with Automotive engineers, industry pioneers, and decision-makers from leading automotive companies and suppliers worldwide.
Accompanying Exhibition
Gain access to cutting-edge products and services that are relevant for car body engineering.
Meet the Speakers
Get in contact with renowned speakers and thought leaders. Take the unique opportunity to personally engage with them.
Conference Program
| 5:30 – 9:00 PM | Welcome Reception Spend the evening prior to the conference with other attendees, speakers, board members, and exhibitors while enjoying cool drinks and delicious food. |
| 08:00 AM |
Coffee & Breakfast SnackMeet the Exhibitors on site |
|
| 9:00 AM | Welcome | Dr. Sibylle Freitag, Automotive Circle, DE |
Adhesive Bonding |
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| 9:30 AM | Improve Battery Joining with Epoxy-Acrylic Adhesive | Eric Cole, Tim Campbell, DuPont, US |
| 10:00 AM | Perfect Bonding – Trained and Certified | Dr. Holger Fricke, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing and Advanced Materials (IFAM), DE |
| 10:30 AM |
Coffee & ContactsMeet the Speakers and the Exhibitors on site |
|
Mechanical Joining Solutions |
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| 11:00 AM | A Novel Fastener for Aluminium Joining | Paul Briskham, Atlas Copco IAS UK Ltd, UK |
| 11:30 AM | Innovation in Flow Drill Fastening | Dr. Brandt Ruszkiewicz, Semblex, US |
| 12:00 PM | High Velocity (HiVe) Joining – a Novel Process to Join Similar/Dissimilar Alloys | Dr. Vineet Joshi, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US |
| 12:30 PM |
Lunch & ContactsMeet the Speakers and the Exhibitors on site |
|
| 1:30 PM | Innovative REW Robotic Solution for Highest Accessibility, Productivity and Flexibility with Integrated Quality Management | Sean Farrell, Gaming Engineering, FR |
Welding Innovations I |
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| 2:00 PM | Drive Unit Laser Welding With AI Assisted Process Monitoring | Dr. ZhangLi Hu, Dr. Umair Shah, Rivian, US |
| 2:30 PM | Development for Busbar Weld Quality Inspection | Dr. Hui-Ping Wang, General Motors Company, US |
| 3:00 PM |
Coffee & ContactsMeet the Speakers and the Exhibitors on site |
|
| 3:30 PM | Body Weld Optimization Made Easy | Basant Sharma, Detroit Engineered Products, US |
| 4:00 PM | WeldBrAIn: AI-based Weld Performance Prediction for the Body Shop | Anthony DiCocco, General Motors Company, US |
| 4:30 PM | Enhancing Weld Quality Through Manufacturing Digital Twin Technology | Dr. Tarek Belgasam, Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, US |
| 5:00 PM |
Get TogetherMeet the Speakers and the Exhibitors on site |
|
| 5:00 – 8:00 PM |
Networking receptionDeepen your conversations with other attendees at the Networking Reception, where cool drinks and delicious food will be served. |
|
| 08:00 AM |
Coffee & Breakfast SnackMeet the Exhibitors on site |
|
Joining Aluminum |
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| 8:30 AM | Lightweighting with New Aluminum Alloy: A Joining Study | Dr. Werner Fragner, AMAG rolling GmbH, AT |
| 9:00 AM | Developments on Increasing the Resistance Spot Welding Applications for High Strength Aluminum Alloys to Reinforce Automotive Structures | Pedro Bamberg, RWTH Aachen University, DE |
| 9:30 AM | Maximized Efficiency Through Thread Technology for Die-Cast Aluminum Body-in-White | Michael Stumpf, Böllhoff, DE |
| 10:00 AM | Aluminum Resistance Spotwelds (RSWs) – Weld Development, Finite Element Modeling Methodologies and Failure Characterization | Akshay Kulkarni, Lily Slabbert, Novelis, US |
| 10:30 AM |
Coffee & ContactsMeet the Speakers and the Exhibitors on site |
|
Laser Welding Innovations |
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| 11:15 AM | Enabling New Production Strategies for Laserwelding with a Novel Adaptive and Selective Wire Process | Matthias Werner, Precitec, Inc., US |
| 11:45 AM | Process Robustness of Laser Weld Seam for Hot Stamped Steel Applications | Nachiket Gokhale, ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks, US |
| 12:15 PM | Dissimilar Material Laser Welding In Battery Module | Dr. MeiYu Zhai, Dr. YingTao Tian, Rivian, US |
| 12:45 PM | BVSeal – Leak Testing of Battery-related Welds | Dr. Hassan Ghassemi-Armaki, General Motors Company, US |
| 1:15 PM | Farewell | Dr. Sibylle Freitag, Automotive Circle, DE |
| 1:30 PM |
Lunch & ContactsMeet the Speakers and the Exhibitors on site |
|
| 2:00 PM | End of conference | |
The conference program is subject to change. Status: February 14, 2025.
Participants
International OEM Advisory board
The Automotive Circle and OEM Advisory Board of the Joining in Car Body Engineering North America, consisting of experts from the following brands and companies:
Dr. Blair Carlson
General Motors Company
Anthony Leanza
Honda Development and Manufacturing of America
Bryan Macek
Stellantis, US
Todd Mueller
Ford Motor Company
Holger Schubert
Mercedes-Benz
Carsten Sieverling
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC
WeiJie Zhang
Rivian, US
Torsten Bethge
Volkswagen AG
Exhibition & Sponsoring
Become a sponsor or exhibitor
Take advantage of the high coverage of the Automotive Circle and profit from the sponsoring options before and during the events. Show your competence and services, matching the conference subjects, to the numerous car body engineers of international OEM. Thus, you are strengthening your brand awareness in the automotive industry!
Come on board as an exhibitor or sponsor and benefit from this excellent platform to strongly promote your company’s capabilities as a reliable supplier!
If you have any question or want to request additional information, please contact Ms. Frauke Haentsch .
Check out the various exhibition and sponsoring options!
Review
Get a glimpse at our Joining in Car Body Engineering 2024.
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