SHOW PREVIEW: LASYS


process for glass and sapphire using ultrashort pulsed lasers. A number of laser beam sources bundled across the entire technology spectrum will also be presented, including pico- and femtosecond lasers, low-power sealed-off CO2


lasers and diode


lasers, and high-power fibre lasers. In addition, Rofin will


demonstrate fibre lasers with a range of powers for marking, cutting, welding, drilling and surface treatment applications. In 2015, the company launched the


third generation of its high-power fibre laser series (FL Series), which generates 2kW of laser power from one fibre laser unit. A 4kW version will also be shown, the FL 040. www.rofin.de


SCANLAB (4C35) will showcase its new scan systems IntelliScan III 20 and 30. The systems with a 20mm and 30mm aperture are tailor-made for additive manufacturing and laser cutting applications. Both continue to offer the


algorithms of the digital servo electronics, and application- and customer-specific tunings. The scan head electronics create possibilities for diagnostics and communication. The IntelliScan III series uses DynAxis 3 galvanometer scanners, which provide low long-term drift and a reduced temperature drift. www.scanlab.de


advantages of the IntelliScan product line, including a wide assortment of options, efficient


Audi remote welding for A8 cars lowers cost by 90 per cent


Audi has implemented a remote laser welding process for joining aluminium door panels on its A8 series that reduces the cost of processing by 90 per cent compared to traditional methods. Dr Jan-Philipp Weberpals, responsible


for technology development for joining-in-light construction in the laser beam and sensors division at Audi, gave an overview of the new process at a press conference for the Lasys trade fair, held at Audi’s production facility in Neckarsulm, Germany on 2 March. The Neckarsulm plant manufactures


Audi’s higher performance cars, including the A8 and R8 models, producing up to 190 vehicles each day. Weberpals said that the cost savings


came from the remote joining process – remote laser welding has the advantage of speed over tactile laser welding, as the beam is moved around using a scanning mirror rather than shifting the entire processing head or workpiece from weld to weld – as well as the elimination of filler material and inert gas. The processing time from the start of


the first seam to the end of seam nine is 11.56 seconds using remote laser welding, whereas the tactile process takes 24.79 seconds. Remote welding also puts almost half as


much energy into the part as tactile laser joining – 33kJ/m for remote welding compared to 62kJ/m for tactile – which makes the weld less susceptible to hot cracking, according to Weberpals. He said that welding thin sheets of


aluminium used to be difficult because laser energy would cause cracks to form in the seam. The new remote procedure offers much more control over the laser beam in terms of heat management and positioning. The greater process control


22 The Neckarsulm factory manufactures Audi’s higher performance cars, including the A8 and R8 models


also means that no filler material or inert welding gas is required. Audi has a patent pending on the


process and is the first automotive manufacturer using this technology, Weberpals stated. The remote welding process has been developed together with laser equipment supplier Precitec. The steel doors of the new Audi A3 are


also joined with remote laser welding at the company’s Ingolstadt, Germany factory. The system uses disk lasers from Trumpf to produce lap joints. The 500 laser steps are made extremely quickly, in 26 seconds, thanks to the remote processing.


LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 31 • SUMMER 2016 Lasers are also used for surface


treatment such as sidewall frames for the Audi Q7 prior to laser bean welding. The automaker’s CleanLaser process removes impurities, such as oils, lubricants and release agents picked up from the pressing plant, while leaving the base aluminium unaffected. The cleaning process, using a pulsed


laser scanned across the material, is a pre-treatment before the sidewall frames are joined with the roof and the water channel, and is a necessary step to give high quality joins. The car manufacturer also uses lasers


for brazing, typically with diode lasers, and for metrology, for measuring the dimension of components during the production process. Audi’s work developing laser beam


remote welding of aluminium was recently awarded second prize for an innovation award at the International Laser Technology Congress AKL’16 in Aachen, Germany. The laser material processing trade fair,


Lasys, will showcase many of the technologies used by Audi when it is held from 31 May to 2 June in Stuttgart, Germany.


@lasersystemsmag | www.lasersystemseurope.com


TRUMPF will be presenting an array of new laser systems and products at the trade fair (4C51).


Messe Stuttgart


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56