Welding of dissimilar materials with 1kW fiber laser

Abstract

Majority of applications in a range of industries i.e. automotive, electronics, medical devices etc requires welding of dissimilar materials. In principle, a laser can weld any material, which can be joined by conventional processes. In the welding of dissimilar metals, good solid solubility is essential for sound weld properties. The trends of welding dissimilar metals are offering high challenges for welding methods. The weldability of dissimilar metals depends on many different factors. The physical properties have a high influence on the amount of energy coupled in and the heat transfer.When joining dissimilar materials, there may be certain advantages in using laser welding even though brittle intermetallics may tend to form. Since the weld itself is narrow, the volume of intermetallics may also be reduced to acceptable limits. Again, it may be possible to offset the beam in one direction or the other, thus allowing some control over composition of the resulting alloy. Although it may be possible to produce sound joint by these methods on a laboratory scale, it is more difficult to achieve similar control under production conditions. This paper presents welding results achieved with a 1kW fiber laser for a range of materials.Majority of applications in a range of industries i.e. automotive, electronics, medical devices etc requires welding of dissimilar materials. In principle, a laser can weld any material, which can be joined by conventional processes. In the welding of dissimilar metals, good solid solubility is essential for sound weld properties. The trends of welding dissimilar metals are offering high challenges for welding methods. The weldability of dissimilar metals depends on many different factors. The physical properties have a high influence on the amount of energy coupled in and the heat transfer.When joining dissimilar materials, there may be certain advantages in using laser welding even though brittle intermetallics may tend to form. Since the weld itself is narrow, the volume of intermetallics may also be reduced to acceptable limits. Again, it may be possible to offset the beam in one direction or the other, thus allowing some control over composition of the resulting alloy. Although it may be possible to ...