System technology

Special laser welding heads – remoweld® family

Focus: Laser multi-pass narrow-gap welding (Laser-MPNGW)

remoweld® special laser welding head for laser multi-pass narrow-gap welding.
© Fraunhofer IWS
remoweld® special laser welding head for laser multi-pass narrow-gap welding.

Technical data

  • Highly dynamic 2D beam oscillation with frequency of max. 4 kHz
  • Laser power: max. 8 kW
  • Integrated components:
    • Control unit for process control and regulation
    • Combined feed of welding filler material and shielding gas
    • Sensor technology for weld seam detection
    • High-speed camera and sensors for process monitoring and quality assurance


Applications

  • Thick sheet range: 10 to 250 mm, e.g. turbine construction (rotor shafts), housing segments
  • Structural steelwork, presses, crane and tank installations, shipbuilding

Focus: Highly dynamic beam oscillation

remoweld® FLEX special laser welding head for high-frequency beam oscillation.
© Fraunhofer IWS
remoweld® FLEX special laser welding head for high-frequency beam oscillation.

Technical data

  • Highly dynamic 2D or 3D beam oscillation with frequencies in the kilohertz range
  • Lissajous figures, high dynamic range: 1.5 x 1.5 mm2
  • Laser power: max. 5 kW
  • Option to implement:
    • Sensor technology for weld seam detection
    • Sensor technology for process monitoring, e.g. acoustics, image recognition, triangulation


Applications

  • Thin sheet range: 0.5 to 5 mm, e.g. aluminum-copper mixed joints, aluminum die casting
  • Foil welding, e.g. batteries, electrical contacts
  • Aggregates, cooling, air conditioning, heat exchangers, pillow plates, turbocharger shafts

Focus: Acoustic process monitoring

Acoustic weld signature with characteristic process frequencies for real-time process analysis.
© Fraunhofer IWS
Acoustic weld signature with characteristic process frequencies for real-time process analysis.

Technical data

  • Membrane-free optical microphone
  • Low inherent noise
  • Frequency range: 10 Hz to 1 MHz (acoustic and ultrasonic)
  • Dynamic range: 50-150 dB (A) SPL


Applications

  • Wide range of applications from automotive to welded joints in household appliances, aerospace and a variety of measurement tasks to ensure component quality
    • Real-time process monitoring of highly dynamic welding processes
    • Correlation between weld seam quality and airborne noise possible
    • Can be linked to AI evaluation methods

Focus: Geometric topology monitoring

High-resolution triangulation measurement for quality assessment of weld topographies.
© Keyence Corporation
High-resolution triangulation measurement for quality assessment of weld topographies.

Technical data

  • Measuring principle: optical triangulation
  • Low reflection sensitivity
  • Resolution range: 2.5 to 50 µm
  • Repeatability: 0.3 to 0.5 µm


Applications

  • Position and distortion measurement of weld contours and welded components
    • Inline / offline process monitoring of welding processes
    • Correlation between weld quality and external weld appearance (flaking, geometric weld parameters)
    • Stand-alone unit can be integrated into new and existing processes
    • Combination with other sensors and AI evaluation methods
  • Wide range of applications from automotive manufacturing to welded joints of household appliances, aerospace technology and a variety of measurement tasks to ensure component quality

Software for the generation of ”Life Cycle Assessment” – CO2-Balance

Focus: Evaluation of the CO2 footprint of products and processes

Life Cycle Assessment for the description of material flows using the example of CO2 equivalent – utilization for laser-based manufacturing processes at Fraunhofer IWS.
© Fraunhofer IWS
Life Cycle Assessment for the description of material flows using the example of CO2 equivalent – utilization for laser-based manufacturing processes at Fraunhofer IWS.

Technical data

  • Conformity of CO2 balancing based on DIN ISO 14064 and DIN ISO 14040
  • Generation, calculation and visualization of CO2 and life cycle assessments
  • Linking with technical databases, e.g. Gabi
  • Generation of Sankey diagrams

Applications

  • Assessment of CO2 emissions caused by human production and mobility to achieve European or global climate targets - keyword: max. 1.5°C global warming
  • ”Computer Aided Eco-Balancing” (CAEB) for laser-based process chains and products
  • Process comparisons for welding processes and production chains