Among the non-heat treatable aluminium alloys the Aluminium-Magnesium alloys, which are known as 5xxx series, have good strengths that are achieved by magnesium in solid solution.
They still have very good weldability and deformability. Therefore, following the trend to substitute automobile parts with light alloys, the Al-Mg alloys have received raising interest from automotive industry.
In this paper 5005 and 5052 Al-Mg alloys welding was investigated. The CO2 laser and MIG arc sources were used simultaneously.
The bead geometry was studied versus the welding parameters for 3 mm thick plates. Moreover bead-on-plate welds were obtained for 10 mm thickness, which represent a good benchmark for further investigation.
In particular the focal position, the scanning speed, and the power were the adjustable parameters of the laser.
The MIG gun-to-laser beam distance and the gun-tilting angle also varied. The former variation in distance permitted to compare coupled and combined working conditions.