Coherent debuts new fibre laser for advanced welding

The new Coherent HighLight FL4000CSM-ARM fibre laser builds on the Coherent HighLight ARM fibre laser series already qualified for automotive applications.

This laser enables more advanced welding capabilities for high thermal conductivity metals, and aligns to welding requirements for e-mobility, energy storage and general electrical interconnects consisting of dissimilar materials, such as copper and aluminum, and foil stacks that require precise control.

The ability to move beyond the limitations of traditional fibre laser for welding thin conductive materials is possible because of its unique dual beam output (centre beam surrounded by a ring beam).

The centre beam has extremely high brightness (nominal BPP 0.6) allowing a smaller spot size compared to its multi-mode counterpart.

The small spot size results in very high laser intensity that minimizes heating of the material, and, together with the pre-heating effect achieved by the ring beam, improves stability of the melt pool and therefore weld consistency that is a challenge when welding thin conductive materials.

As with other Coherent Adjustable Ring Mode lasers, power in the centre and ring beams can be independently varied and modulated.

The CSM-ARM is supplied with a 15-metre length process fibre, making it easy to integrate in virtually any production environment, and is compatible with the standard process heads from Coherent and other manufacturers.