Welding World Magazine Dec/Jan 2017-2018_V8lo

18
NEWS
HIGH SPEED AND
OUTSTANDING QUALITY
various applications, in the automotive
industry, shipbuilding or pipeline
construction, for example. A robot holder
forms the link between the LaserHybrid
head and an industrial robot. This gives
the LaserHybrid head the flexibility it
requires to access difficult-to-reach areas
of the component. The welding wire can
be placed in any position with respect to
the laser beam, thus enabling the joining
process to be adapted precisely to the
wide variety of seam preparations,
outputs, wire types, wire grades and
joining tasks.
Cost-effective, reliable, consistently
precise and, above all, fast – the
requirements placed on automated
welding processes in the automotive
industry, shipbuilding and pipeline
construction continue to rise: it must be
possible to join thick sheets as well as
thin sheets in series production with
increasing speed and quality.
This is where LaserHybrid welding, for
example, can bring greater profitability.
This welding process combines laser and
gas metal arc welding in a single process,
making optimal use of the synergies. Users
primarily benefit from a highly stable
welding process, less preliminary work
and rework along with high speeds and
quality. Fronius is now also offering the
LaserHybrid welding process together
with the intelligent TPS/i power source to
provide an additional increase in
performance.
LaserHybrid welding is a combination of
two different welding processes: laser
welding and gas metal arc welding
(GMAW). A special focusing lens is used to
focus the laser beam. This creates a high
energy density, which quickly melts the
material. The result is very deep
penetration as well as high speed and
strength. Another advantage of this
welding process is the low thermal load
and thus low distortion. Gas metal arc
welding involves melting the wire
electrode under a gas shroud. The gas
used emerges on the welding torch
around the wire, keeping the welding
location free from oxygen and thereby
preventing oxidation. The advantages of
gas metal arc welding include its
outstanding gap-bridging ability, easy
seam preparation and targeted
manipulation of the heat input.
THE LASERHYBRID HEAD FORMS THE
HEART OF THE WELDING PROCESS
Fronius has taken the key characteristics,
benefits and advantages of both welding
processes and brought them together in a
single system. During LaserHybrid
welding, a laser beam initially heats the
surface of the component, resulting in
deep, narrow penetration. The arc then
forms a wide weld pool to provide
outstanding gap-bridging ability. At the
same time, deep penetration can be
achieved. At the heart of the welding
system is a compact LaserHybrid head with
an integrated MIG/MAG welding torch
and built-in laser optics. Different
welding heads are
available for
HYBRID SYSTEM:
QUICK, COST-EFFECTIVE AND POWERFUL
The interplay between GMAW and laser
welding results in an extremely stable
welding process with a high degree of
thermal efficiency. The LaserHybrid
welding process from Fronius is ideal for
joining thin-sheet metals in series
production – as is required in the
automotive industry, for example. It is also
a suitable solution for welding thick
sheets, for which considerably fewer weld
layers are required, such as in shipbuilding.
With Fronius LaserHybrid, it is possible to
carry out automated joining of different
aluminium and steel items at speeds of up
to eight metres per minute, in superlative
quality. Users primarily benefit from the
extended range of welding options and
minimum effort required when it comes to
seam preparation. The results are also
virtually faultless. Complex and timeconsuming
seam rework is only necessary
in rare instances.
WELDING WORLD MAGAZINE | ISSUE 06 | DECEMBER 2017