In addition to the classic processes of laser cutting and laser welding, Arnold's range of products also includes other laser applications such as the LDMRS process for treating transformer sheets.
The Maschinenfabrik Arnold GmbH from Ravensburg, in cooperation with the Fraunhofer IWS from Dresden and well-known laser manufacturers, has developed systems for the so-called Domain Refinement of Grain Oriented (GO) Electrical Steel Supplied & Installed to the Steel Industry.
The development of the patented scanner-based beam deflection took place together with the Fraunhofer IWS and differs from the conventional polygon wheel-based system solutions essentially by the uninterrupted processing of the sheet width of up to 1200mm in one step, the speed-independent processing with constant parameters up to 160m/min conveyor speed and the use of standard components and thus high system availability.
The laser treatment of grain-oriented (GO) electrical steel, which is carried out vertically to the strip running clearance across the sheet, causes a so-called Domain refinement of transformer laminations, which ultimately improves the electrical efficiency of power distribution transformers and thus enables corresponding energy savings. The use of high-performance lasers with a high beam quality (initially CO2 lasers, today mainly fiber lasers) and the use of very fast-moving scanner mirrors (spot speed up to 300m/sec) enables the efficient and fast processing of electrical steel for transformers with nested cores. In the development of (heat-resistant) laser processing for so-called Wound transformers are being worked on.
laser cladding. During build-up welding (according to DIN 8580), a volume is built up with a welding filler material (wire or powder), mostly in the form of a top layer on the base material. A high-alloy steel can, for example, be applied to a soft base and thus serve as surface protection for highly stressed components. In addition to the arc welding process, laser deposition welding and plasma powder deposition welding are used.
The laser systems from ARNOLD RAVENSBURG are almost exclusively manufactured with the laser. There is the possibility of combining the optics and additional components for build-up welding in a standard system with other laser processes as a multifunctional system. The other variant is a series machine exclusively for build-up welding. Fa. Arnold has such systems in its portfolio, for example for coating brake discs and for plating highly stressed valve surfaces.
Laser polishing and laser deburring. “Polishing with laser radiation is based on remelting a thin surface layer of the workpiece and smoothing the surface as a result of the interfacial tension. The innovation of laser polishing lies in the fundamentally different operating principle (remelting) compared to conventional grinding and polishing processes (removal). Diode-pumped solid-state lasers are generally used for metallic materials. If the surfaces are already slightly rough, e.g. B. after grinding, pulsed lasers with pulse durations of a few 100 ns can be used. If the surfaces are rougher, e.g. B. After milling or additive manufacturing, continuous lasers are used. The depth of remelting is between a few 100 nm when using pulsed lasers and up to 100 μm when using continuous lasers” (source laser brochure ILT, Fraunhofer Aachen) The laser polishing systems from ARNOLD RAVENSBURG were used for polishing glass and metals. The aim is to replace time-consuming manual polishing with a reproducible machine process.
laser hardening. The aim of all hardening processes is a structural transformation of steel and cast iron materials with an increase in strength. Hardening with the laser beam can bring the beam directly to the surfaces to be hardened, so only these areas are stressed. With the alternative method of induction hardening, local hardening is usually not possible and has various disadvantages compared to laser hardening. The distortion of the components is less with laser hardening than with other hardening processes and usually does not require any rework.
Several laser hardening systems from Fa. Arnold have been tried and tested in industry and used successfully in production.