The improvement is due to the filler material, which provides reinforcements to the weld zone by eliminating undercut from the top or root bead. 4 Laser beam welding has established itself a solution for welding of aluminum, thanks to the fact that the beam has high energy density but deliver a low overall heat input. Aluminum alloys with manganese can only be processed to a limited extent by laser welding. The heat affected zone is minimized and weld penetration can range up … Laser Welding has wide variety of applications in various industries. Aluminum alloys, are lightweight, possess good thermal and electrical conductivity, and are relatively inexpensive to work with. So, how do we ensure a reliable, robust laser process when welding aluminum alloys? In the past aluminum’s high reflectivity was a problem for laser welding. Laser stir welding is a process in which a continuous beam laser is oscillated at a relatively high frequency, which causes a stirring action within the molten weld pool – hence the term “stir welding.” The result is a manipulation of the weld pool/vapor cavity, which changes some key characteristics of the weld. In micro-joining, adjusting comparatively small gaps is a major challenge. High-brilliance lasers allow fast, low-heat deep penetration laser welding to produce narrow seams even in metal foils. Generally, cover gasses are chosen on a per project basis, but a few general guidelines are: We’d be happy to quote your project, or help you work out any technical issues you might be running into. Nd:YAG (Neodymium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet). Another challenge of welding aluminum involves the formation of oxide film on the work surface. The cover of a TRUMPF TruFlow laser resonator being laser welded in a laser welding cell in our Farmington, CT production facility. Clean the surface before welding – the main cause of porosity is the evolution of hydrogen gas during weld metal solidification. Higher mechanical strength aluminum-steel weld joints has been demonstrated with TIG, MIG, electronic beam, and laser welding. Laser beam welding is one of our most popular services for welding aluminum. The poor coupling of the laser energy is due in part to the high density of free electrons in the solid, making aluminum one of the best reflec­ tors of light. However, cleaned correctly and handled correctly, aluminum welds well with a laser. For round welds in aluminum, no gap can be tolerated unless inert gas coverage can be maintained over the entire weld area. Goods quality welds can be achieved for the most alloys by cleaning the surfaces prior to welding and by providing adequate inert gas shielding of the weld pool. Because aluminum doesn’t change in appearance as it approaches its melting point, welding processes which require visual judgment of material readiness can be unreliable. Welding Aluminum Alloys To Other Alloys. Avoid using chlorinated solvents in the welding area because they may form toxic gases when heated. Sheared edges are acceptable provided they are straight and square. Higher feed rates can be achieved than with pulsed laser techniques. Compressed air contains moisture and oil contaminates. Stable keyhole welding – high power lasers with good beam quality produce a stable keyhole during welding. Laser welding uses laser as a high-energy density light source, which has the characteristics of fast heating and instant solidification. The challenge in joining aluminum with other metals and alloys is greater, though worth the effort given the number of opportunities for joining dissimilar metal components. The welding copper to aluminium process uses our redENERGY 70W EP-Z Laser to create 3 spot welds, taking approximately 1 second, to produce an extremely strong hold between the Copper and Aluminium. Laser welding aluminum without cracking is a constant challenge. Therefore, it’s no surprise that they are being used with increased frequency in product manufacturing applications ranging from batteries and electronics packaging, to automotive components and consumer goods packaging. This applies in particular for aluminum-silicon compounds. Laser beam welding is a welding technique used to join pieces of metal or thermoplastics through the use of a laser. Square edges and good fit-up are also necessary. You will find aluminum and its alloys in industries as varied as aerospace and sporting goods and electronics and consumer packaging. Prudence dictates that aluminum parts which are to be welded should be pre-weld processed in a such a manner that minimal to no lubricants are used — sawing and machining of aluminum should be performed dry, if possible, and if not, the parts must be throughly cleaned. It requires a particularly bright laser to get energy into the part without doing more harm than good (or reflecting back into your peepers). Machining methods that leave a ground or smeared surface should be avoided.  For example, a band saw will leave metal smeared along the path of the blade.  This problem can be overcome by filing or machining the joint edge post cutting. There are four main categories of lasers that are suitable for welding aluminum: All of these technologies are capable of producing high quality aluminum welds, and the method to be used is often dependent on operational costs rather than weld quality. A wide variety of laser welding of aluminum options are available to you, such as warranty of core components, local service location, and key … The beam provides a concentrated heat source, allowing for narrow, deep welds and high welding rates. Each pulse creates an area of melted material, the work piece is then moved slightly and another pulse is applied, resulting in a series of overlapping welds create a continuous bead. We never spam, we never sell our mailing list. Laser welding requires good joint fit up in regard to permissible gap and a low level of mismatch. The main tenets of these procedures are summarized below. Mg, Zn). More precise control of the weld pool for increased keyhole stability. The process is frequently used in high volume applications using automation, as in the automotive industry. This joint configuration is especially suitable due to aluminum’s high shrinkage rate. Contaminates can easily be transferred to a part and then pushed under the surface of the joint. Patterns can be programmed to compensate for large gaps in weld joints and other potentially problematic weld geometry problems. Laser beam welding can be used with crack sensitive materials, such as the 6000 series of aluminum alloys when combined with an appropriate filler material such as 4032 or 4047 aluminum. When laser welding aluminum, only an aluminum-manganese alloy can be welded without filler material. The present investigation was mainly concerned with characteristics of autogeneous laser butt welding of 2 mm thickness nonheat treatableAA5052-H12,AA5083-H12 and 2 mm, 3 mmthickness heat treatableAA6061-T6aluminum alloys. In this study, the influence of the laser powers on welding these dissimilar metals was taken into account. Laser welding; Laser welding A laser beam can join metal in different ways – it can join workpieces at the surface or create deep weld seams. FIGURE 1 shows the effect of laser power (2–5.3kW), welding speed, and the gap between the sheets on weld porosity formation with a fillet edge welding configuration using a filler wire of AA4043 (5.3% Si) [7]. Laser Stir Welding results in largely defect free joints, with no hot cracking, porosity or solidification cracks. Although in recent years, laser welding in a vacuum has taken ground, it is yet to be entirely accepted in the welding industry. Materials that can be welded: Mild steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, coated steel, copper, and titanium. [4, 5] Avoid using compressed shop air to blow off debris from the area of the joint. Welding in thin stainless steel plate, iron plate, aluminum plate and other metal materials can perfectly replace the traditional argon arc welding and electric welding … Automated methods, such as Laser and Electron Beam, which use computers to control feed rate, power, and weld location, offer more precise and consistent weld quality. Here, the welding of 100 µm thick aluminum foils in lap joints is investigated. If grinding cannot be avoided, use a course disk. Laser welding is widely used to join aluminum and its alloys. Aluminum (Al) (or aluminium for many of our friends around the world) and its alloys are the most widely used non-ferrous metals today. A very important aspect to welding aluminum is how the joint is fabricated.  Special care in machining and assembly must be taken because aluminum is softer than most metals. Gaps of > 80% of the foil thickness were bridged. Modulated output from continuous wave lasers can also help with cracking and porosity . The likelihood of laser welds to suffer solidification cracking can limit the welding speed, parent material composition or weld penetration depth that is possible when laser welding both steels and aluminium. Major Challenge of Laser Welding. Weld profiles can be manipulated into asymmetry, such as increasing the penetration on one side of the weld joint. However, each process has slightly different characteristics which can make some types of lasers preferable for certain applications, joint configurations, and aluminum alloy combinations. Fiber lasers are now widely used for welding of a very wide range of thicker metals. About 11% of these are Laser Welders, 0% are TIG Welder, and 0% are Other Arc Welders. Aluminum oxide can affect laser welding: oxide films can change the reflectivity of the parts surface, which negatively impacts the amount of laser energy making it to the base metal. Material on the leading edge of the laser beam melts as the trailing edge cools. It can also be combined with conventional welding processes, and can be used for soldering. With this in mind, there is keen interest in the use of laser welding to produce lightweight and economical vehicle structures in aluminium. The laser welding cell paired with creative and unique part design methods give our customers the perfect tools to reduce cost and improve part quality. Alumi­ num is one of the easiest metals to penetrate with an electron beam. Laser-beam welding (LBW) is now considered to be a viable fusion joining process for aluminum with the advent of commercially available, stable, high-power laser systems. Prima Power Laserdyne is a wholly owned business unit of, Porosity; some cracking depending upon Mg content. Choice of cover gas is generally dependent on the type of laser and its power rating as the use of the wrong cover gas can result in access plasma generation and/or changes to the properties of the welded materials. Medical Devices: a Study in Collaboration, Extraordinary Demands in Extraordinary Times. Immediately afterwards, the continuous fiber laser welding technology also entered the market area of aluminum applications. Welded medical devices, surgical tools, dental, plastics. Date Published: Apr-2001 Find out about applications, materials, and techniques as they relate to the work you do. However, for welds with deeper penetration in crack prone aluminum alloys, we’ve had a lot of success using our proprietary Laser Stir Welding technique. Hydrogen can originate from lubricants, moisture in the atmosphere and surface oxides, or the presence of hydrogen in the parent material. Good weld fixturing is necessary … Always use a new or recently cleaned stainless steel brushes to clean a joint.  Older brushes sitting around a work bench may contain oils and other contaminates.  Do not use brushes that have been used on other metals as metal flakes can be carried on the brush bristles, then imbedded under the surface of the aluminum during brushing. Upon formation of a laser weld pool in aluminum, the shiny surface of the molten metal reflects much of the energy of the light beam. If a lubricant is used during any of these pre-weld operations, complete removal of the lubricant prior to welding is essential to avoid bad welds. Fiber Laser Welding Services by Accumet include welds of Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Kovar, Invar, Metal Foils, and alloys. Improved control of the profile and geometry of the weld – as an example, joints can be designed with more width at the root of the weld, which can be very useful for Lap/Thru-/Blind welds. The result was a range of laser and processing parameters that produce good quality welds for different aluminum alloys. The wide and growing use of aluminum alloys is a result of its defining properties which include: Density – aluminum is the lightest of all ordinary metals. The laser sends the right amount of energy to remove those contaminants without introducing impurities in the aluminum. Because of aluminum`s high reflectivity, effective coupling of the laser beam and aluminum requires a relatively high power density. The standard technique when welding crack prone alloys is to use a filler wire or shim made from a more weldable alloy (such as 4047) in order to achieve quality weld joint. Hydrocarbon residue on aluminum parts can generally be removed using acetone or alcohol based solvents. Laser beam energy can be applied to the work piece either as a series of pulses, as a continuous beam, or in a laser stir weld configuration. However, aluminum poses difficulty in welding because of three main properties: (1) thermal conductivity, (2) surface reflectivity to infrared and near infrared laser radiation, and (3) characteristics of the molten alloy including low viscosity and volatility of low boiling point alloying elements (e.g. On the other hand, it is one of the most difficult to melt with a laser. A steady beam of laser light is applied to the work piece, which is then moved beneath the beam. Instead, it means that welding processes must be designed with these factors in mind. Reflectivity is the most critical challenge with laser welding. Mg, Zn). Our engineering staff is your resource. Hydrocarbon contamination must be removed before abrading the surface to remove aluminum oxide. The slight top bead undercut (concavity) can be eliminated by welding with an appropriate filler material such as Al4043 or Al4047 wire. A fit-up tolerance of 15% of the material thickness is desirable. All rights reserved. The amount of pre-weld preparation is largely dependent on the condition of the aluminum parts to be welded, and that is generally dependent on the storage conditions and the cleanliness of the machine procedures used to make the part thus far. Joint Considerations. To avoid oxide films and hydrocarbon contamination, aluminum to be laser welded must be thoroughly cleaned. Metal inert gas (MIG) welding, also referred to as gas metal arc … Diversity of alloys (see Table below for a summary of the main aluminum alloys). However, due to the high reflectivity and good thermal conductivity of aluminum alloy and the shielding effect of plasma, some defects … 209 W/m K) and low melting point (1,221°F/660.3°C) make it such that only fusion welding processes can be used to weld it. It was found that all the investigated alloys showed tendencies for porosity and solidification cracking,particula… Use a stainless steel wire brush to clean a joint only after solvent cleaning.  Wire brushing prior may imbed hydrocarbons and other contaminates in the aluminum. Stainless steel wire brush any metal surface that has been etched.  By-product residuals from etching can alter the chemical composition of the weld pool. Diffusion welding is a solid-state welding process that produces coalescence of the two metals by the application of pressure and elevated temperatures. In most cases, oxide film must be removed either by mechanical or chemical means prior to welding. For welding heat sensitive components, such as electronics housings, using filler materials and welding with a pulsed laser is indicated. Aluminum can be a difficult material to weld. These and other material related difficulties can lead to issues with weld and heat affected zone cracking, degradation in the mechanical properties, and inconsistent welding performance. How fortunate that new laser technology has evolved to fit the bill. occurs when welding aluminum. Call us at +1.631.495.1485‬ or use the links below. However, aluminum poses difficulty in welding because of three main properties: (1) thermal conductivity, (2) surface reflectivity to infrared and near infrared laser radiation, and (3) characteristics of the molten alloy including low viscosity and volatility of low boiling point alloying elements (e.g. We are experts north of Boston, Massachusetts in the field of welding steel and aluminum together, and other dissimilar metals or hybrids and alloys. The decision to use a particular method is dependent on the application, the properties of the materials, etc. Continuous wave laser welding is used for deep penetration welds, and is often referred to as keyhole welding. weld the battery case and tab during the packing process. Pre-Weld Preparation That's the name of our monthly newsletter. It is based on keyhole or penetration mode welding. With appropriate welding procedures it is possible to produce reliable, robust laser processes for welding a range of aluminum alloys. When cleaning a surface with solvents, use clean cloth such as cheese cloth or paper towels.  Do not use shop rags that may be contaminated with oil residue. The resulting weld quality is excellent. The process works by focusing the laser’ beams light and energy on the target part and joint. There are several different types of lasers that work well with aluminum, and often the use of a cover gas is prudent. Each weld area created by a pulse cools quickly, which minimizes the amount of heat in the surrounding material, which in turn limits how hot the part might become, which in turn minimizes melting and distortion of the part. Crack free and porosity free butt weld of 2 mm thick Al6061 and Al5052. Laser welding also has one of the highest initial investments, tooling costs, and weld joint fit-up requirements These must be accounted for when selecting laser welding as the joining method for your production process. Avoid grinding process if possible. Oxidation issues can lead to contamination and porosity problems. The amount of heat applied and the location to which it is applied must be controlled very precisely. Partner with OR Laser to find your unique solution for welding aluminum items efficiently. Alternatively, there are chemical cleaning methods utilizing immersions in caustic solutions and water that are effective at removing aluminum oxide. Deep-penetration welding allows for a single weld to replace multiple welds in different joint designs. Ability to be recycled indefinitely without losing any of its intrinsic qualities. Aluminum Laser Welding Machine Manufacturers, Factory, Suppliers From China, We've been confident that there'll become a promising future and we hope we can have long lasting cooperation with consumers from all over the world. All other alloys can only be laser welded with the help of additives. Fusion welding processes, such as MIG, TIG, Laser, and Electron Beam, generate intense heat in small area to melt the material in the desired weld area. The near infrared 1070 nm wavelength has definite advantages over the incumbent CO 2 laser technology due to the lower reflectivity of metals at this wavelength. Laser beam welding is one of our most popular services for welding aluminum. Aluminum parts are frequently formed, sheared, sawed and machined prior to the welding operation. One noteworthy application is laser edge-fillet welding of the aluminum doors on the BMW 7 Series luxury sedans (Figure 3). The process is ideal for fast, clean welds. As shown in our report on laser cleaning for welding, laser cleaning significantly reduces the number and the size of porosities in the weld joints. Laser welding is widely used to join aluminum and its alloys. Manual welding processes, such as MIG and TIG, rely on operator skill and heat sinking to control these factors. Addition of an appropriate filler wire reduces cracking in crack sensitive alloys such as the 2xxx and 6xxx series alloys. A pulsed laser is exactly that: the beam is switched on and off at a very high rate (10-1000 hz) such that the energy is applied to the work piece is a series of separate bursts. The filler material also replaces lost alloying elements and improves tolerance to the joint fit up. Continuous wave lasers typically feed at speeds of 25 to 100 inches per minute in order to not overheat the parts. This small heat affected zone is essential as aluminum’s high thermal conductivity tends to result in heat traveling throughout the work piece, either melting too much material or deforming the entire part. Because of aluminum’s high thermal conductivity, a pulsed laser is generally the best way to laser weld aluminum when low thermal input is required. Typical application fields for laser welding machines are the joining of steel, aluminum, copper or plastics. Its relatively high thermal conductivity (approx. GMAW (MIG) Services. The effect of laser welding parameters,surface cleaning, filler wire addition, and backing strip on quality of laser welded joints was clarifiedusing 5 kW laser machine. Porosity. Please contact us today for more information. Alibaba.com offers 11,044 laser welding of aluminum products. Laser welding requires a fairly precise joint in order to maintain permissible gap and mismatch. The laser welding machine has the advantages are simple operation, welding seam beautiful, fast welding speed and no consumables. © 2020 by EB Industries. This is often achieved mechanically, using stainless steel wire brushes, grinding, filing or scraping to remove any oxides. The process is very quick and clean with no oxide layers and a low electrical resistance. The heat affected zone is minimized and weld penetration can range up to 0.25” in aluminum. If a part must be blown off, use a bottled gas such as nitrogen or argon. Modulation controls heating and cooling of the weld metal which reduces the freezing range of the weld metal and minimizes the tendency for solidification cracking. Sales (+86)188 2695 0666 Email: ymqqs@ymlaser.com. The melting point of aluminum oxide is approximately 3x the melting point of pure aluminum, which can result in particles of aluminum oxide contaminating the weld and leading to porosity issues. Laser welding has been used in the automotive industry for joining of aluminum components such as frames, roofs, doors, deck lids, steering columns, wheel rims, and fuel filters, to name just a few. Of course, this by no means implies that laser welding is not an excellent choice for joining these materials. In particular, the experiment aims to evaluate the possibility of welding the aluminum and steel using nanosecond laser source—as well Laser welding and cutting are thus inherently machine guided processes. Effect of laser power, speed, and sheet gap on porosity. Because heat is applied at a constant rate, and the part is not subject to the constant heating and cooling of a pulsed laser, continuous wave welding may be better suited for some of the more crack sensitive alloys of aluminum. Clean all wire brushes and cutting tools frequently. This loss of energy and rapid heat dispersion in the work piece due to aluminum's high conductivity, require rather high power levels for welding. Aluminum has certain properties which make it more challenging to weld than other metals. However, with the evolution of high-power, good-beam-quality carbon dioxide (CO 2) lasers, and the advent of high-power, high-brightness solid-state, fiber-delivered lasers, coupling the energy into aluminum is no longer an issue. Air gaps between pieces to be Lap Joint welded severely limit weld penetration and/or feed speed. The process is ideal for fast, clean welds. Good weld fixturing is necessary so that the laser beam can be placed accurately. OR Laser welders offer precise and expert Laser welding services for a variety of industries including critical applications like medical and dental tools made of aluminum or steel. Misalignment and out-of-flatness of parts should be less than 25% of the material thickness. Porosity is a less critical defect in laser welds than solidification cracking. Hydrocarbon contamination of aluminum during storage and preparation of the material can cause problems when welding. As stated earlier, cover gases are often required when laser welding aluminum. [l-3] Laser welding is a flexible high energy density welding process that produces welds of low distortion and a small heat affected zone through the use of easily automated and controlled equipment. As little as a decade ago, laser welding aluminum was considered to … New laser technology has evolved to fit the bill elevated temperatures or solidification cracks the thickness... Welding rates in various industries a high-energy density light source, which has the advantages simple! And hydrocarbon contamination, aluminum, no gap can be welded without filler material also replaces alloying... 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