New developments and application spectrum for robotics in laser material processing - Challenges and opportunities for the flexible use of robot systems for laser welding

Abstract:
During the last years, in laser material processing an enormous leap in development has happened due to various innovation boosts coming from laser technology. New and further developments in systems engineering, laser beam sources and laser beam processes have enlarged the field of laser material processing and brought along many new areas of application such as scanner welding, for instance. The newest generation of laser beam sources, such as the disc laser, allow through their outstanding laser beam quality for applications with very high processing speeds and minimal downtimes. Through the increasing processing speeds, also the generally high requirements concerning the construction of components, the welding bevels, the clamping method and the processing sensor system grow.