Coherent announced the launch of a new tunable ring Mode (ARM) laser with significantly improved beam characteristics

On June 13, Coherent, a developer of industrial lasers and technologies, announced the introduction of a new tunable ring mode (ARM) laser, the latest in the HighLight FL-ARM laser family, featuring significantly improved beam characteristics.

To enhance control of the welding process in large/large format working areas, the new ARM laser targets deep penetration welding applications common in electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing.

In recent years, the exponential growth of the electric vehicle market has greatly driven the demand for laser welding. Laser welding can accelerate the throughput of battery production while ensuring the high quality requirements of the automotive industry.

Coherent's HighLight FL-ARM laser has a longer collimated beam length and a smaller spot size to achieve high quality laser deep penetration welding over large operating areas and achieve better uniformity and consistency. In addition, combined with the high welding control provided by the adjustable center and outer ring mode beams, the new ARM laser can complete deep penetration welding tasks at higher speeds, thereby reducing the cost of ownership.

"The better laser beam characteristics make it ideal for specific applications such as thick busbars and motor stator hairpins that require deep penetration welding. Customers can get the job done faster and more efficiently while achieving consistent, high-quality welding," Dr. Karlheinz Gulden, senior vice president of Coherent's Laser Components and Subsystems business unit, said, "Recently, we introduced the new HIGHmotion 2D long-range laser welding head, which is also optimized for smaller beam sizes and wider working areas. While the combination of the ARM laser with the HIGHmotion 2D remote laser welding head has been proven very successfully in electric vehicle battery manufacturing, they are now also perfectly complementary to deep penetration welding applications."

Coherent recently revamped its HIGHmotion 2D and PH20 SmartWeld+ laser welding heads, both of which work seamlessly with the HighLight FL-ARM laser. HIGHmotion 2D is ideal for applications where the beam moves quickly over a fixed workpiece to complete multiple welding tasks. The PH20 SmartWeld+ is ideal for use in longer welds or single battery welding layouts. Both use a detachable fiber transmission system with an inner diameter of 100 μm and an outer diameter of 290 μm to connect to the ARM laser.

The HighLight FL-ARM laser features two independently controllable coaxial beams from a single fiber with a power of up to 2.5 kW for the center beam and 7.5 kW for the outer ring beam. These features, which are subject to a number of patents including US Series 10,807,190, enable independent regulation of the power levels of the center beam and the outer ring beam. These features lead to high-speed, high-throughput splash-free processing and reduce overall production costs by largely eliminating the need for post-processing.

Coherent supports customers with customized service agreements supported by a global service network of factory-trained service engineers. Based in Coherent LABS, the company works with customers to help anticipate and solve a range of difficult manufacturing challenges they encounter.

Source: OFweek