Precitec WeldMaster ScanTrack & Inspect – Process and quality control of laser beam remote welding for body-in-white work

Numerous trends characterise the use of lasers in the automotive area. The use of high-strength steels, weight-saving aluminium alloy, innovative joining technologies and unusual material mixtures leads to the superior target of making vehicles safer and more efficient. Nowadays, process monitoring systems around laser joining are very important in order to ensure both the process stability and the quality. Process monitoring is divided into pre-, in- and post-monitoring. The Precitec WeldMaster platform combines all different process steps. Both the online seam tracking and the seam monitoring can be realised during the laser welding process by means of laser triangulation and grey zone evaluation with only one camera.

The superior target of reducing the weight of vehicle bodies has a significant effect on the used materials and connection geometries. The introduction of aluminium in combination with short flanges reduces the weight on the one hand and leads to more complex joining processes on the other hand. Hot cracks are the biggest challenge in this context. The state-of-the-art is the use of silicon-based filler wires in order to reduce the number of resulting hot cracks.

WeldMaster
Due to the combination of the tracking functions of the Precitec WeldMaster with the ScanTracker scanning module and the laser power control, it is possible to address new process approaches. The ScanTracker is used in order to laterally oscillate the focussed laser beam and to superimpose it with high frequencies. Additionally, it is possible to apply a synchronous laser power modulation. This results in a precise power distribution in lateral direction, which makes the energy input to the workpiece locally soluble and thus significantly reduces the heat input and renders the filler material unnecessary.

Gap bridging
In case of fillet weld applications, it is possible to measure a possible gap between upper and lower sheet on the basis of laser triangulation prior to the actual laser process. The process parameters such as laser power, lateral position or power modulation of the laser beam can be adjusted accordingly. This leads to a controlled and robust gap bridging.

Quality monitoring
The seam geometry is an important indicator for the achieved quality. Defined geometric values, such as seam width, collapsed seams or seam bending can be measured directly in-situ subsequent to the processing and be evaluated by means of image processing. This is also based on laser triangulation and grey level analysis. As a consequence, the information on the quality of the component is available immediately, parts can be ejected and reworked instantaneously.

Customer benefits
Due to the use of the WeldMaster ScanTrack & Inspect for aluminium door production at the company Audi, it was possible to reduce the process time for the welding of relevant fillet welds by 53%. The increasingly important CO2 balance could be optimised by 24% due to the low energy input (-47%) and the associated declining laser power. Current costs, e.g. for filler wire or protection slide modules, could be reduced significantly by 95% [source: Audi AG, Dr. Jan-Philipp Weberpals, EALA2015, EALA2016].

Due to the possibility of in-situ quality monitoring, it is possible to completely dispense with separate subsequent stations in the production run. Consequently, the total investment could also be reduced by 24% due to the omission of separate quality monitoring stations and the necessary intermediate buffer [source: Audi AG, Dr. Jan-Philipp Weberpals, EALA2015, EALA2016].

By now, the WeldMaster ScanTrack & Inspect is used in series for applications around cars throughout the world. In addition to versatile aluminium applications, the WeldMaster can also be used for steel connections and compositions.

Laser Welding at AUDI - Remote Welding of Aluminum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5i7ZRuu75o

Lasermaterialbearbeitung Precitec WeldMaster ScanTrack

You may also be interested in this

InVison Award 2024 for Enovasense

Enovasense honored as inVision Top Innovation 2024

Thickness measurement of opaque and semi-transparent coatings with laser photothermal technology.


Once again this year, a jury consisting of the…

Learn more

Donation for a good cause

For a good cause

For 2024, we have once again decided to support various charitable institutions and organizations in our region. We are therefore delighted that the…

Learn more

Award for Precitec in the categorie "Innovation"

Receiving recognition in the "Innovation" category from the World Economic Forum was a genuine honour for Precitec. This acknowledgment serves as a…

Learn more

We are finalists for the Best Of Industry Awards

We took part in the Best Of Industry Award competition with the ProCutter 2.0 laser cutting head and are pleased to be recognized as a finalist in the…

Learn more

Customer talk during the CIIF trade fair

Successful CIIF Show

At the CIIF trade fair, Precitec met with many customers and partners for a personal exchange to get a better and up-to-date understanding of the…

Learn more

Employees Precitec India

Precitec India founded

With anticipation, all future employees of the newly established Precitec India Pvt. Ltd. gathered for a momentous celebration marking the start of a…

Learn more

Laser World of Photonics was a great show for Precitec

Laser World of Photonics in Munich was a great place to be

A really great week at the Laser World of Photonics in Munich is behind us. As the world's leading platform for the laser and photonics industry, the…

Learn more

Precitec has become part of New Champion Community

We are pleased to announce that Precitec was invited to join the World Economic Forum as a New Champion. The New Champion network consists of more…

Learn more

Cladding head CoaxPrinter has been awarded the Ringier Technology Innovation award

New award for the CoaxPrinter, laser optic for cladding with coaxial wire

The CoaxPrinter, presented at several trade fairs in China, received the Ringier Technology Innovation award in the laser processing category. The…

Learn more

Precitec Optronik winner of Prism Award 2023

Flying Spot Scanner 310 winner of 2023 Prism Award

24 companies across eight categories were honored at the SPIE Prism Awards gala evening on February 1 during the Photonics West trade show in San…

Learn more