Product category:
Laser and electron beam welding
News Release from: Trumpf | Subject: Laser deposition welding - tool repair
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 November 2007
Laser deposition welds correct tooling
wear
Using the laser deposition welding process with metal wire or metal powder consumables can build up won surfaces on power press tooling or plastics moulds.
Laser deposition welding is the answer to the wearing of expensive tools or design changes just before production starts, said Trumpf The company will present the right lasers and laser systems at the EuroMold 2007 exhibition in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, this December
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 21 Jun 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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The TruLaser Station 5004 laser workstation with integrated TruPulse 156 solid-state laser for deposition laser welding with wire will be shown by Trumpf for the first time.
For deposition laser welding with powder, the TruLaser Station 5010 with the new DepositionLine technology package.
The multi-function machine can be quickly converted to manual wire build-up welding.
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* Laser Metal Deposition - deposition laser welding, also called Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), is a generative laser process, in which metal is built up in layers on existing tools and components.
This laser-based welding procedure offers great savings potential for making small modifications or design changes to the end product and for correcting processing faults.
Volume build-up can be used to compensate for failures, achieve specified nominal dimensions and make old components useable again with little effort.
The material characteristics and the load capacity of the original component are retained.
The durability of the repaired form is comparable to that of a newly made mold insert.
Laser welding is constantly increasing in acceptance, primarily in tool and mold construction.
At the same time, the demands of users for machines and laser devices are also increasing.
* TruLaser Station 5004 - the machine is a compact and ergonomic workstation for deposition laser welding with wire With the TruLaser Station, Trumpf offers a product family for manual and semi-automated processing.
The laser manufacturer will present the newest member of the family, the TruLaser Station 5004, at EuroMold 2007.
This processing concept is based on a compact and ergonomic machine concept.
All linear motions are performed by the laser beam while the workpiece remains stationary.
Trumpf told manufacturingtalk.com that this makes it possible to weld with great precision with simultaneously long travel distances and high workpiece weight.
The TruLaser Station 5004 is extremely compact with a footprint under 1.5m2.
Lasers with outputs up to 150W and vacuum extraction are integrated.
The machine has an integrated microscope.
The view into the microscope can be individually set to a wide variety of positions; the same applies to the arm rest.
The most important laser parameters can be displayed in the user's field of vision in the microscope.
The control system addresses three linear axes and an optional rotational axis simultaneously.
It allows three processing types, as follows.
* Manual welding and set-up.
* Guided welding with supplementary wire.
* Automatic NC welding without additional material.
* High-performance pulsed laser - the precondition for optimal use of the workstation - and successful tool repair, said Trumpf - is the laser.
The new TruPulse lasers are lighter and more compact than their predecessors.
They can be integrated into the machine as with the TruLaser Station 5004 at laser outputs up to 150W.
Otherwise the user profits from the limited floor space occupied.
Additionally, the TruPulse Lasers are uncomplicated to move using conventional machine rollers.
All machines up to 150W average laser power are available with a water/air or a water/water heat exchanger.
If an air-cooled laser is installed, connecting cooling water is unnecessary.
The TruPulse laser has a removeable operator panel with touchscreen and turn-push button that allows simple handling of the new laser control system.
This lets the welder change laser parameters literally with a single motion of the hand or a finger.
As a further advantage, the optimised real-time power control is reflected directly in the welding result.
It offers two crucial advantages, as follows.
1 - The very high pulse-to-pulse stability (typically better than +/-0.3% at 10ms pulse duration) provides for welding results that remain the same - even in very different environmental conditions.
The laser parameters are also age-independent, as the power control compensates for unavoidable aging of the flash lamps.
This means that the user can consistently achieve the same welding results.
2 - Pulse shaping facilitates the welding of problematic materials.
Using the graphical pulse shape editor, the user can create pulse shapes, which adapt to the material to be welded and the desired welding depth.
Using pulse shaping, the welder can influence the temperature guidance of the molten material, thereby optimising the quality of the welding.
The average power of the applicable TruPulse lasers varies from 20W to 530W at a pulse power of up to 10kW.
The more powerful TruPulse lasers offer high flexibility with regard to the desired build-up volume.
Wire diameters from 0.15mm to more than 1.0mm can be welded with the same laser at high pulse frequencies.
* Deposition laser welding with powder - higher laser power is also optimal for deposition laser welding with powder, which is increasingly being used in addition to the welding with supplementary wire.
In this process, the laser generates a molten bath on the existing surface, into which one or more metal powders is sprayed using a nozzle.
The powder also melts and combines with the base material.
Bit by bit, a new material layer is deposited.
Trumpf said it achieved the 'breakthrough' for wide industrial use of the procedure with a special nozzle that optimally positions and guides the metal powder used and the protective gas for screening the welding point.
For deposition laser welding with powder, Trumpf is showing the TruLaser Station 5010 with the new DepositionLine technology package.
This laser workstation can be equipped with any TruPulse laser.
It is suitable both for manual welding and for automated processing.
Because all axes are contained in the optics, the TruLaser Station 5010 is suitable for both small and large workpieces.
Powder deposition welding is as easy as can be due to DepositionLine, said Tumpf to manufacturingtalk.com.
This technology package consists of a powder conveyor, a powder conveyor line and the processing optics with powder nozzle. Request a free brochure from Trumpf ...
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