LDRS – a success story

LDRS

Laser Domain Refinement System

The Maschinenfabrik Arnold GmbH from Ravensburg, in cooperation with the Fraunhofer IWS from Dresden and well-known laser manufacturers have supplied and installed systems for the so-called domain refinement of grain-oriented (GO) electrical steel in the steel industry.

The development of the patented scanner-based beam deflection took place together with the Fraunhofer IWS and differs from the conventional polygon wheel-based system solutions essentially by the uninterrupted processing of the sheet width of up to 1200mm in one step, the speed-independent processing with constant parameters up to 160m/min conveyor speed and the use of standard components and thus high system availability.

The LDRS can be equipped with up to 4 lasers (usually 3kW fiber lasers). The customer can operate the system with 1, 2, 3 or 4 lasers, which means high system availability and thus productivity.

The laser treatment of grain-oriented (GO) electrical steel, which takes place vertically across the sheet to the strip clearance, causes a so-called domain refinement of transformer sheets, which ultimately electrical efficiency of power distribution transformers improved and thus enables a corresponding energy saving. The use of high-performance lasers with a high beam quality (initially CO2 lasers, today mainly fiber lasers) and the use of very fast-moving scanner mirrors (spot speed up to 300m/sec) enables the efficient and fast processing of electrical steel for transformers with nested cores. Work is in progress on the development of (heat-resistant) laser processing for so-called wound transformers.

In principle, the LDRS can be integrated into a separate "OFFLINE" system (e.g. for trimming the sheet width) but also into a regular "INLINE" production line; the LDRS functions in the same way. The most recently delivered systems were all integrated into production lines, as the process has become established and the greatest added value is found within the production lines.

In addition to the version for production, Arnold Ravensburg also offers a compact test system that can be useful for customers who work in the field of development and material research for electrical steel. The test system is suitable for examining, for example, in-house material with a sheet width of up to 1 x 1m and can be equipped with 1 or 2 lasers. The basic structure corresponds to a production system and can therefore simulate production as far as possible in order to support or justify possible procurement. Corresponding material tests can also be offered as a service by the Fraunhofer IWS, which has a corresponding test system if it is not economical or possible to procure it yourself.

The sales team from the Maschinenfabrik Arnold GmbH under and +49 (751) 36169-199 available for further information.

For questions about process development and testing, Dr. Jan Hauptmann (; Phone: +49 35183391 3236 ) Your contact at the Fraunhofer IWS in Dresden.