Laser welding of automotive body components is now being focused in Japan, where in the past laser applications were restricted to cutting and drilling. There are a few success reports in laser welding of three-dimensional parts.

Recently, a center pillar with an innovative flangeless design was introduced by one Japanese automotive manufacturer for its stylish hardtop model. It was impossible to fabricate the pillar with conventional spot welding methods because the weld access is only available on one side. A high power CO2 laser was finally selected because of its single-sided welding capabilities, fast welding speed, deep penetration and small thermal distortion attributes.

Through complete evaluation, a rectilinear cantilever robot system with indexing fixtures was developed by Sanyo Machine Works, Ltd. Machine design concept and details are described here with the evaluation process for determining what type of machine was desirable for this laser welding application.

1.
D.A.
Belforte
,
”Auto Application Shift into High Gear
”,
Industrial Laser Review
, vol.
8
, No.
2
(
1993
), pp.
11
12
.
2.
H.
Natsumi
, et al,
”Development of Manufacturing Engineering with Laser Blank Welding
” (in Japanese),
Annual Meeting Proceeding of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan
(
1990
), pp.
245
.
3.
J. C.
Mombo-Caristan
, et al,
”Tailored Welded Blanks: A New Alternative in Automobile Body design
”,
Industrial Laser Annual Handbook
,
1992
4.
J. A.
Vaccari
,
”CO2 and YAG Lasers Tackle Tougher Tasks
”,
American Machinist
, Vol.
136
, No. 3 (
1992
), pp.
37
48
5.
S.
Nomura
and
M.
Watanabe
,
”Introduction of Emeraude
” (in Japanese),
J. of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan
, Vol.
47
, No. 1 (
1993
), pp.
78
83
.
6.
K.
Takahashi
and
N.
Matsuzaki
,
”Laser Welding application of Automotive Body Components
” (in Japanese),
29th Annual Meeting Proceeding of Japan Laser Processing Society
7.
Catalogues of Articulated Laser Robots
8.
I.
Miyamoto
et al,
”Analysis of Laser Plasma Plume for Monitoring
” (in Japanese),
26th Annual Meeting Proceeding of Japan Laser Processing Society
9.
K.
Zimmermann
,
R.
Poprawe
et al,
”Aspects for Quality Assurance with a Plasma-Monitoring System during Laser Beam Welding
”,
Thyssen’s Technical Information
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.