Laser Welding. LASERLINE® Technical
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Laser welding. LASERLINE® Technical. 402935-LASERLINE Technical Laser Welding AW.indd 1 17/08/2009 14:34 02 Contents Introduction 03 Contents. Introduction. 03 Introduction 16 Lasers in surface modification 04 The laser welding process 17 Safety in laser welding Principles of laser welding Laser radiation Weld joint configurations Welding emissions Types of welding processes Gases and gas supply 06 Parameters in laser welding 18 Welding gases for CO2 laser welding Role of the welding gas Tendency to form a plasma 19 Welding gases for Nd:YAG laser welding Mechanical properties Blanketing/shielding effect Gas nozzle devices 19 Bibliography Fig. 1: Examples of laser welding Nozzle positioning Within the last two decades, industrial lasers have advanced from High-power CO2 lasers (2–10 kW) are used in the welding of car bodies, exotic to state-of-the-art technology in many fields of manufacturing. transmission components, heat exchangers and tailored blanks. For 09 Pressure and volume requirements While laser cutting is certainly the most popular application of high- many years, low-power Nd:YAG lasers (< 500 W) have been used to weld for different materials power lasers, other processes such as laser welding and laser surface small components, such as medical instruments, electronic packages modification are also becoming the process of choice in their respective and razor blades. Nd:YAG, disc and fibre lasers with power levels in the Welding gases for mild steels using CO2 lasers industries. multi-kW range benefit from beam delivery via optical fibres. These Welding gases using disc or fibre lasers are easily manipulated by robots, thereby opening a large field of 3D Metallurgical effect Laser welding is increasingly being used in industrial production applications, such as laser cutting and welding of car bodies. Examples of applications ranging from microelectronics to shipbuilding. Automotive Welding gases for mild steels manufacturing (see fig. 1), however, is among the industrial sectors Welding gas plays an important role in laser welding. Apart from using Nd:YAG lasers which have proven to be most outstanding at developing applications protecting the molten and heat-affected areas of the workpiece against Welding gases for stainless steels that take advantage of the many benefits of this technology: the ambient atmosphere, it also increases the welding speed and using CO2 lasers 33 Low heat input improves the mechanical properties of the weld. Austenitic stainless steel 33 Small heat-affected zone (HAZ) Ferritic stainless steel 33 Low distortion rate The objective of this document is to give a general perspective of the Austenitic-ferritic stainless steel 33 High welding speed technology and to provide guidelines for determining suitable gases Welding gases for stainless steels and nozzle configurations for laser welding of mild steel, stainless using Nd:YAG lasers These characteristics have made laser welding the process of choice for steel, or aluminium, and for laser surface modification processes. The Welding gases for aluminium using CO2 lasers many applications that used resistance welding in the past. By adding emphasis lies on gases for CO2 laser welding, as CO2 lasers are still the Welding gases for aluminium the benefits of single-sided access, laser welding is given another predominant type of laser used in the manufacturing industry, and in using Nd:YAG lasers strategic advantage, allowing it to open the door to a multitude of new the higher power ranges in particular. The selection of the process gas applications. is of critical importance in CO2 laser welding, whereas it is less crucial in solid-state laser welding or direct diode laser surface modification. Hybrid processes involving a combination of laser and MIG arc welding are being developed to reduce fit-up requirements on the parts to The results presented here have to a large extent been obtained in be joined, thus improving the most critical aspects of laser welding. projects carried out in The Linde Group’s application laboratories or The addition of filler wire in GMAW substantially facilitates weld edge have been sponsored by the company. preparation. Alloying elements in the filler wire may be used to refine the mechanical properties of the seam. Beyond that, these combined processes can improve the welding speed of the individual processes, LASERLINE® and LASGON® are registered trademarks of The Linde Group. weld penetration depth and overall seam geometry. 402935-LASERLINE Technical Laser Welding AW.indd 2-3 17/08/2009 14:34 04 The laser welding process The laser welding process 05 The laser welding process. Principles of laser welding In fillet lap welds, the parts lie on top of each other, and the edge Types of welding processes The evaporation pressure in the keyhole causes the plasma to expand of one part is melted to bond with the surface of the other part. Weld above the keyhole. The CO2 laser beam is then defocused and scattered The laser beam is focused onto the workpiece by a set of mirrors. These edge preparation focuses on the joining of pure metal faces and As shown in fig. 4, there are two main methods of laser welding: by the plasma cloud, leading to a larger focus diameter and a change in are used because they are much easier to cool than lenses, which are requires removal of oxides and surface layers from the joining area. 3 Conduction mode welding, where the heat is transferred from the the focus position and energy density. Laser radiation is also absorbed commonly used in lower-power cutting applications. When the laser surface into the material by thermal conduction in the plasma cloud. The extended plasma cloud causes the penetration beam is moved relative to the workpiece, the energy of the focused In an overlap weld, the parts lie on top of each other. Laser spot 3 Keyhole welding, where the laser beam energy is transferred deep depth of the weld to decrease. The weld assumes a nail-head shape due laser beam melts the metal so that a joint is formed. Fig. 2 shows the welding is a typical application of this type of weld. Most importantly, into the material through a cavity filled with ionised metal vapour to the energy absorption in the cloud. If plasma formation is extensive, welding head of a high-power CO2 laser. and similar to lap welds, the interface of the parts to be joined the welding process may even be interrupted entirely. must be free from oxide and surface layers. The fit-up requirements Conduction mode welding is typical of low-power lasers (< 500 W), are secondary. The beam must be powerful enough to penetrate a where power density is normally not sufficient to create a keyhole. The The plasma cloud, which is characterised by the emission of a bluish Weld joint configurations thickness equal to almost the total of the material thickness. Coating resulting weld is characterised by a relatively wide and shallow profile. light, is generally composed of a mixture of metal atoms, ions, electrons materials (zinc etc.), which cannot escape from the overlapping area, and components of the ambient gas atmosphere. In some cases, plasma As shown in fig. 3, there are four main weld joint configurations: present major problems and may lead to pores and other inclusions in High-power laser welding is characterised by keyhole welding. Laser may also be ignited in the welding gas itself, particularly when argon is 3 Butt weld the weld. This may be prevented by leaving a small gap (0.05–0.2 mm, power density in excess of 105 W/mm2 melts and partly vaporises the used as a welding gas. 3 Fillet lap weld respectively 0.002–0.008 in) between the parts to be assembled. This metal. The pressure of the vapour displaces the molten metal so that a 3 Overlap weld gap allows for the coating to evaporate and escape from the weld zone cavity is formed – the keyhole. Inside the keyhole, the absorption rate During high-power Nd:YAG laser welding, the effect of plasma formation 3 Edge flange weld so that the seam quality is not affected. of laser radiation increases due to multiple reflections in the keyhole. is only of secondary importance. This is due to the shorter wavelength Whenever the beam hits the wall of the keyhole, a part of the beam of Nd:YAG laser radiation, which, compared to CO2 laser radiation, is A butt weld is a configuration where the parts to be assembled In an edge flange weld, the parts to be welded are bent to provide a energy is absorbed by the material. Keyhole welding hence allows very absorbed less in the plasma cloud. lie on the same plane. Automotive tailored blanks are a typical flange, which is then joined at the edge. Here again, a good fit-up is deep (> 20 mm, respectively > 0.8 in) and narrow welds, which is why it application of this type of weld. The parts are joined by melting their crucial. is also called deep-penetration welding. edges, which are pressed together in order to minimise gaps. The edge fit-up is critical, especially in tailored blank welding applications During deep-penetration laser welding, the temperature in the keyhole (< 2.0 mm, respectively < 0.125 in): the beam passes through gaps becomes so intense that a physical condition similar to a plasma Laser beam 3 Plasma 3 Workpiece exceeding approx. 10 % of the material thickness, thus creating weld is achieved, i. e. ionised metal vapour and temperatures far above imperfections. Welding of coated materials does not cause any trouble 10,000 K. The plasma absorbs portions of the laser beam, so that the as long as the edges are not coated.