Different Types of Laser Welding Technics
Laser welding is widely used for automotive parts. Different welding processes are often applied to different body parts, the commonly used welding methods are mostly the ones below.
Laser Self-Fusion Welding
Laser self-fusion welding forms the weld seam by melting the base material with the laser, without adding a filler, such as welding wire in between, and can is applicable to stacking, sputtering, and filleting joints.
General high-strength steel is used for automobile coverings and general structural parts. Hot-formed high-strength steel is used for key parts of the body skeleton. The strength of hot-formed steel is several times stronger than ordinary steel, which can improve vehicle safety and reduce body weight. Laser self-fusion welding is ideal to preserve the strength of these key parts.
Automotive A-pillar, B-pillar and D-pillar are made of thermoformed high-strength steel, which are then shaped using a hydroforming process. Due to the property of these parts, the overlapping welding and butt welding on joints can then only be performed from one side. Hence, these parts can benefit from the laser self-fusion welding flexibility.
Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding
Laser-arc composite welding is an emerging special laser processing technology. By combining laser and arc heat sources together, the two occur in a synergistic effect, with the strengths of the two heat sources to compensate for deficiencies, forming a low-cost, highly adaptable welding method.
The laser arc hybrid welding process is well adapted to the automobile chassis which is made of high-strength steel. Compared with ordinary laser welding, the pre-welding preparation time is reduced. As for the weld bridging ability, it is enhanced by using the hybrid technique when compared with the traditional arc welding only. Therefore, by combining both welding technology, the beam utilization rate is increased, the line heat energy is reduced, and deformation of welded parts, welding speed and the melt depth are increased.
Laser Flight Welding
Last but not least, robotic laser flight welding technology is a new laser welding technology using robot-controlled and galvanometer for scanning laser to perform the welding. Through close cooperation between the robot arm and the galvo scanner, there is zero contact with the workpiece during the welding process as the weld position is flexible. With professional graphics processing software, it is possible to perform 3D instantaneous multitrack welding.
In the automotive manufacturing industry, laser flight welding is mainly used for automotive seat panels, door structural parts, etc. Compared with ordinary laser processing, the positioning time of flight welding is greatly shortened. With the assistance of remote welding, galvanometer and manipulator, the laser ON time of laser beam is maximized, and the production efficiency is greatly improved.
With fiber lasers for your production chain, you can maximize your productivity and get the performance levels you need. Power, stability, reliability and high level of precision—this is all you need to take your production to a new level. Don’t hesitate to ask one of our experts for more information about laser welding!