Laser Welding Technology for Off-Road Vehicle Manufacture

The growing use of laser processing within the automotive industry has generated interest in applying laser welding, cutting and surfacing to structures commonly used in off-road vehicle manufacture. The perceived benefits of applying laser welding technology are to reduce structural distortion, increase joint production rates, allow more accurate structures to be produced and enable mechanisation and automation.

This paper will review the current status of high power laser technology, including CO₂ and Nd:YAG lasers. The application of high power lasers to materials relevant to the fabrication of off-road vehicles will be presented covering details of joint design, joint quality, joint performance, quality assurance and economics.