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On Welding of High-Strength Steels Using Laser Beam Welding and Resistance Spot Weld Bonding with Emphasis on Seam Leak Tightness

2023 , Schmolke, Tobias , Brunner-Schwer, Christian , Biegler, Max , Rethmeier, Michael , Meschut, Gerson

The design of most electric vehicles provides for the positioning of the heavy energy storage units in the underbody of the cars. In addition to crash safety, the battery housing has to meet high requirements for gas tightness. In order to test the use of high-strength steels for this sub-assembly, this paper examines welded joints utilizing resistance spot weld bonding and laser remote welding, with special regard to the gas tightness of the welds. For this purpose, the pressure difference test and helium sniffer leak detection are presented and applied. The combination of both leak test methods has proven ideal in experimental investigations. For laser remote welding, gas-tight seams can be achieved with an inter-sheet gap of 0.1 mm, even if occasionally leaking samples cannot be prevented. Resistance spot welding suits gas-tight joining with both one- and two-component adhesives. Against the background of leak tightness, process fluctuations that lead to weld spatter and defects in the adhesive layer must be prevented with high priority.

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Laser-plasma-cladding as a hybrid metal deposition-technology applying a SLM-produced copper plasma nozzle

2018 , Brunner-Schwer, Christian , Kersting, Robert , Graf, Benjamin , Rethmeier, Michael

Laser-Metal-Deposition (LMD) and Plasma-Transferred-Arc (PTA) are well known technologies which can be used for cladding purposes. The prime objective in combining LMD and PTA as a Hybrid Metal Deposition-Technology (HMD) is to achieve high deposition rates at low thermal impact. Possible applications are coatings for wear protection or repair welding for components made of steel. The two energy sources (laser and plasma arc) build a joint process zone and are configurated to constitute a stable process at laser powers between 0.4-1 kW (defocused) and plasma currents between 75-200 A. Stainless steel 316L serves as filler material. For this HMD process, a plasma Cu-nozzle is designed and produced by powder bed based Selective Laser Melting. The potential of the HMD technology is investigated and discussed considering existing processes. This paper demonstrates how the interaction of the two energy sources effects the following application-relevant properties: deposition rate, powder efficiency and energy input.