For twelve years, our colleagues at Hittech Bihca have been perfecting the possibilities of laser welding as an alternative to brazing, bonding, and 3D printing. Their technical consultant, Harm te Winkel, has been closely involved in the process.
Harm: ‘We began our laser-welding experiments in 2014, and soon incorporated them into our production process after we made some great improvements. For example, we decided to proceed with an open-welding system because it allows our specialists to hold a part during welding. We also chose fibre laser welding over the YAG technique.
Finally, we experimented with welding below the surface of the material using pillow plating and spot welding. With the laser welding technology we use today, we can place the laser spot beneath the surface and achieve a leak-free result up to 8 BAR.
I cannot share the details of many of our insights, but I will be at the Manufacturing Technology Conference on Thursday, April 23, at our stand in case people want to learn more so they can benefit from these twelve years of experience.’
The conference will take place on 23 April at the NH Conference Centre Koningshof in Veldhoven (NL). The event is organised by Mikrocentrum and the Manufacturing Knowledge Centre (MKC). MKC is an initiative by ASML and Thermo Fisher Scientific, organised by Brainport Industries and Holland Innovative.
