Perspectives of welding with a 6 kW-Nd:YAG-laser for the automotive industry

Abstract

At the present time, Nd:YAG-cw-solid-state lasers with a performance spectrum of up to 4 kW and a beam quality of 25 mm*mrad are industrially applied in the automobile industry. The high application capacity in the 3D area has led to this type of laser to becoming a standard tool for bodywork welding applications. In order to extend the advantages of the Nd:YAG laser techniques to further areas of application, e.g. the welding of aluminium parts, of multiple sheet structures in the area of car bodies and of engine components, higher powers with the same beam quality are required.The objective of our work was estimation of the application possibilities of the 6 kW category for welding purposes. With this in mind, new laser equipment, providing a controlled output power of 6 kW with a glass fibre of 0.6 mm core diameter and a beam quality of 27 mm*mrad was built up with a joint partner.The results of our studies show that a broad new field of applications is open to Nd:YAG solid-state lasers with this performance spectrum. These include applications previously reserved to the domain of CO2 lasers. Experiments on aluminium and steel show weld seam depths of outstanding seam quality which were previously not attainable with Nd:YAG lasers.At the present time, Nd:YAG-cw-solid-state lasers with a performance spectrum of up to 4 kW and a beam quality of 25 mm*mrad are industrially applied in the automobile industry. The high application capacity in the 3D area has led to this type of laser to becoming a standard tool for bodywork welding applications. In order to extend the advantages of the Nd:YAG laser techniques to further areas of application, e.g. the welding of aluminium parts, of multiple sheet structures in the area of car bodies and of engine components, higher powers with the same beam quality are required.The objective of our work was estimation of the application possibilities of the 6 kW category for welding purposes. With this in mind, new laser equipment, providing a controlled output power of 6 kW with a glass fibre of 0.6 mm core diameter and a beam quality of 27 mm*mrad was built up with a joint partner.The results of our studies show that a broad new field of applications is open to Nd:YAG solid-state lasers with this perfo...