Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: Corus Automotive | Subject: Mithrae
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 02 July 2003
Laser welding cuts component costs
Mithrae, the 25kW laser owned and operated by Corus, has been used to improve the production rate and reduce the weight of a component for the construction and earth moving equipment industry.
Mithrae, the 25kW laser owned and operated by Corus, has been called into action to improve the production rate and reduce the weight of a component for the construction and earth moving equipment industry A leading manufacturer approached Corus to tap into the company's laser welding expertise, which it hoped would speed up the manufacture of the component, as well as improving the efficiency of its production
Ann Marie Brown, Technology Developments Manager at Corus, says: "The component had previously contained castings of solid steel.
With laser welding we were able to produce the same component from preformed pieces, which were joined together using our high powered laser.
The finished component is now lighter in weight and cheaper to manufacture than its predecessor".
Mithrae - named after the Persian god of light, contracts and friendship - was installed by Corus at its Scunthorpe site to offer a state of the art laser welding facility for the metal-fabrication industry.
It is available to fabricators, research establishments, universities and others who wish to use laser welding for a whole range of applications.
Laser welding, which harnesses the energy of a high intensity beam of light, has significant advantages over traditional arc welding, and is already used extensively on the continent in the shipbuilding and automotive industries.
Laser welding generates much less heat than arc welding and so causes significantly less distortion in the components it is joining.
This means that downstream rectification - a major cost for many industries - is greatly reduced.
Stewart Pigg, Mithrae Operations Manager, says: "In the fabrication industry, almost as much money is spent rectifying distortion problems associated with welding processes as in buying the steel itself.
Our research using Mithrae has shown that distortion is reduced by 70 to 80% with laser welding, which could result in huge cost savings for fabricators".
These benefits are now starting to gain wider recognition, which is why more businesses are approaching Corus to carry out research using its Mithrae laser.
Pigg continues: "Our service does not just involve making our laser available to customers, but draws on the world class metallurgical and research expertise available at Corus.
Our team can help to redesign components where necessary to make them more effective using laser welding.
The team also advises on the most efficient production technique, so that a customer can put the solution into mass production if they wish.
And because we are not linked to any laser manufacturers, we can provide totally independent advice".
Another major advantage of laser welding, which would help fabricators improve production, is its speed.
The arc welding method can join 15mm steel plates at a rate of approximately 5m/h, and requires multiple passes to create the weld.
Laser welding can create a weld of equal, if not greater, strength at a rate of 1m/min in a single pass - which reduces the area of metal affected by the heat.
The laser weld does not require any filler wire, as it uses the surrounding metal to form the weldment.
Brown adds: "Although Mithrae can operate up to its full power of 25kW, it is a variable power laser, which means it can weld at any power setting below this, making it suitable for welding in a whole range of applications for a wide variety of customers.
"We have helped a number of major customers to improve their products and processes through laser welding.
Using Mithrae, we aim to raise awareness of the advantages of this technology and spread the benefits across the metal fabrication industry and beyond". Request a free brochure from Corus Automotive ...
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