Durandus Kornelius Dijken

Laser penetration spike welding: A microlaser welding technique enabling novel product designs and constructions

A novel method for laser penetration microspot welding of sheet metal is presented. With this so called “laser spike-welding,” large gap tolerances are allowed. Depending on the ratio of laser spot radius to top plate thickness, gaps of 100% of the top layer thickness and more can be bridged. With conventional keyhole penetration welding this is only 20%–40% at most. So, with spike welding the gap between the metal plates can be increased by a factor of 2.5–5. In this way a powerful and attractive welding technique for joining of thin metal plates is available. The laser spike weld method can handle larger production tolerances and will enable novel and cheap product designs and welding of dissimilar materials.

Laser penetration spike welding: a welding tool enabling novel process and design opportunities

A novel method for laser welding for sheet metal. is presented. This laser spike welding method is capable of bridging large gaps between sheet metal plates. Novel constructions can be designed and manufactured. Examples are light weight metal epoxy multi-layers and constructions having additional strength with respect to rigidity and impact resistance. Its capability to bridge large gaps allows higher dimensional tolerances in production. The required laser systems are commercially available and are easily implemented in existing production lines. The lasers are highly reliable, the resulting spike welds are quickly realized and the cost price per weld is very low.