Improving and monitoring the magnetic pulse welding process between dissimilar metals

Conventional fusion welding of dissimilar metals is often limited due to the different thermo-physical properties of the joining partners. In consequence, brittle intermetallic phases (IMC) can occur. Utilizing a pressure welding process like magnetic pulse welding (MPW) reduces the risk of IMCs significantly. Furthermore, this welding process has an outstanding short process duration in the range of a few microseconds, which makes it predestined for mass production. At the same time, this advantage challenges the process observation, inline-quality assurance hardware, and the design of the tool coils. The paper presents two strategies for reducing the energy input during MPW to increase the tool coil lifetime. The first approach, the introduction of a reactive nickel interlayer between steel and aluminum, leads to a significant welding energy reduction. Compared to aluminum samples joined by laser welding, the load-bearing capability of the resulting hybrid MPW driveshaft samples is higher in static torsion tests and similar in cyclic tests. The second approach is based on a novel process monitoring system that helps to analyze the characteristic light emission. The capability of the process monitoring system is presented on the example of a MPW-joined multimaterial part made of stainless steel, aluminum, and copper.