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10 Jun 2005
A laser head that allows a single laser to both cut and weld metal makes its debut on the first day of the exhibition.
The days of buying separate laser systems for cutting and welding could soon be over thanks to the work of engineers in Germany. A team from the Aachen-based Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) has devised a "combi-head" that enables both functions to be performed with a single laser.
The approach looks set to save industry both time and money. "Because you can cut and weld in one machine, you can increase the speed of production and reduce the necessary investment," Dirk Petring from Fraunhofer ILT told Optics.org. "You also avoid downtime caused by reclamping, head exchange and transportation from one machine to the other."
The Fraunhofer ILT combi-head can be integrated with either YAG lasers or CO2 lasers and, according to Petring, is getting an enthusiastic response from the car industry which is testing the technology.
"We have tested this head with YAG lasers in the power range of up to 4 kW and with CO2 lasers up to 12 kW," said Petring. "With a CO2 laser we have realised cutting and welding with up to 10 mm stainless steel, but we see the bigger market in the combination of YAG lasers and robots with this head."
When devising its dual purpose unit, Petring's team also had to think very carefully about the design of its gas nozzle, as cutting and welding operations have very different requirements.
"The welding process needs a very soft and smooth gas jet for protecting the interaction zone from oxidation," he explained. "In addition, you need a cross jet or air curtain to protect the optics from spatter or smoke coming from the weld." In contrast, laser cutting tools require a high pressure gas jet to eject material out of the cutting kerf.
ILT's new nozzle design satisfies both criteria and, according to Petring, switching between cutting and welding operations is straightforward. "We are only changing three things: the type of gas, which is simply done by a magnetic valve, the pressure and the distance between the laser head and the workpiece," he said. "During welding, the distance is bigger and during cutting the distance is reduced to give better coupling of the high pressure gas jet."
The Fraunhofer ILT team is demonstrating its combi-head at stand B3.145.
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