Process and apparatus for the continuous welding of strips guided in abutment by a laser beam
AssigneeThyssen Stahl AG
InventorsWilfried Prange, Joseph Sturm, Hans Schachheim, Heinrich Schmitz, Manfred Zeimes
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Abstract
The invention relates to a process and apparatus for the welding of strips 1, 2 without a filler by means of a laser beam 6. To keep the gap width of the joint edges formed by the strips 1, 2 at the joint as small as possible, disposed downstream of the welding focus in the direction L in which the strips 1, 2 run is a cooling device 10, 11, the cooling intensity is controlled to a constant small gap width in dependence on the gap width measured immediately upstream of the welding focus, referred to the direction L.
Claims15
A process for the continuous welding of strips (sheets) (1, 2) guided in abutment without filler by means of a laser beam (6), characterized in that the strips (1, 2) are cooled in the zone of the weld immediately downstream of the welding focus in the direction (L) in which the strip runs, the cooling intensity being so controlled, in dependence on the width of the gap formed by the joint edges of the strips (1, 2) immediately upstream of the welding focus, referred to the direction (L), that its width remains within given tolerance values.
An apparatus for the continuous welding of strips (sheets) (1, 2) guided in abutment at their joint edges by means of a fixed laser beam (6), the apparatus having on both sides of the strips (1, 2) to be welded clamping rollers (3, 4) which are disclosed in pairs perpendicularly to the direction (L) in which the strip runs and which form in the zone where the strips (1, 2) abut a gap through which the fixed laser beam (6) impinges on the joint edges to be welded, characterized by a control device (12, 13) having a measuring device (8, 9), disposed immediately upstream of the welding process in the direction (L) in which the strip runs, or the width, forming the actual value, of the gap formed by the joint edges of the strips (1, 2), and a cooling device (10, 11) which is disposed downstream of the welding focus in said direction (L) and which acts on the strips (1, 2) in the zone of the weld and whose cooling intensity is adjusted, in dependence on the actual gap width delivered by the measuring device (8, 9), to obtain a constant gap width lying within given tolerance values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.