the focus in the Z-axis giving you a 3D working area — Fig. 2. Productivity of Remote Laser Welding vs. Traditional Laser Welding On small parts, it may be possible to have a fixed part and mount the PFO in a fixed position giving you a simple overall system design with no moving motion system other than the PFO. For parts larger than the work envelope, it is possible to mount the part in a fixture and then provide a simple stage allowing you to weld half or a quadrant at a time and then shift the PFO or part. Larger parts typically are fixed and the PFO is mounted to a robot. With this setup you can move to spots and put down weld patterns or use the PFO “welding on the fly” option, which allows you to synchronize 50 JANUARY 2013 the PFO position with the robot position to move over the part and weld without stopping the robot, reducing cycle time even more. The key benefit of the PFO is its ability to jump to the next weld position almost instantaneously unlike a typical Cartesian coordinate motion system. The weld speeds are the same as a traditional fixed-optic processing head so the efficiency comes from eliminating unproductive repositioning time — Fig. 3. Most common applications of the PFO today are found in the automotive industry. TRUMPF has more than 2000 high-power SSL PFOs in everyday production in such applications as welding oil filters, fuel filters, fuel injectors, automotive sensors, car doors, trunk lids, seat backs, seat rails, instrument panel frames, car batteries, metal gaskets, and many other applications. Another advantage is the ability to customize your weld geometry and/or weld pattern — Fig. 4. This can be important in a traditional part, but it is very important since the thinner gauge material used today has less surface area at the weld interface. A traditional spot weld has a large round spot that provides the strength at that point. With a laser and PFO, one can create almost any shape desired from a simple stitch weld for narrow flanges, to S, or staple shapes to provide multidirectional strength to a custom shape around corners, mounting points or high stress points. These customized shapes take little to no extra time depending on weld length and weld speed — Fig. 5. Remote Laser Benefits in Car Body Welding The biggest advantages of remote laser welding (RLW) in car body production are as follows: 1) Productivity — Up to 10 times Fig. 4 — Customized weld patterns. Fig. 5 — Customized weld shape depending on location (source Daimler AG). Fig. 6 — Example of actual project.
Welding Journal | January 2013
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