Air-assisted laser system cuts auto industry manufacturing costs

High-tech company Trumpf says it is reducing component costs by up to 20 per cent when cutting hot-formed components for safety-critical body structures, thanks to a new laser technology solution. “Energy costs, expensive cutting gas and unplanned downtime are driving up component prices in hot forming,” said Ralf Kohllöffel, responsible for product management of 3D systems at Trumpf.

“We now offers a solution that addresses this issue. By combining a new cutting nozzle, a new generation of fiber lasers and beam shaping technology, we are enabling efficient laser cutting of hot-formed parts, making our customers more competitive,” said Kohllöffel. The company is showcasing the new solution at its in-house exhibition, INTECH, in Ditzingen, this week (April 21 to 24).

Users of the new approach can benefit from fewer machine downtimes and fewer service intervention, says the company. At the heart of the solution is a new cutting nozzle, which allows the nozzle-to-sheet distance to be increased to several millimeters. This significantly reduces the risk of collisions between nozzle and workpiece.

Kohllöffel added, “Nozzle collisions have previously been a frequent source of disruption, particularly when laser cutting with compressed air as the cutting gas. In tests, the new nozzles were in use for more than three months without needing to be replaced. The typical service life of the already improved X-Blast standard nozzles was previously just a few days.”

Gas costs down by 75 per cent

By using compressed air instead of nitrogen, users can reduce their cutting costs by 75 per cent. “Although compressed air is significantly cheaper than nitrogen as a cutting gas, it was previously considered less robust, particularly in continuous operation of high-productivity systems. This is where our new process combination comes in,” said Kohllöffel.

The X-Blast 2.0 nozzle, in combination with the BrightLine Speed beam shaping technology, enables the industrial use of compressed air even in 24/7 operation of high-productivity 3D laser cutting machines when cutting hot-formed components in the automotive industry.

BrightLine Speed is a beam shaping technology that enables higher cutting speeds to be achieved with lower laser power, says Trumpf. Furthermore, thanks to the laser’s high brilliance, users benefit from significantly lower cutting gas consumption compared to a standard process without BrightLine Speed

AI-led laser welding improves production of power electronics for e-vehicles

Another new laser welding solution from Trumpf makes the prduction of power electronics for electric cars more efficient and reliable. An automated process, also on show at INTECH 2026, enables users to weld copper electrical conductors directly onto copper busbars. Manufacturers can now replace the screw connections traditionally used with this new technology.

“The key lies in the interplay between laser, sensor technology, AI and data. Only when all components work in perfect harmony can highly automated and stable processes for series production be realised,” said Woo-Sik Chung, who is responsible for the new laser welding solution at Trumpf, which is demonstrating the process alongside its partner Yazaki at INTECH.

The new laser solution creates a firmly-fused joint with low electrical resistance. The process is primarily intended for use in the manufacture of voltage distributors in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Until now, manufacturers have had to produce conventional mechanical connections for voltage distributors in several process steps. At the heart of the solution is the interaction between laser, sensor technology and AI.

First, an AI-supported image processing system identifies the component and positions the laser beam with pixel-level precision. A 9 kW fibre laser then welds the copper strands. During the process, an optical coherence tomographysystem monitors the welding depth in real time to prevent the component from being welded right through.

After welding, another camera-based system checks the quality of the weld seam. AI is also used here. Just a few training images are sufficient to enable a reliable assessment of seam quality. All process steps, from component recognition through welding to quality control, take place in a single laser station.

Chung added, “The entire process takes well under a second and is therefore designed for high-productivity series production. Our goal is seamless process control in real time, without slowing down production.”