Laser welding features a rapid heating/rapid cooling thermal cycle. The YAG laser offers a good combination of high power and good beam quality while providing better absorbency on aluminium alloys than the CO2 laser. It further ensures a lower heat input and better stabilisation of welding phenomena than alternative joining methods. In a comparison with available alternative joining methods, this paper accordingly shows laser welding to be suitable as a welding technology able to expand allowable levels of impurities and thus contribute to wider application of aluminium recycling materials. Laser welding is also shown to be able to suppress weld microcracking and to prevent strength loss during welding of heat-treatable Al-Mg-Si alloys offering good recycling prospects. As a downside to its merits, laser welding involves welding operations being performed with a slender beam at high energy density which in some circumstances, may be excessive. Further investigations in future should also clarify some other aspects, such as stabilisation of welding phenomena and improvement of the allowable degree of processing error. Effective remedial measures in this respect are already being elaborated through diode laser welding applications and hybridisation with other welding methods. These and other developments should be carried forward in a way that activates and exploits the characteristics of laser welding described in this article.
Laser welding characteristics of aluminium alloys for automotive applications
Welding International ; 17 , 11 ; 870-878
2003
9 Seiten, 15 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 24 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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