Engineering news
The Manufacturing Technology Centre has become one of the first research centres in the world to install an advanced co-axial brazing head to its laser cell.
According to the researchers at the research centre in Coventry, the automated process could save the manufacturing industry millions of pounds in time and tooling changes.
The prototype equipment has been supplied by supplier of laser cutting and joining and optical measuring technology, Precitec.
The machine works by laying down a filler wire for brazing and welding operations in any direction or orientation and optically tracking the weld seam. The optical system is able to compensate for changes in direction, allowing the processing head to maintain the correct orientation throughout the process.
Existing techniques involve careful programming or repositioning of the head to change direction, but it is believed the latest developments to the equipment will enable quicker, more accurate processes, less waste and easier programming.
Prototypes of the co-axial brazing head are being tested in the automotive industry for brazing car bodies, but the research at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) aims to create more flexible processes for other industrial applications in sectors such as aerospace and medical.
Kevin Withers, senior research engineer at the MTC, said: “Our research engineers are already leaders in the field of high integrity fabrication. The new equipment increases our laser processing capability, allowing us to apply cutting edge technology to improve manufacturing efficiency across many industrial sectors. This will result in improvements in quality and massive savings in time and cost.”
He added that the traditional application was time consuming, requiring careful alignment and positioning of the processing head, and restricted in its ability to process complex three-dimensional surfaces with limited access. This resulted in variations in weld quality and a limitation to the complexity of processes which could be handled.
The Precitec equipment also uses a high power laser to ensure faster and more accurate processing.
The MTC opened in 2011 and was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members are a diverse range of manufacturers, including Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Kuka, Nikon and General Motors.