| Popis: |
Until recently, one of the problems that has held back the introduction of lasers into car body fabrication has been the difficulty of integrating the lasers with robots. Nd-YAG laser beams can be transmitted through fibre optics which, as well as being considerably easier to manipulate than a mirror system, can be mounted on more lightweight accurate robots. Although previously only available at low powers, recent developments in Nd-YAG laser technology mean that lasers of up to 1kW average power will soon be available, coupled to a fibre optic beam delivery system. The increasing usage of zinc coated steels in vehicle bodies has led to welding problems using conventional resistance welding as well as CO/sub 2/ laser welding. The use of Nd-YAG lasers may be able to overcome these problems. This paper outlines work carried out at The Welding Institute on a prototype Lumonics 800W pulsed Nd-YAG laser to investigate its welding characteristics on bare and zinc coated car body steels. |
