KUKA Systems is showcasing its considerable process engineering know-how in the fields of welding, joining, assembling and handling at the LASER - World of Photonics 2009 trade fair in Munich. The spotlight there will be on its robot-based welding module KS HYBRIDTEC, an in-house development for laser hybrid welding from KUKA.
While laser welding techniques have limits in terms of gap-bridging capability, metal protective gas (MPG) welding produces intense heat and hence distortion in the module, which in turn necessitates increased expenditure on straighten-ing. As a technique that combines arc and laser, the higher welding speed of KS HYBRIDTEC achieves lower energy input per unit of length with greater pene-tration depths than the MPG process alone.
The newly developed KS HYBRIDTEC combines the advantages of both techniques and provides a variety of settings and integrated sensor technology, enabling the user to find the ideal adjustment for his application. In particular, combinations with the new high-power laser sources make it possible to move into areas of application that have so far been the preserve of arc welding.
“The growing acceptance of laser technology in sectors such as railway vehicle construction, automotive engineering and shipbuilding has spurred us on to develop and implement innovative and customer-oriented cell solutions right now,” says Siegfried Heissler, laser product group manager at KUKA Systems. “Laser hybrid welding techniques bring numerous benefits in terms of process stability, speed and costs, especially in welding jobs with particularly thick-walled materials.“
The main advantages of the laser hybrid welding process compared to conventional laser beam or MPG welding are specifically:
- Improved process stability as a result of combining both techniques
- Increased productivity thanks to higher process speeds
- Reduced component distortion due to significantly lower heat production and consequent reduction in reworking
- Reduction of expenditure on joint preparation
- Greater tolerance
- Lower costs
The KUKA Systems stand at the LASER - World of Photonics 2009
in Munich is located in Hall C2, No. 341 from 15 to 18 June.
www.world-of-photonics.net
www.laser.de