Laser Beam Welding Machining Usage Technique Requirements in the Field of Metal Products

The significance of this study is taking advantage of the advantages of laser welding in the field of metal products production, expanding the use of new jointing processes through the practice of laser beam welding application and supporting those in the field of metal products production to use the connection for metal products parts by laser welding. Laser welding is one of the most important fixed joints that are not widely used in the field of metal products production, especially. Since early on the date of operation with laser beam welding, it has been known that the application of a specific laser welding can be done using the sapphire laser available at that time. In some cases, it has provided many technical advantages and characteristics, such as minimal distortion around the joint and a thermal impact zone around the weld joint at a minimum. The research aims to determine the operating requirements of laser beam welding technology to be used in the production of metal products [1-11]. “Laser Beam Welding (LBW) is a welding technique for several or a group of metal parts or pieces using laser flux and the flux or laser beam provides a concentrated heat source that is accurate in area and depth, as it does in large numbers”(http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/). Ramaswamy M [12] said the laser welding technique does not require the use of filling wires and dissimilar metals such as copper and stainless steel can be welded, so the two parts to be welded are placed together and exceeds very little and the laser beam passes only intersections, so both sides are melted and their metals are stirred and very fine welding is produced with good structural integrity [12]. Laser overflow welding is used in periodic processes in the industry such as welding a lid button and the frame of stainless-steel cookware handles outside Egypt [13]. The study assumes that the identification of technological requirements for the use of laser beam welding leads to the expansion of the field of application of this type of welding.

Ready JF [14] dealt with the use of lasers in point welding in the late 1960s and therefore the production of some applications was developed. By the mid-1970s, laser welding had entered several industries and deep penetration welding was developed using a continuous beam multi-kilowatt CO2 laser in making economical welding compared to other methods of welding, whether traditional, such as hammer welding, tin welding, mortar welding, thermite welding or post-conventional, such as electric arc welding and electrical resistance. It has been used in production not only because of its advantages but also because it costs much less than many methods [14]. Charschan SS [15] addressed laser fission welding as one of the main connections and was exposed to metals as dominant ores in the industry that can be welded with a concentrated laser beam as one of the power sources available today [15].

Steen WM [16] examined the similarity of laser welding in its power with electronic beam welding and that both represent part of the new technology in operating with high power intensity. Any material can then evaporate if its surface can absorb energy. It stated that laser beam welding forms an evaporation hole that arises through the sides of the molten material, which then welds behind it to produce what is called keyhole welding. It has a parallel and neutral fission zone and a very narrow weld width. Welding is rarely broad compared to deep penetration that occurs using high energy, as the desire here is to fuse the joint only to be welded and not to fuse most of the surrounding area as welding with the electronic package [16]. Figure 1 shows a cross-section of laser fission welding and the area of thermal impact. The paper study the lack of technological requirements for the use of laser beam welding for application in the production of metal products. The paper aims to determine technological requirements for the use of laser beam welding in the production of metal products to achieve high welding quality. The study uses the descriptive-analytical approach. The identification of technological requirements for the use of laser beam welding leads to the activation of practical practice in the field of welding parts of metal products.

Figure 1:Shows a cross-section of laser fission welding and thermal effect area.

“Laser welding requires more power than is required compared to laser punching or cutting, and it also requires high precision in guiding the package during its procedure” [17]. There are two basic types of laser beam welding: limited welding and deep penetration welding (Figure 2). In the case of welding with limited welding, the surface temperature of the material must reach less than its evaporation temperature so that the material only melts and does not evaporate. The lack of it causes the weakening of the welding. The welding depth ratio to the welding area width ratio is about 3: 1” [18]. Welding by plugging is useful for welding parts of the metal product with low thicknesses thin metal, but its efficiency is limited between 8: 15% only, in addition to leaving thermal traces on the surface [17]. Figure 3 shows the welding by connection of a thin thickness part of a stainless-steel metal product [19].

Figure 2:Shows the deep penetration and limited connection welding.

Figure 3:Shows the welding by connection of a thinthickness part of a stainless-steel metal product.

Laser systems from the fiber optic laser system with lenses, or the laser that works by transmitting the beam with the mirror laser system, both of which are used in welding, are similar to systems used in cutting or drilling because the power density requirements are similar. Some systems can do all the operations by changing only the auxiliary gas and the focal length or pulse cycle.

Limited connection welding

It is used in welding parts of thin and low-thickness products and it is connected to the concentration of the laser beam in the kilowatt range and a diameter of 1mm on the metal surface, so the resulting thermal radiation melts the metal parts in a part of a microsecond. As the beam passes away from the glowing area, the molten metal ore freezes, forming the weld zone. The ores can be joined by conduction or fission by melting a connection between them that allows them to freeze. These processes produce three distinct areas, Figure 4 shows the base metal (the ore that was not affected by the process), the fission area consisting of the ore that melted during the welding and the thermally affected area consisting of the base metal that changed in some parts of the connection with the heat associated with the welding and the performance of the process with the least appropriate amount of heat remains the concern. If the power is insufficient, only the surface is melted and it is called the less efficient connection welding than the keyhole welding and the basic loss of energy in the connection welding is by reflection [20].

Figure 4:Shows the welding elements with limited connection.

Deep penetration welding

It is used in parts of products with higher thicknesses, molds, forming means and castings. Deep penetration welding is the most efficient process (Figure 5) compared to limited welding. For its performance, beam focusing lenses are used on the surface with high-power CO2 lasers and it is preferable to use a mirror system instead of lenses [20]. Although most surfaces of parts of the metal product are fully reflective of infrared light, the high thermal radiation of the beam raises the temperature of the metal beyond melting. The molten liquid absorbs heat better than the freezer, so it is heated to the point of evaporation. The evaporated metal opens a cylinder under the work part called a keyhole. The surrounding liquid prevents the pressure of the vapor, ionizes the vapor and absorbs the radiation coming in to become glowing and radiates the energy of the molten metal along the side of the hole. The material at the edge of the hole absorbs energy from the laser beam at the moment the energy is transferred to the work part at the height of the depth of the keyhole to enable deep penetration. With the relative movement of the welding tool, part of the seam welding product is produced by the transfer of the keyhole through the thickness of the material. The hole moves to flow liquid metal from its front surface back to freeze and this flow of molten metal leads to differences in surface tension, driving temperature. The keyhole welding is more efficient because the steam channel traps the laser beam. Because the hole acts as a cylindrical heat source, it expands below the surface and reduces the loss of energy by reflection and conductivity outside the fission zone. It is important to have enough radiation to melt the material first. Most metal parts require more than 10⁵W/cm² to start the hole.

Figure 5:Shows the mechanism of deep penetration welding (http://www.alspi.com/wirefeed.htm).

Molten metals have a reflectivity of 50%, so half of the capacity is not involved in heating the surface when absorbing energy, so it requires heat transfer by conduction to melt any depth. Also, a higher power density concentration can cause a problem. Power of about 710W/cm2 is easily achieved with a pulsed YAG laser and causes excessive fumigation and loss of material. The YAG bundles should not be concentrated to prevent the displacement of the material from the fission areas. It is also known that most laser welds do not need a filler metal added to the joint. This is mainly because lasers make relatively small melting points. It is difficult to obtain a filling wire with a diameter small enough to feed the molten bath without freezing it. A kilowatt laser creates melting points of 0.5: 0.8mm for the diameter, so it is indicated to use a wire of 0.2: 0.5mm or smaller than 0.8mm. However, if a 0.3mm wire is obtained, it may be difficult to accurately feed it inside the melt. “High-power lasers of 10kW or more produce melting baths much larger than them diameter as in Figure (6) and this type of device has no problem melting a standard filling wire to obtain a weld with a proportional and good correlation, and any gap of an opposing link to an insufficient metal in the fission zone, as well as in the overlapping links show gaps leaving a concave weld and in the opposing gaps more than 0.1mm allow a focused laser beam to pass well without absolute duplication of work [20].

Figure 6:Shows the feeding with a fine wire to add a filling material for the laser welding of a cold-forming steel mold.

Welding defects can be avoided by connecting to the deep penetration application as it is the ideal solution in laser welding by having a heat source below the surface of the product part so that it is a thermal center inside of hot steam surrounded by molten material. It occupies a small area but spreads through the fish. Its formation takes a fraction of 1000 of a second since the fall of the package and the molten part of the material moves on the surface under the pressure of steam, where it gathers in the form of small grains under the influence of gravity, viscosity and surface tension.

The granules play an important role in the mechanical properties of welding and from the thermal slope and pressure gradient in the welding areas, the material inside the thermal center is subjected to intense stirring movement and therefore heat is transferred by the effect of transporting the glowing granules of the material and the latent heat of melting. The center acts as a large energy tube that causes irritation and ionization of some atoms. One of the best characteristics of the thermal center is that the material around it acts as a thermal insulation and does not move to more parts of the welding area. The phenomenon demonstrates the extreme importance of penetrating welding with a weld depth of 10: 1 or greater, with limited thermal impact around the weld area. In addition, if an intermediate material is used in welding, it is formed in a crystalline form that acquires mechanical properties similar to the basic material or better, such as hardness, drag and compression coefficient [17].

“Table 1 shows the data of the ability of both gas-type CO2 lasers and solid-type YAG lasers to weld several metal ores commonly used in the production of metal product parts. The quality of welding is qualitatively listed. Some ferrous metals are well handled by CO2 lasers, but YAG lasers deal with non-ferrous metals with high conductivity such as copper and silver better. Alloys with a low evaporation component such as brass evaporate quickly and produce porous welding” [14].

Table 1:Shows the capacity data of both CO₂ lasers and YAG lasers in welding several metal ores are commonly used in the production of metal product parts.

Laser welding is seen as a high-precision jointing process and the process is automated. As for some other good methods of connecting parts of metal products, they typically contribute to characteristics, the most important of which is the low cost of hardware capital. Table 2 shows the advantages and disadvantages of other welding types [20]. Figure 7 shows some types of joint welding joints that can be applied by laser beam welding. (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welding)

Table 2:Shows the advantages and disadvantages of laser welding compared to some other methods of welding.

Figure 7:Shows the common welding types. 1) Opposite joint 2) V-shaped opposites 3) Overlapping 4) T

Figure 8 shows two-dimensional welding with a CO2 laser beam of a carbon steel plate along with a stainless-steel plate in a straight line. The seam welding is carried out by bunting first and then the seam welding is continued with a length of 190cm, a speed of 1.78m/min, a thickness of 3mm and a capacity of 3000 watts (http://www.alspi.com/welding1.wmv). Figure 9 shows the welding of two parts of stainless steel with a YAG laser beam.” (http://www.alspi.com/welding3.wmv). Figure 10 shows 3D CO2 laser welding of a cylindrical part (http://www.controlvisioninc. com/laserweld.mpg). Figure 11 shows welding with a YAG laser beam (http://www.controlvisioninc.com/yagweld.mpg). Figure 12 illustrates the robot welding system (http://www.alspi.com/ robotweld.wmv), and Figure 13 illustrates the welding of parts of products in a circular path (http://www.alspi.com/video (machining).wmv). Figure 14 shows a product (stainless steel polygon) welded to the laser beam with an arrow indicating the places of connection [19].

Figure 8:Shows CO₂ laser welding

Figure 9:Shows welding with YAG lasers.

Figure 10:Shows 3D CO₂ laser welding.

Figure 11:Shows welding with YAG lasers.

Figure 12:Shows the robot welding system.

Figure 13:Shows welding in a circular path.

Figure 14:Shows a product (stainless steel polygon) that has been laser welded with an arrow indicating the places of connection.

The use of the laser beam in the welding of differentiated metals requires conditions related to their properties to be taken into account, such as the difference in the degree of melting, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity. To achieve better welding, the beam can be turned towards the material with a higher degree of melting, conductivity and reflectivity (http://www.alspi.com/laser. htm). Figure 15 shows the welding of copper with stainless steel and Figure 16 shows the welding of silver with copper and stainless steel in a model of a dining fork [19]. Figure 17 shows the welding of a part of a stainless steel product, Figure 18 shows the welding line resulting after the process is carried out closely and around the thermal impact area of an enlarged part of the product and Figure 19 shows the part and the efficiency of its laser welding with the availability of clamping tools, Figure 20 shows a comparison between two works that show the superiority of laser welding in carrying load tests many times. (http://www.laser-community. com/start/operation-table_4134/). Figures 21-23 also illustrate laser beam welding applications for various metal parts of products (http://www.szcclaser.com).

Figure 15:Shows the welding of two parts of red copper and stainless steel to a forming device.

Figure 16:Shows the welding of parts of a fork in silver, copper and stainless steel.

Figure 17:Shows the welding of a part of a stainlesssteel product.

Figure 18:Shows the welding line close up and around the thermal impact area of an enlarged part of the product.

Figure 19:Shows the part and the efficiency of its laser welding with the availability of suitable clamping tools.

Figure 20:Shows a comparison between two occupants that show the superiority of laser welding in enduring pregnancy tests many times.

Figure 21:Demonstrates laser beam welding applications for various metal parts of products.

Figure 22:Demonstrates laser beam welding applications for various metal parts of products.

Figure 23:Demonstrates laser beam welding applications for various metal parts of products.

Laser beam welding is carried out using a variety of machines: Figure 24 shows the Trumpf robot laser welding machine. It has many production advantages, such as welding at high speed and obtaining clean and soft welding layers and it only needs a minimum of preparation and processing before performing welding.” (http:// www.laser-community.com/start/operation-table_4134/). Co2 5-axis laser beam welding machines with a capacity of 2200 watts with multiple fittings can drill and cut, in addition to welding large, identical and different sized 3D parts, which reduces the preparation time, makes it convenient, increases the capacity of the laser beam, keeps the work part stable during processing and eliminates errors caused by the transmission of the part, thus allowing more accurate welding, cost reduction and the completion of tracks up to 250cm and the welding of disparate metals (http://www.alspi.com/video (5axis).htm).

Figure 24:Shows the robot laser welding machine.

Figure 25 shows the galvanometric laser beam welding machine. This system of machines defects the limited working space, but it is cheaper than other beam welding machines. Figure 26 also shows the laser beam welding machine, which is specially prepared for cutting jewelry. Figure 27 also shows the laser welding machine, which is characterized by full automation, Figure 28 shows the laser welding machine is used to weld the core and metal forming means and Figure 29 shows the laser welding machine with the optical fiber system (http://www.szcclaser.com/en/index.asp).

Figure 25:Shows the galvanometric laser beam welding machine.

Figure 26:Shows the laser point welding machine for cutting jewelry.

Figure 27:The laser welding machine is fully automated.

Figure 28:Shows the laser welding machine for core and metal forming means.

Figure 29:Fiber optic laser welding machine.

Figure 30:Shows several common types of joint shapes that can be applied by laser beam welding in metal parts of products.

The design and shapes of the joints used in laser welding operations vary and Figure 30 shows some of the commonly used joints in this field [15].

The results of the study identified the technological requirements and advantages of using laser beam welding technology in the metal parts of the products and showed the extent to which the welded parts are distinguished by this technology from other ordinary methods. With the widespread use of this technology in products, it is expected that the advantages obtained through this process will match the high cost of capital of the devices and machines that are defective in this technology. Also, in the not-too-distant future, we can reach through operation a stage of equilibrium between the cost of equipment and preparation and the financial return obtained from operation. But we cannot overlook the ordinary welding methods that contribute to the most important characteristics of reducing the cost of capital of devices and machines at the expense of limited advantages [21-35].

The study was able to identify the most important requirements for the technology of using laser beam welding in metal products, which are as follows:
A. Focus on where to weld.
B. The parts of the product are not exposed to the distortion of the incident around the weld joint.
C. Obtaining parts for the product without being affected by the welding heat used around the joint.
D. To use the minimum heat in welding the parts of the product.
E. The laser provides welding of product parts of similar and dissimilar (different ore) ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
F. Do not use an intermediate material to connect the two parts of the product.
G. Obtaining the parts of the product to be connected so that they do not require finishing after completing the performance of the welding process in the package.
H. Connect the thin parts of the product.
I. Obtaining a welding joint for high-precision product parts, at a lower cost, and at a faster speed.
J. The use of an automated method is carried out without human intervention.
K. Completion of welding joints for parts of products in large quantities and in record time.
L. The study recommends activating cooperation between specialized departments in universities, research centers and production institutions in the field of laser beam welding and electronic beam welding.

Activating the use of laser beam and electronic beam welding technology in the Egyptian industry.

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