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TWI's Technology Centre based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham is home to one of the most powerful FSW machines in the world, with the ability to weld sections up to 200mm thick in one pass.

So when Benetton Formula 1 wanted to use a new design for the rear uprights on their cars at the start of the 1997 Formula One season they turned to TWI to help them find a solution. It was hoped that this change would make a large weight saving in the F1 cars and simplify fabrication.

The original component was in Cr-Mo steel, manually TIG welded and then heat treated. For the new design, distortion was critical and so an alternative welding technique was needed. TWI suggested laser welding as it is fast, can be automated, and gives much lower distortion than TIG welding.

TWI fabricated test pieces and developed welding procedures before supplying a number of pairs of rear uprights to Benetton throughout the season. After fabrication, the Test House non-destructively tested all parts.

All the laser welded parts gave improved performance over the previous design and at the end of the season, Benetton finished third in the Constructors Championship, with the weight saving contributing to this success.