54

nanotimes News in Brief

10-10/11 :: October/November 2010

Material Processing // Laser Cutting and Laser Welding in a Single Processing Head

Hanover, Germany, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT presented tailor-made system solutions for higher component precision and pro- cess stability. By combining laser cutting and laser welding in a single processing head, the Fraunho- fer researchers have created a system that leads to higher flexibility in plant dimensioning, optimizing the processing sequence and reducing the clamping, storage and transport times. To do this, the institute has developed a so-called combi-head, which is produced and marketed by the cooperation partner Laserfact GmbH in Aachen, Germany.

A

In Hanover a joint development with the Fraunho- fer IPT was also exhibited: “Coaxial Process Control (CPC),” developed specially for laser brazing, takes the process zones under the magnifying glass in the visible and near infrared spectral range (NIR). The visible images deliver data on feed speed, wire posi- tion and geometric measurement of the braze seam. The NIR images informs users about the heat distri- bution in the workpiece, the emergence of pores or about single-sided moistening.

Contact: Dr. Dirk Petring, Group Manager, Macro Joining and Cutting, Phone +49 241 8906-210; Dipl.-Ing. Chri- stoph Franz, Sensors, Phone +49 241 8906-621 http://www.ilt.fraunhofer.de

t the International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition, EuroBLECH 2010 in

The combi-head cuts and measures the U- shaped section…

and welds on the face plate. © Fraunhofer ILT, Aachen