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High-power Nd:YAG laser welding of aluminum alloys for car body
Technical Paper
2000-25-0208
Sector:
Event:
ISATA 2000
Language:
English
Abstract
Vehicle manufacturers are strongly interested in aluminum car
bodies because of their high potential for lightening vehicles.
High-power Nd:YAG lasers are expected to provide high-speed welding
of aluminum alloys thanks to their high energy beam. However, a
single beam spot is apt to provide unstable welding because of
violent interaction between an aluminum alloy and the beam. In this
research, dual focus beam welding of aluminum alloys was
investigated from the viewpoint of obtaining a stable weld bead and
higher welding speed than what is possible with MIG and spot
welding.
Two- and three-kW lasers were combined. The distance and
configuration of the dual focus beam spots significantly influence
weld bead quality. With a narrower distance between spots, the weld
bead surface is irregular and blowholes are apt to appear, although
deep penetration is obtained. With a wider distance, the bead is
more stable, but penetration is shallower, Under the optimum
conditions, stable and high-speed welding is possible.
The results of a welding experiment conducted on a component
consisting of structural profiles and a sheet panel show that
comparable tensile strength of the joint is obtained at a speed ten
times faster than with MIG welding and with only one-fifth of the
distortion.