Work steps before laser welding
In the layout shown below, the workpieces enter the production line for laser welding via a complex system of conveyor technology. The workpieces are on workpiece carriers.
At the end of the conveyor system, the workpieces are removed individually by a robot and transferred to the laser cleaning station.
1. Laser cleaning
The first step after the components are placed on the production line is cleaning the joints. Although other methods exist, laser cleaning of the joint surfaces with a pulsed laser and a power output between 30 and 100 watts has become the standard in recent years. Laser cleaning removes any phosphate layers and other contaminants from the joints. The surfaces of the housing and bevel gear to be cleaned are scanned with a scanner and a pulsed laser beam, while both components rotate around the stationary laser beam.
2. Joining
After cleaning, the bevel gear and the housing are individually transported by robot to the joining press and pressed together there with a pressing force of typically up to 10 tons. At one of our customers' sites, a ring was additionally installed in the joining point to replace welding with filler wire using an alloy ring. Force and displacement monitoring and workpiece detection with a camera are standard features of our presses.
3. Warm up
The final step before welding is heating the differentials in the heating station. With some material combinations, it is advisable to inductively heat the workpieces before welding to prevent dangerous cracking. However, in most cases with the systems we supplied, the materials were not problematic for welding, and a heating station was unnecessary.