Small Parts Could be Welded Using Fiber Lasers

A research study carried out by JK Lasers has established that fiber lasers could be used to weld small machinery parts. In a time where medical and engineering devices are becoming more and more complex, it is a big challenge for manufacturers to achieve the necessary power levels to micro weld small parts without distorting them.

The research carried out by JK Lasers established that low power continuous wave fiber lasers could achieve spot welds with great accuracy when used along with modulation on thin stainless steel foils measuring 20im- 150im. The thin stainless steel foils are used during the manufacturing of hard disk drive flexure arms where the foils are used to position the ferrite readers above the spinning magnetic media. It is necessary for the flexure arms to be assembled accurately due to their position and proximity to the ferrite reader. The flexure arms should be designed in such a manner that they are resonant, stiff and maintain accuracy. For this purpose it is important to have welds which are free of spatter since the spatter may contaminate the drive.

For the purpose of testing, JK Lasers used a single mode fiber laser along with Gaussian beam profile. Spatter free welds measuring between 76im and 175im in diameter were achieved. However when a flat beam was used the researchers were able to achieve a spatter free welds measuring 150im to 270im in diameter.