Coherent has released new adjustable ring mode (ARM) lasers as part of its HighLight FL‑ARM laser series for deep welding applications in electric vehicle battery manufacturing.
Designed to enhance the welding process over large working areas, the new ARM lasers feature longer collimated beam lengths and smaller spot sizes that enable high-quality deep welds with greater uniformity over large working areas, the firm says.
“The improved laser beam characteristics are ideal for use cases such as thick busbars and motor stator hairpins that require deep welds,” said Dr Karlheinz Gulden, Senior Vice President of the Laser Components and Subsystems Business Unit.
Coherent has also introduced improvements on two processing heads, the HIGHmotion 2D and the PH20 SmartWeld+, which are designed to work with HighLight FL-ARM lasers.
The HIGHmotion 2D is suited to applications where the beam is quickly moved about a stationary workpiece to complete multiple welding tasks, Coherent says, while the PH20 SmartWeld+ is ideal for longer weld seams or weld layouts of individual battery cells. Both employ a detachable fibre delivery system with 100µm inner diameter and 290µm outer diameter to connect to the ARM laser.
The HighLight FL-ARM laser features two individually controllable co-axial beams from a single fibre, with up to 2.5kW in the centre beam and 7.5kW in the outer ring. These features, protected by several patents, including the US 10807190 patent family, enable power levels in both the central spot and the surrounding ring to be independently adjustable. This results in high-speed and high-throughput spatter-free processing, the firm says, and lowers overall production costs by largely eliminating the need for post-processing.