Laser weld cell increases efficiency and yield

The laser welding machine has been fitted with two six axis Fanuc robots. The first loads and stacks the components in the welding nest, whilst the second is fitted with the laser processing head to weld in vertical and horizontal planes on the valves. The JK600HP, developed by Rugby based JK Lasers, has been designed specifically for precision applications that require tightly controlled heat input at high process speeds. It can produce highly accurate, hermetic welds, ensuring the valve remains stable, even as pressure increases. The component nest comprises of the JK process tool mounted to a servo driven 360° rotary axis, enabling the laser to produce the orbital weld required. Two nests are included in the machine; both can be used for manually loaded components and one can also be used for automatically loaded parts. A further advantage is the robot's integrated vision system, which positions the laser head automatically above the join line of the components to be welded. Both the vision system and the specification of the component nests, combined with the rapid processing speeds provided by the laser, are said to bring increased efficiency, yield and throughput.