Delphi Forms Consortium to Validate Welding Technology

Leading heat exchanger companies and equipment suppliers to team in project to prove DRW

TROY, Mich., July 12 -- Delphi Technologies Inc. (DTI), a subsidiary of Delphi Corp. , has formed a consortium to validate its Deformation Resistance Welding (DRW) technology -- the first step towards commercializing this innovative technology in non-automotive applications.

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"DRW helps significantly reduce the cost of welding while still increasing the quality of the weld, all using traditional equipment in a more creative way," says Michelle Drage, director of Technology Commercialization and Licensing at Delphi. "We are excited to start proving the technology in the heat exchanger industry and are thrilled that we are working with leading companies in the project."

DRW is a welding method for joining metal tubes to solids, sheet metal and other tubes. The process creates atomically bonded solid-state joints through the heating and deformation of the mating surfaces. DRW creates leak-tight joints with uniform circumferential weld strength.

During the validation phase of development, Delphi will work with nine leading U.S. and European heat transfer companies to weld tubes to a tube sheet that is included in the tube bundle of a heat exchanger. Early projections estimate potential cost savings of several thousand dollars per unit for a typical heat exchanger configuration.

Members of the consortium include Bronswerk Heat Transfer BV, Brown Fintube Co., Cust-O-Fab Inc., Energy Exchanger Co., GEA Rainey Corp., Heat Transfer Equipment Co., Hughes-Anderson Heat Exchangers Inc., Krueger Engineering & Manufacturing Co. Inc. and Linde AG.

Unitek Miyachi Corp., AddisonMckee Inc., Roman Manufacturing Inc. and the Taylor-Winfield Corp. will provide machinery and supplies for the validation effort.

The validation of DRW will take place at Cust-O-Fab Inc, near Tulsa, Okla., a center for international heat exchanger manufacturing, starting later this summer. DTI will manage the project that will last approximately six months.

Once the validation is complete and successful, DTI will pursue licensing opportunities for the technology with consortium members.

"DRW can be used in a wide variety of industries including automotive, processing and pharmaceutical, to name just a few," says Drage. "The application possibilities are virtually endless."

DRW was developed within Delphi to cut the time and cost it takes to make a variety of hollow member automotive applications. The new resistance welding method increases design flexibility while cutting cost, investment and part weight. In early studies, DRW has been used to help further improve quality over conventional welding methods.

While DRW has been rolled out in multiple automotive applications within Delphi, the consortium project demonstrates the technology's external commercialization potential.

For more information about Delphi, visit Delphi's Media Room at http://www.delphi.com/media .

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