Multitalented LasersWhy and where Lasers are

used in Industry

A presentation for

SubCon 2005

by

Stephen Ainsworth

26th May 2005

Where are Lasers used inIndustry?

• Research and Development

• Communications

• Computers and Electronics

• Cutting

• Welding

• Hardening and Surface Treatment

• Marking

• Measurement

• Bar Code Reading

• Part Present Sensing

Why are Lasers used inIndustry?

• Flexibility

• Non Contact process

• Single sided accessonly required

• Very Small HeatAffected Zone

• Low Maintenance

• Long Service Life

• Simple low costfixturing required

Which Industries use Lasers?

• Virtually every Industry in the World usesLasers in some aspect of their process,whether in development, data storage,communications, manufacture, packaging,distribution or point of sale –

• from nano-technology to shipbuilding.

• So let us look at the Automotive Industry toprovide some examples

Combustion Research

• By directing a beam of Laser Light intothe combustion chamber of an internalcombustion engine – you can:– investigate the path of the flame front

– Assess the degree of fuel atomisation achieved

– Measure the temperature profile within the chamber

– Analyse the chemical content of the exhaust gasesproduced

• Research directed to improve EngineEfficiency, improving Fuel Economy andreducing Emissions

Automotive Electronics

• Development of “Drive by Wire” Systems

• Fibre Optic communication betweendevices using data bus architecture– To reduce system power required

– To eliminate faults caused by reduced voltage

– Reduce weight and complexity of wiring looms

• Faster system response

• Increase Feature Content withoutdegrading performance or increasingweight

Body in White Assembly

• Lasers are used in each of the key areasof BIW assembly– Production of Tailor Welded Blanks

– Cutting

– Welding

– Marking

– Surface Preparation

– Non Contact Measurement

Tailor Welded Blanks

• Use Laser Welding to produce Steel or AluminiumBlanks ready for Press or Hydro Forming

• Allow different material specifications, treatmentsand thicknesses to be mixed in one Blank

• Allow use of Design for Manufacture principles

• Reduces the number of panels and joints within abody shell structure

• Allow predictable and repeatable crashperformance of critical parts

What is the benefit of TailorWelded Blanks?

• Elimination of reinforcement panels

• Simplification of Assembly

• Reduction in weight

• Reduction of Cost

• Improved N.V.H. performance

• Reduced sealing requirement

• Ideal tool for Design for Manufacture

Tailor Welded Blank Examples

Oversize Blanks Possible

Tailored Blanks for Hydroforming

• Can use folded sheet or tube– Laser Welded seam allows use of dissimilar materials

and varied thickness

• Opportunity for self location in form

• Significantly reduces the part count

• Hydroformed parts give optimal crashperformance– Allows closer correlation between simulation and

reality

Hydroformed blank example

Laser Cutting

• Flatbed 2D Cutting– For producing blanks

– For producing flat components

– For cutting Trim Materials• Plastic

• Leather

• Fabric

• Pressboard

• Wood

• 3D Laser Cutting

2D Flat Bed Cutting

• 30m/min cutting speeds mean that thiscan be competitive with conventionalblanking dies

• Flexibility of Laser allows– Quick introduction of modifications

– Quick change from one part to the next.

• Very small heat affected zone allows veryclose nesting of parts to be done– Maximises material utilisation

2D Flatbed Cutting Examples

Applications of 3D Laser Cutting

• Trimming 3D Panels

• Adding features to panels

• Cutting Hydroformed components

• Cutting Plastic and SMC Mouldings

• Cutting accurate features in assemblies

• Reducing aperture variation

• Late Model Customisation

Advantages of 3D Laser Cutting

• Non Contact Process

• Access from one side only

• Flexibility

• Access to any surface of Panel

• Simple low cost fixturing

• Same unit can process differentmaterials

• Ability to produce accurate fine feature

• Cost effective at low and high volumes

Trimming Panels

• Used to replace Trim Tools for lowvolume applications– Economic up to 12000 units per annum

• Allows difficult or delicate areas of theDrawn Shell to be trimmed

• Allows early introductions ofmodifications

• Allows easy manufacture prototypepanels

Replace Trim Tools withLaser Cutting for Low Volumes

Car set of 18 panels – 3000 sets per annum

Total Project Cost:Trim Tools - £ 2255000Laser Cutting - £ 1840000

£120Cost/panelset

£45Cost/panelset

£400,000Total£1,715,000Total

£ 50,000Fixturingetc.

£350,000Capital Cost£1,715,000CapitalCost

Trim Tools Laser Cutting

Adding Features to Panels

• Cutting features in Panels in Car Line– Allows optimised positioning of blank in Die

– Reduces or eliminates need for complex Cam Dies

• Cutting true shapes in panels

• Allows easy derivatisation from standarddrawn shell– Eliminates need to interrupt die run to pull punches etc.

• Reduces work in progress

Aperture Cutting Example

Cutting Hydroformed Parts

• Cutting Self Jigging Features– To locate parts together for assembly

– To locate brackets in place on surface ofhydroformed parts

• Produce location holes and Slots inparts– Allows trim panels to be assembled straight to

assemblies

• Cutting features or complex shapes inparts

Cutting Hydroformed Parts

Cutting Joints in Tubes

Cutting Plastic Mouldings

• Access from one side only– Can cut and trim blow mouldings

• Fuel Tanks

• Ability to cut in 3 dimensions

• YAG Lasers require Plastics to be inoculated toabsorb YAG Laser wavelength

• SMC panels can be trimmed– Eliminates Dust Hazard of Mechanical trimming

• Quicker and more flexible than Hot Wire trimming

• Care must be taken to control fume hazard

Late Model Customisation

• Keep Assembly as standard as possible aslate as possible in the process

• Produce derivatising feature at last possibleopportunity

• Reduce scheduling to a minimum

• Reduce Inventory and simplify Press Cycle

• Optimise Assembly Design for L.M.C.– Removal of cut slugs

– Access for Laser Head

Late Model Customisation

Laser Welding

• 2 types of Laser Welding– With Filler Wire

– Without Filler Wire

• Laser Brazing

• Hybrid Welding Systems– Plasma Assisted

– TIG Assisted

– High Frequency Induction Assisted

Applications of Laser Welding

• Seam Welding

• Stitch Welding

• Spot Welding

• Remote Welding

• Laser Brazing

Applications of Laser Welding

Advantages of Laser Welding

• Single sided access only required– Success based on fit up of parts

– Zinc coated parts must have escape route for zinc vapour

• Non contact process

• Small Heat Affected Zone gives more penetration depthcontrol– No “Show Through”

– Less removal of Zinc Coating

• A 30mm Laser Welded Stitch gives 30% betterperformance than conventional 50mm spaced spotwelds

• Narrower flanges can be used– 19mm standard width can be reduced to 8mm

• Reduced weight

• Reduced Cost

Manufacturing Costs

•VW Golf Mark IV Body!1.4 metres of Laser Welding!4500 Resistance Spot Welds

•VW Golf Mark V Body!74 metres of Laser Welding &Brazing!1500 Resistance Spot Welds

25% reduction in Manufacturing TimeMuch higher Torsional Rigidity

Laser Welding Examples

Welding in Cosmetic Areas

• Narrow weld means it can be easilyhidden by finisher– Weld width is 0.9t to 1.2t max (where t is thickness of

thinnest material in stack)

• Controllability of penetration depthmeans that it is possible to weld withoutshow through on cosmetic side– Welding direct to pre-painted panels possible

• Laser Brazing can produce joints that donot need finishing– New VW Polo/Golf/Passat Roof to Bodyside joint

– Drop Panels on Bootlids and Tailgates

Application of Laser Brazing

• Laser Beam melts brazing wire from separatewire feed mechanism

• Ideal for making joints in areas of poor fit up, orwhere good sealing is required– Gap can be up to 1.5 times wire diameter

• Primarily used where peel is the most likely formof failure in crash (i.e. Roof Joints)– Brazed joints yield before failure in peel

• Excellent for cosmetic joints– Bootlid/Tailgate drop panel joints

– Roof joint on new VW Polo/Golf/Passat

VW Polo Roof Joint

Laser Brazing Examples

Laser Brazing System for Closures

Laser Brazed Decklid

Opel/Vauxhall Vectra Tailgate(note use of Diode Laser)

BMW 5 Series bootlid

Laser Spotwelding

• Single Sided Access only required

• Can be single spot or series of stitchwelds

• Beam Delivery fibres can easily be builtinto fixturing– Simplifies clamping design

• Works with any Fibre Delivery Laser

• Excellent for giving handling strength toAdhesive Bonded Structures– Reduces effect of adhesive cure time on process

Laser Spotwelding

Laser Spotwelding

Remote Welding

• Relatively new process– Based around moving optics

– Stationary part allows optimised clamping

• Particularly suited to welding aroundbodyside door apertures and doors

• Gives flexibility to line to allow randommodel mix down line– Saloon, Hatchback, Coupe, Estate

Remote Welding Cell

R

a b

!y

+!y

+!x

Z

!x

(x,y,z)

x

y

Principle of Remote Welding

Remote Welding application

Application of Hybrid Welding

• Plasma– Particularly for Aluminium

• Faster weld speed

• Superior deposition rate

• TIG– Steel process for high metal deposition rate

• High Frequency Induction– For deep welds in Steel (25mm plus)

– For welding dissimilar steels for shafts etc.

Laser Hardening

• Used on Press Tools to significantlyreduce manufacturing time and costs

• Used to harden precise areas of acomponent without distortion

• Hardening patterns can be optimised toallow a combination of Hardness andLubrication retention

• Allows the optimisation of materialusage

Laser Hardening Application

Surface Preparation

• Principally used to prepare surfaces foradhesive application– To roughen surfaces

• To provide key for adhesives

– To clean surfaces• Of Mill Oil

• Of Storage protection

• Of coating materials

Laser Marking

• Used to mark components– Stress free indelible mark produced by Laser

– 3D Bar Codes being used to combat counterfeit parts

• Produce Bar Code labels for Production Control

• Produce statutory labels on “Just in Time” Basis

• Marking Airbag number through windscreen

• Marking Instrument Binnacles through clearcover

• Deep marking VIN number onto StatutoryIdentity Plate

• Flexibility of Laser allows same Laser to Mark,Scribe or Cut (widely used in PackagingIndustry)

Laser Marking

Non contact measurement

• Uses Laser Cameras to measure– Form

– Critical characteristic dimensions

– Apertures

• 7 second cycle time allows in cyclemeasurement

• Allows “Best Fit” to be calculated forDoor Assembly, and door positioned tosuit.

Non contact measurement

Individual Component Manufacture

• Lasers are used to– Reduce waste

• Allows near net shape parts to becombined

– Reduce costs

• Material Costs

• Manufacturing time

• Reduced Inventory

– Optimise material specification

– Improve Quality

– Improve durability

– Improve design

• Reducing Component Size

Laser Welded ComponentAssembly Examples

3rd Motion ShaftAssembly

Laser Weldedwith HighFrequency

Induction Pre-Heating

AutomaticTransmission Drum

AssemblyLaser Weldedwhere shown

Conclusion

• Numerous Laser Applications within Industryin all Types and Tiers of Manufacturing

• New practical applications being developed allthe time

• Take Up is limited by lack of knowledge ofprocess both in Design and Manufacturing– Seen as a risk process

• Component and assembly design is key toimproved take up

• Technologies used can be easily applied toany Industry– From Clothing and Jewellery to Ship Building