SHINHOP laser

High-power lasers are important core components of laser welding equipment and other laser processing machines, which can be divided into two categories. The first category isSolid Laser, which is the Nd:YAG laser that we often see, where ND is a rare earth element and YAG represents Yttrium Aluminum Garnet, with an internal structure similar to that of ruby.
Its laser wavelength is 1064NM, and it can be directly transmitted through a coupler into optical fibers for long-distance transmission. The operational space is relatively ample, achieving a fusion of automation, semi-automation, and artificial intelligence mechanical operations, resulting in high welding processing accuracy. Therefore, it is often used in the welding and cutting manufacturing of automobiles, ships, and aviation equipment.
The other type of laser is the gas laser, commonly the CO2 laser (carbon dioxide laser), which has a higher power, reaching between 2-5KW, and is often used for non-metal welding, cutting, engraving, etc.

Solid Laser Welding MachineCharacteristics of the processing technology:
1. The welding materials are extensive, such as titanium, quartz, etc., and can weld dissimilar materials with excellent results.
2. Non-contact welding processing does not negatively affect the shape of the workpiece. At the same time, the laser is not affected by external factors, especially when working with magnetic field workpieces. The beam does not deviate when passing through the magnetic field, and it can perform welding and cutting processing in a vacuum or other gas environments.
3. The fast welding speed is the biggest highlight of laser welding equipment, and it can achieve a large welding depth.
4. It can perform precision welding processing. The speed of light of the laser can minimize the spot effect on precision devices for accurate positioning processing. After automated operation, it can significantly improve the welding processing efficiency of fine workpieces.
5. Laser transmission through optical fibers can also achieve multi-path operation on the workbench, realizing split light or time-sharing processing modes, significantly improving welding processing efficiency.
6. After laser focusing, the power density is high. When welding high-power materials, the depth-to-width ratio can reach 5:1, and up to 10:1.
However, everything has its pros and cons, and laser welding has certain shortcomings:
1. For workpieces with larger weld seams, lasers require metal filler rods as supplementary welding materials.
2. When welding certain products, nitrogen and other related gases are needed as auxiliary gases, which not only prevent oxidation and discoloration of the workpiece but also blow away the iron slag during welding or cutting.
3. If the welding does not meet the requirements of the workpiece itself, the quality of all workpiece products will be unqualified and become waste.
4. The initial investment in purchasing laser welding equipment is high, and general users may not be able to afford it.
5. Maintenance requires technical operators with certain technical experience.
Laser Welding TechnologyParameters:
1. Laser pulse waveform: The laser pulse waveform is an important achievement in laser welding, especially for thin sheet welding. When a high-intensity laser beam hits the material surface, 60-98% of the laser energy will be reflected and lost from the metal surface, and the reflectivity varies with surface temperature. During a laser pulse effect period, the variation in metal reflectivity is significant.
2. Laser pulse width: Pulse width is one of the important parameters in pulsed laser welding. It is a key parameter that differentiates between material removal and material melting, and it is also a critical parameter determining the cost and size of processing equipment.
3. Power density: Power density is one of the most critical parameters in laser processing. By selecting a higher power density, the surface can be heated to the boiling point within microseconds, resulting in significant vaporization. Therefore, high power density is beneficial for material removal processing, such as drilling, cutting, and engraving. For lower power density, the surface temperature reaches the boiling point after several milliseconds, and before the surface vaporizes, the underlying layer reaches the melting point, making it easy to form excellent fusion welding. Thus, in conduction-type laser welding, the power density ranges from 10^4 to 10^6 W/cm2.
Due to the excessively high power density at the laser focal point, it is easy to vaporize into holes. The workpiece is placed above and below the laser focal point, and the power density distribution is relatively balanced. There are two types of defocusing: positive defocusing and negative defocusing, where the focal point is above the workpiece for positive defocusing, and vice versa for negative defocusing. In negative defocusing, a greater melting depth can be obtained, which is related to the formation process of the molten pool.
Improvement and development of new laser welding technologies:
With the advancement of the times, laser welding technology is also continuously evolving. The following technologies help expand the application scope of laser welding and improve the level of automation in laser welding.
1. Filler wire laser welding:
Laser welding typically does not use filler wire, but it has a high demand for installation gaps, which can be challenging to ensure in practical production, thus limiting its application range. By employing filler wire in laser welding, the requirement for installation gaps can be significantly reduced. For instance, with a 2mm thick aluminum alloy plate, if filler wire is not utilized, the gap must be zero to achieve excellent formation. However, if a φ1.6mm welding wire is used as filler metal, even with a gap increased to 1.0mm, excellent formation of the weld can still be guaranteed.
In addition, filler wire can also adjust the chemical composition or perform multi-layer welding on thick plates.
2. Beam rotation laser welding: The method of rotating the laser beam for welding can also greatly reduce the requirements for workpiece installation and beam alignment. For example, when butt welding a 2mm thick high-strength alloy steel plate, the allowable gap can increase from 0.14mm to 0.25mm; for a 4mm thick plate, it can increase from 0.23mm to 0.30mm. The alignment error between the laser base and the weld base can increase from 0.25mm to 0.5mm.
Application scope of laser welding:
Laser welding is widely used in the manufacturing industry, powder metallurgy, automotive industry, electronics industry, and other fields.
SHINHOP Laser Welding Equipment Company has provided good solutions for thousands of laser welding users, whether it isSolid Laser Welding Machineor gas laser cutting and welding engraving machines, has accumulated practical experience in industrial applications, and through continuous optimization and technological accumulation, now launches an automated laser welding system applied to automotive production lines, known as the "crown jewel" of technology in the industrial processing field! It can be seen that the accumulation of application experience and technological breakthroughs are inseparable from technological innovation.