Patent ID: 11433646

Abstract:
A metallic component includes a core formed of steel. A zinc alloy layer is disposed on the core. The zinc alloy layer is formed of zinc and a very small amount of aluminum, such as 0.14 weight percent or less. A method of creating a component includes providing a steel core, providing a zinc bath consisting of essentially of 0.01 to 0.14 weight percent aluminum, and hot dipping the steel core into the zinc bath to form a zinc coating on the steel core resulting in a zinc-coated steel component. The aluminum may be provided in even lower contents, such as less than 0.08 weight percent, or even less than 0.05 weight percent. The zinc-coated steel component may then be spot welded to another component without first annealing the zinc-coated component. Rather, heat treating is performed locally at the weld joint by the welding procedure alone.