Apparatus for regulating welding parameters during laser beam welding

An apparatus for regulating welding parameters during laser beam welding, comprising:

• a CCD camera for detecting a geometry of a melt bath formed during a welding process, and
• an image data processing unit,
• wherein the camera is operably connected with the image-data-processing unit such that a focus position of the laser beam is regulated as a function of a geometric similarity factor, which is calculated as the quotient of the melt bath area and the distance between the geometric centers of gravity of a laser beam keyhole and the melt bath area.

A method of manufacturing a structure by laser beam welding parts together, comprising:

• projecting a laser beam onto the parts to weld them with formation of a melt bath having a melt bath geometry including a melt bath length, a melt bath area, and a melt bath depth,
• detecting the melt bath geometry utilizing a CCD camera and supplying a melt bath geometry signal from the camera to an image processing unit,
• and controlling the projection of the laser beam to control the melt bath depth as a function of at least one of the melt bath length and the melt bath area wherein at least one of a gap offset and a weld position of the laser beam is regulated as a function of the detected geometry of the melt bath.

A method of manufacturing a structure by laser beam welding parts together, comprising:

• projecting a laser beam onto the parts to weld them with formation of a melt bath having a melt bath geometry including a melt bath length, a melt bath area, and a melt bath depth,
• detecting the melt bath geometry utilizing a CCD camera and supplying a melt bath geometry signal from the camera to an image processing unit,
• and controlling the projection of the laser beam such that a focus position of the laser beam is regulated as a function of a geometric similarity factor calculated as a quotient of the melt bath area and the distance between the geometric centers of gravity of a laser beam keyhole and the melt bath area.