Comprehensive analysis of the capillary depth in deep penetration laser welding

Florian Fetzer; Meiko Boley; Rudolf Weber; Thomas Graf

doi:10.1117/12.2250500

22 February 2017 Comprehensive analysis of the capillary depth in deep penetration laser welding

Florian Fetzer, Meiko Boley, Rudolf Weber, Thomas Graf

Proceedings Volume 10097, High-Power Laser Materials Processing: Applications, Diagnostics, and Systems VI; 1009709 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2250500
Event: SPIE LASE, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Laser welding is the state of the art joining technology regarding productivity and thermal loads and stress on the workpiece. In deep penetration laser welding the quality of the resultant welds strongly depends on the stability of the capillary. The highly dynamic depth fluctuations are of major influence on the controllability of the laser welding process and on the prevention of weld defects. In the present paper the capillary dynamics is investigated by means of time- and spatially resolved in-process X-ray imaging and optical coherence tomography. The X-ray diagnostics allows measuring the geometry of the capillary with frame rates of 1 kHz, while the optical coherence tomography enables the determination of the capillary depth with an acquisition rate of up to 70 kHz. These measurements are correlated to time varying input laser power to provide profound insight in the dynamics of the laser welding process. The measurements are performed for copper, aluminum and mild steel. The capillary depth resulting from arbitrary laser power modulation was investigated. Thereby, the response of the capillary depth to laser power changes was determined. Based on these measurements the changes of the capillary depth in deep penetration laser welding were described by methods known from control theory. These analyses can be utilized to optimize control strategies, to calibrate transient simulations of deep penetration laser welding and to identify the influence of material properties.

Citation Download Citation

Florian Fetzer, Meiko Boley, Rudolf Weber, and Thomas Graf "Comprehensive analysis of the capillary depth in deep penetration laser welding", Proc. SPIE 10097, High-Power Laser Materials Processing: Applications, Diagnostics, and Systems VI, 1009709 (22 February 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2250500

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available