Application of laser in the processing of aluminum metal parts

In our daily life and industrial production, steel, aluminum, and copper are the most widely used metal materials. Steel has a large storage capacity, low cost, and a long history. Copper is more expensive. It is mostly used in home appliances, batteries, electronic products and other fields. Steel and copper materials will encounter a big problem, that is, rust and continuous Of oxidation and rust. In comparison, aluminum materials have advantages. Aluminum will also oxidize on the surface, but the aluminum oxide on the surface will play a role in insulation. The internal materials will not continue to oxidize and rust. Moreover, the aluminum materials are moderately priced and light in material. With high hardness and high temperature resistance, it is widely used in high-end fields such as high-speed rail locomotives, aerospace vehicles, and passenger planes.

Aluminum metal products are widely used

The storage capacity of aluminum is huge, with excellent plasticity, ductility, low cost, and wide range of uses. Especially at present, China is in the period of industrial manufacturing and large-scale construction, and the demand is even greater. Therefore, China has become the world's largest aluminum consumer country. In daily life, we commonly use aluminum doors and windows, aluminum building structures, and aluminum bathroom products; the high-speed rails, airplanes, and even space rockets that people often ride on also use a large number of aluminum metal parts, which can greatly reduce the weight while maintaining rigidity. The advancement of weight and lightweight concepts often uses aluminum alloy to replace steel.

In terms of automobiles, the characteristics of aluminum are also favored by manufacturers. For example, Audi A8, Tesla, Cadillac and Chery Jaguar Land Rover models all use aluminum structures on a large scale. The Model S all-aluminum body developed and manufactured by Tesla is lightweight and high-strength, and most of its body and front and rear suspension materials are made of aluminum. The application of aluminum is far more than that. Aluminum and aluminum alloy are widely used in the fields of container transportation, flood control facilities, bridge construction, daily necessities, household appliances, machinery and equipment.

Laser processing aluminum technology

The traditional cutting method of aluminum and copper is mechanical cutting, such as grinding wheels and saw blades, but it will bring greater dust and material loss. With the rapid development of the aluminum alloy application market, its demand is also increasing. The development of new aluminum processing is particularly important, and laser processing technology is a better choice. Aluminum is a highly reflective material, which has a low absorption rate of laser light, and reflected light can cause damage to the laser head components. A few years ago, foreign laser manufacturers have improved the protection of optical components and realized anti-high-reflection designs. By adding an optical isolator to the transmission fiber of the combiner. All optical shutters and optocouplers have optical path isolation function. With the careful development of the process window, it becomes a cutting tool for highly reflective materials.

The problem of high reflection is solved, and the application of laser processing aluminum is opened. As long as the power is increased, it is now possible to cut aluminum plates with a thickness of more than 50mm. Of course, the commonly used aluminum plates in reality are all medium-thin thickness.

In terms of welding, the weldability of pure aluminum is poor, and it is often necessary to add solder or flux to achieve splicing, but in reality, in order to better apply aluminum, aluminum alloys are often used. The alloying elements that are often added are copper, magnesium, Zinc, silicon, manganese, etc. Aluminum alloy can be well used for laser welding. For example, a locomotive company under CRRC has adopted high-power CO2 laser welding of locomotive bodies. In addition, both fiber lasers and semiconductor lasers can be applied to aluminum alloy welding. In recent years, due to the rise of the new energy automobile industry, a large number of laser welding has been used for the sealing process of the aluminum alloy casing of the power battery, which has brought good orders to equipment manufacturers such as Han's and Lianying.

It is worth mentioning that aluminum metal parts are widely used in common fields such as door and window frames, curtain frames, office chairs, furniture, and landscape architecture structures. However, due to the low-power laser welding, flexible handhelds have appeared. Welding equipment is also widely used in steel sheets and pipes. In the future, laser hand-held welding will inevitably enter the application of small aluminum alloy parts, which will bring greater demand potential to hand-held welding.

Laser chiller helps aluminum processing

The power required for laser processing applications of ordinary daily necessities aluminum and aluminum alloys is mostly below 2 kilowatts. Some high-end applications such as aerospace, high-speed rail locomotives, and automobiles require 4 kilowatts or even higher power laser beams. With the substitution of aluminum metal parts for some steel parts, the processing of aluminum will be more vigorous in the future, which is very worthy of the attention of laser equipment manufacturers. At the same time, aluminum laser processing will also drive the demand for laser ancillary equipment, among which laser chillers will have more applications in kilowatt-level cutting and welding.