Case studies of industrial applications of high-power diode laser in Finland

摘要

The high power diode laser is a new industrial tool. It has several advantages and disadvantages compared to the conventional industrially used CO₂ and Nd:YAG laser. The most promising areas of application of diode laser have been considered to be thin sheet welding and hardening. Quite a few feasibility studies of the use of diode laser have been carried out in Finland. So far there has been some application in which diode laser is the most suitable laser. Typically, the HPDL is integrated to an industrial robot. The welding of stainless steel housing, car door lock and catalytic converters are typical examples of applications in which diode laser has technological as well as economical advantages over the conventional laser and welding techniques. The welding of these products requires good control over the heat input, short through put time and low investment. The weld cross-section of a diode laser weld is, because of conduction limited welding process, more suitable for these applications than the keyhole welding. Hardening of a large gear wheel presents also a good example of an application in which the diode laser makes it possible to economically produce structures that have not earlier been possible. Hardening requires a special form of heat delivery in order to ensure evenly hardened zone and acceptable quality. The application was performed with two high power diode lasers. The case studies of these four applications are presented and discussed in details in this paper.