The traditional cutting method of aluminum and copper is mechanical cutting, such as grinding wheel and saw blade, but it will bring large dust and material loss. With the rapid development of the aluminum alloy application market, its demand is also increasing. It is particularly important to develop new aluminum processing, and laser processing technology is a better choice. Aluminum is a kind of high reflective material, which has low absorption to laser, and reflected light will also cause damage to laser head components. A few years ago, foreign laser manufacturers have improved the protection of optical components and realized the design of anti high reflectivity. The optical isolator is added to the transmission optical fiber of the beam combiner. All shutters and optocouplers have the function of optical path isolation. With the careful development of the process window, it becomes a sharp tool for cutting highly reflective materials.
The problem of high reflection has been solved, and the application of laser processing aluminum has been opened. As long as the power is increased, aluminum plates with a thickness of more than 50 mm can be cut at present. Of course, aluminum plates commonly used in reality are of medium and thin thickness.
In terms of welding, pure aluminum has poor weldability, so it is often necessary to add solder or flux to achieve splicing. However, in reality, in order to better apply aluminum, aluminum alloys are often used, and the alloy elements often added include 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 for locomotive body. In addition, fiber lasers and semiconductor lasers can be used for aluminum alloy welding. In recent years, due to the rise of the new energy vehicle industry, a large number of laser welding has been used in the sealing process of the aluminum alloy shell of the power battery.
It is worth mentioning that aluminum metal parts are widely used in such common fields as door and window frames, curtain frames, office desks and chairs, furniture, and landscape architecture structures. Due to low and medium power laser welding, flexible handheld welding equipment has emerged, and has been widely used in steel sheets and pipes. In the future, laser handheld welding will inevitably enter the application of small aluminum alloy parts, which will bring greater demand potential for handheld laser welding.
