Automatic laser welding machine in the manufacturing production of efficient applications

Automatic laser welding equipment is a high-precision welding equipment, which mainly consists of main components such as laser, light guiding system, control system, workpiece clamping and motion system, and peripheral equipment such as cooling system of optical components, protection device of optical system, monitoring system of process and quality, workpiece loading and unloading device and safety device. The principle is a joining process using a focused laser beam, which is used in many industrial fields due to its high precision.

Welding energy is generated by high-power lasers. In automation technology applications, the high-energy laser beam is usually conducted to the processing position via a flexible optical fiber. Here, the laser power is focused onto a small focal spot by means of a processing head. The resulting high energy density melts the workpiece and welds the component. This process is suitable for materials and components that require high-speed welding with long, thin weld seams and low thermal distortion. As a result, laser welding is used extensively for high-precision applications in a variety of industries such as automotive, aerospace and medical.

What materials can be joined with the help of laser welding?

A wide variety of materials can be joined by laser welding. Among other things, steel and aluminum are often welded. However, copper connections (copper-copper and copper-aluminum), which are often required in battery production, can also be welded by assorting laser beam sources and adapted wavelengths (e.g. green or blue light spectrum). In order to protect the weld surfaces of the components from oxidation during the laser welding process, argon or helium is added as a protective gas during the welding process.

Welding with lasers: two of the most efficient process methods.

When welding with a laser, the shape and quality of the weld seam is versatile and can therefore be selectively adapted to the task. The following technical process methods are widely popularized in laser welding:

Deep-melt welding:

Deep melting welding requires a very high power density of about 1 MW per square centimeter. The laser beam not only melts the metal, but also vaporizes it. The vapor pressure creates a narrow vapor-filled hole, the so-called vapor capillary, also known as a small hole. As the laser beam passes through the workpiece, the molten metal flows around the capillary and solidifies on the backside. A narrow, deep weld with a uniform structure appears. Deep melting welding is characterized by a large melting depth and fast processing speed. Due to the fast welding speed, the heat-affected zone is small and the deformation is small.

Thermal conduction welding:

In thermal conduction welding, a focused laser beam melts the base material at the joint. Solidification produces a smooth weld that usually does not require reprocessing. For this reason, thermal conduction welding is often used for visible welds. Due to the excellent stability and controllability of the laser power, even thin-walled workpieces can be joined. The energy can only reach the workpiece by heat conduction, which limits the depth of penetration.

As technology advances, the welding range of laser welding equipment is expanding. Laser welding machines have a wide range of welding capabilities and are able to weld a large number of workpieces with extremely high productivity. In the new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, semiconductors and emerging markets and other fields of material welding welding, weld width is small, welding accuracy is high, weld seam is flat and beautiful, weld surface does not blacken, the machine is simple to operate, you can realize the full automation of automatic welding, that is, to save manpower, but also reduces the cost of enterprises. In automated production, automatic laser welding machine has become an irreplaceable processing tool.