Welded Doors and Panels Need Reworking?

In today’s automotive industry, vehicle doors and panels are predominately laser welded. This process is usually undertaken by robots on the production line. Robots are not necessarily infallible so occasionally a portion of the weld is missed.

Stopping the line to correct the weld is impractical so the faulty component must either be scrapped or expensively repaired by a skilled welder. With neither option considered viable, one manufacturer has been stockpiling faulty doors in the hope of a practical solution being found. With the development of Alpha Laser’s AL-ARM handheld welding system, such a solution is now available.

Mobile, fast and flexible

The AL-Arm system includes a hand-piece incorporating a 450W fiber laser with an integrated automatic wire feed. The hand-piece is linked to a stereo camera allowing 3D visualisation through 3D laser protection goggles.

These goggles show the operator the surroundings and the welding task simultaneously. The welding area is enlarged and a crosshair is superimposed so that all the operator has to do is steer the laser over the weld - whether it’s just a portion or a complete panel or door.

Adjustable seam width

During the weld process, the welding seam width can be adjusted manually. The hand-piece itself weighs no more than 1.5kg and is attached to a 3.5 metre cable connected to the supply unit. Operators will find it very easy to handle and extremely flexible in use whether they are welding pores, ripples or offset seams.

As with all lasers supplied by TLM, laser safety is a priority. Through integrated material recognition, the welding process can only take place when the hand-piece is actually placed on the workpiece.

For full details of this new handheld solution to door and panel repair welding, the Alpha Laser AL-ARM, please contact us at sales@tlm-laser.com