The use of Hand-Held Laser Welding (HHLW) systems in the industry has been rapidly growing in recent years as an alternative solution to conventional manual arc-based welding systems. The decreasing cost of fiber laser sources and optics has been a driving factor in enabling a wider use of HHLW systems, beyond the established advantages of laser technology with respect to arc-based systems. While the industrial use of HHLW increases, the subject matter has been studied sparingly in the scientific literature. Due to the intrinsic flexibility of the technology, HHLW systems are highly appealing for joining relatively low thickness metals (≤2 mm) in autogenous configuration in sectors where production lots present low batch and high variability. However, a critical aspect of HHLW is correlated to the operator skill, where welding velocities can vary within and between the welds affecting both their aesthetic and mechanical properties. Hence, the development of combined digital and physical approaches to support manual operations may be highly beneficial. The current study presents an open laboratory HHLW system designed for process development purposes. Beyond conventional manual welding operations, the welding torch could be arranged in different configurations. The system could be combined with a linear axis (enabling welding with stable velocity and inclination) or manually with the aid of a newly developed roller device designed to provide constant speed and inclination. First, the process was benchmarked by joining in butt weld configuration 2 mm thick AISI301LN stainless steel sheets with the linear axis. Successively, four operators with different levels of training (rookie and professional) realized welds with the system in hand-held configuration and with the mechanical roller. The weld width variability was assessed as a direct indicator for aesthetic compliance while tensile tests were allowed to determine the mechanical properties of the joint obtained with different configurations.
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February 2023
Research Article|
December 22 2022
Hand-Held Laser Welding of AISI301LN for components with aesthetic requirements: Toward the integration of machine and human intelligence
Leonardo Caprio
;
Leonardo Caprio
a)
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
, Via Giuseppe La Masa 1, Milano, Italy
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; electronic mail: leonardo.caprio@polimi.it
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Giulio Borzoni
;
Giulio Borzoni
(Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
, Via Giuseppe La Masa 1, Milano, Italy
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Barbara Previtali
;
Barbara Previtali
(Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
, Via Giuseppe La Masa 1, Milano, Italy
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Ali Gökhan Demir
Ali Gökhan Demir
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano
, Via Giuseppe La Masa 1, Milano, Italy
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; electronic mail: leonardo.caprio@polimi.it
Note: Paper published as part of the special topic on Proceedings of the International Congress of Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics 2022.
J. Laser Appl. 35, 012008 (2023)
Article history
Received:
June 18 2022
Accepted:
November 30 2022
Citation
Leonardo Caprio, Giulio Borzoni, Barbara Previtali, Ali Gökhan Demir; Hand-Held Laser Welding of AISI301LN for components with aesthetic requirements: Toward the integration of machine and human intelligence. J. Laser Appl. 1 February 2023; 35 (1): 012008. https://doi.org/10.2351/7.0000746
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