Apparatus and method for regulating the weld seam position during laser welding of a butt-jointed workpiece
First Claim
1. A regulated laser welding apparatus for laser welding a first workpiece and a second workpiece to join the workpieces along a joint, said apparatus comprising:
- a laser welding device including a laser beam source arranged to be movable in a welding direction along said joint of said workpieces, wherein said laser beam source is further movable with respect to at least one of a location and an orientation thereof relative to said joint of said workpieces, and wherein said laser beam source is adapted to emit a laser bema directed at a weld point on said joint of said workpieces so as to form a weld seam therealong to join said workpieces;
a sensor arrangement including a sensor arranged on or near said laser welding device and coupled to said laser welding device so as to move together with or following said laser beam source in said welding direction along said joint of said workpieces, wherein said sensor is directed at said weld seam formed by said laser beam along said weld joint so as to detect actual seam information characterizing at least one of an actual seam position and an actual seam flank angle of said weld seam that is actually formed by said laser beam;
a weld seam position regulating arrangement that is connected to said sensor arrangement so as to receive said actual seam information, and that includes a regulating circuit adapted to carry out a comparison of said actual seam information with nominal desired seam information characterizing at least one of a desired seam position and a desired seam flank angle of said weld seam that is to be produced, and to generate a regulating value based on a result of said comparison; and
an adjusting device that is connected to said weld seam position regulating arrangement so as to receive said regulating value, and that includes an actuator arrangement coupled to said laser welding device and adapted to adjust at least one of said location and said orientation of said laser beam source relative to said joint of said workpieces in response to and dependent on said regulating value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
To regulate a laser welding process, an optical sensor detects the seam flank angle and/or the seam position of the laser welded seam directly following its formation, the resulting actual measured information is compared with stored or externally provided nominal information to give a comparison result, and the position of the welding laser beam source is adjusted based on the comparison result to regulate-out any divergence between the actual measured information and the nominal information. The apparatus includes a laser welding device including a welding laser beam source that moves along the joint to be welded, an optical sensor arranged directly on or following the laser welding device, and a circuit including a comparator that compares the actual measured information with the stored or externally provided nominal information regarding the seam flank angle and/or the seam position. The laser beam source is movable to adjust the location and orientation of the generated laser beam and its penetration into the weld joint responsive to the comparison result.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A regulated laser welding apparatus for laser welding a first workpiece and a second workpiece to join the workpieces along a joint, said apparatus comprising:
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a laser welding device including a laser beam source arranged to be movable in a welding direction along said joint of said workpieces, wherein said laser beam source is further movable with respect to at least one of a location and an orientation thereof relative to said joint of said workpieces, and wherein said laser beam source is adapted to emit a laser bema directed at a weld point on said joint of said workpieces so as to form a weld seam therealong to join said workpieces;
a sensor arrangement including a sensor arranged on or near said laser welding device and coupled to said laser welding device so as to move together with or following said laser beam source in said welding direction along said joint of said workpieces, wherein said sensor is directed at said weld seam formed by said laser beam along said weld joint so as to detect actual seam information characterizing at least one of an actual seam position and an actual seam flank angle of said weld seam that is actually formed by said laser beam;
a weld seam position regulating arrangement that is connected to said sensor arrangement so as to receive said actual seam information, and that includes a regulating circuit adapted to carry out a comparison of said actual seam information with nominal desired seam information characterizing at least one of a desired seam position and a desired seam flank angle of said weld seam that is to be produced, and to generate a regulating value based on a result of said comparison; and
an adjusting device that is connected to said weld seam position regulating arrangement so as to receive said regulating value, and that includes an actuator arrangement coupled to said laser welding device and adapted to adjust at least one of said location and said orientation of said laser beam source relative to said joint of said workpieces in response to and dependent on said regulating value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of laser welding a first workpiece and a second workpiece to join the workpieces along a joint, comprising the steps:
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a) arranging said first workpiece and said second workpiece to be joined along said joint therebetween;
b) emitting a laser beam from a laser beam source and directing said laser beam at a weld point on said joint;
C) moving said laser beam source in a welding direction along said joint to thereby move said weld point along said joint so as to form a weld seam therealong to join said workpieces;
d) during said step c), using an optical sensor, optically sensing actual seam information characterizing at least one actual value of at least one physical geometric parameter of said weld seam;
e) comparing said actual seam information with nominal desired seam information characterizing at least one nominal desired value of said at least one physical geometric parameter of said weld seam, to produce a comparison result;
f) when said comparison result indicates an unacceptable deviation of said actual seam information from said nominal desired seam information, then adjusting at least one of a location and an orientation of said laser beam source to a new adjustment relative to said joint, dependent on and responsive to said comparison result, and continuing or repeating said steps c), d) and e) with said new adjustment of said laser beam source. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification