Open AccessMobile Vacuum in Pocket Format
Author(s) -
Schneider André,
Gumenyuk Andrey,
Rethmeier Michael
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
laser technik journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1863-9119
pISSN - 1613-7728
DOI - 10.1002/latj.201500025
Subject(s) - keyhole , welding , materials science , laser beam welding , laser , penetration depth , plume , optics , penetration (warfare) , beam (structure) , ambient pressure , radiation , power density , optoelectronics , power (physics) , composite material , physics , operations research , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics , engineering
The presented apparatus enables laser beam welding of thick materials under local reduced pressure conditions, thus improving the quality of welds and reducing the laser beam power necessary for complete penetration welding. The vacuum cap presented in this article uses a local reduced ambient pressure environment in a tight zone around the welding area and, in contrast to a conventional vacuum chamber, it is movable in the welding direction. The mobile installation is very compact and reaches pressure values of around 200 mbar. The reduced pressure in the vacuum cap is sufficient to generate 50 % higher penetration depth in comparison to welding under ambient pressure conditions. The low pressure around the keyhole reduces the vapour‐plasma plume and therefore prevents a defocusing and scattering of the laser radiation. This allows to raise the amount of laser beam power entering the keyhole as well as the effective power density.