Laser welding provides a greater range of solutions

Piet Mosterd, director of AWL in Harderwijk, the Netherlands, knows for sure: that in 10 to 20 years from now laser welding will be the norm. By then laser welding systems will be a commodity in the manufacturing industry. Mosterd bases his assumption on his experiences overseas: “Developments there are currently going very fast.”

Machine engineer and system integrator AWL aimes to have 10 to 15% of its turnover in systems which involve laser technology. That percentage has already been achieved, just four years after AWL got involved with laser welding technology. Though that turnover in laser welding has only been achieved in the overseas market. The Netherlands is lagging behind. On the one hand this is perhaps a logical situation. For example AWL aims at the automotive industry, which hardly exists in the Netherlands. And that’s where you certainly find large volumes. “We let that industry see what we can do, and then we take these technologies to other industries”, said Mosterd. Despite all the available explanations, the introduction of laser welding in the Netherlands is nonetheless going much more slowly than expected. Piet Mosterd thinks that it is a great shame and entirely unnecessary, even though he realises that there is a world of difference between the demands on systems used in high volume production and the demands made on flexible production, which is what mainly occurs in manufacturing in the Netherlands. “But with the projects we have completed over the last few years for overseas customers virtually all the bottlenecks have been taken out of the technology. You are therefore not looking into the unknown with laser welding. It is proven technology.”

Strategic step

Piet Mosterd thinks that the Dutch metal working companies should get much more involved with strategy. In this regard he has the Koninklijke Metaalunie (“Royal Metal Association”) on his side. They are also constantly hammering away about the importance of strategy in being able to survive global competition. “If you want to survive then you have to be a couple of sizes bigger. As a supplier in a specific segment you could be satisfied with just one large customer, but you should really be trying to find another five of the same size. That would in turn provide both status and market share. This larger size is not achieved by employing more people, but with a production system that is grafted onto ambition. Adopting laser welding could be such a strategic step. This would allow you to take the technological steps and also to strengthen your product portfolio.”
This is because laser welding offers more advantages, or added value that you can sell to your customers. Piet Mosterd summarised a number of them: The possibility to use lighter materials, logistical advantages, less use of material, no need for finishing work because of cosmetic finishes, and speed of course. “Furthermore, you can integrate several processes into one production run: welding, logistics and quality control. If this is all combined into one solution, then you are on very solid ground.”

‘Thawing’ time

This last item was indeed the case with AWL regarding negotiating overseas projects. Piet Mosterd: “It was all about obtaining optimal product systems with minimum ‘thawing’ time. Issues such as handling, logistics and parts insertion were as crucial as the welding itself. Clamping technology in particular is the single most determining factor for the inserting time. With this you can add innovative jig exchange systems thereby increasing the product flow going to the welding machine. Clamping technology is the crux of successful laser welding. There is so much to gain with the correct clamping system. And we have the know-how to make it happen.”
Of course it’s more than clamping technology alone. Everything has to work. “Acquire a sophisticated system”, Piet Mosterd urges. “Adopt laser technology that is as wide-ranging as possible. It may be that a standard solution from one of the suppliers of laser welding technology is an ideal setup for you. Such solutions certainly offer a number of possibilities, although in the serious, professional, industrial world, laser welding goes a step further. The success of laser welding is not just about the machine. The jigs have to be good and all the stroke movement times must be correct. You have to think of everything and for the average supplier that is probably asking too much. Therefore you really need a machine engineer with experience.”
This is because the preliminary stages of laser welding require a lot of attention. Laser welding may have many advantages, but there are limitations too. Something such as a welding crack which is not a great problem with other welding processes, is pretty serious where laser welding is concerned. The material must always be absolutely flat. Therefore there is often a product redesign required. Or a lot of time and money has to be invested in designing and constructing the correct jig. And these are the very things that most people shrink from. “I can really understand that”, says Piet Mosterd. “Certainly in the world of the one-offs. But there are always good solutions to be found. Above all, we have to think about being able to get past constructive hindrance to be able to prepare for laser welding. By adopting laser welding you will find a greater range of solutions.”