08.06.2009
New laser welding technology developed in Stuttgart

Laser welding at the University of Stuttgart (Copyright: FGSW)

The University of Stuttgart and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have reported two extraordinary successes in laser technology application and research: using a special camera which takes and evaluates over 10,000 images a second, researchers at Stuttgart University have managed for the first time to develop an exact system of rules for laser beam welding. The new system will enhance welding quality and production speeds in many sectors, such as the automotive industry and mechanical engineering, and do away with the need for expensive finishing work. In the past laser beam welding almost inevitably entailed producing holes if too much power was supplied, or irregularities in metal sheet joints if too little power was used.

The Laser Tools Research Society at the University of Stuttgart (FGSW), which is attached to the Institute for Laser Tools, will be presenting the new development at the “Laser World of Photonics 2009” due to be held in Munich from 15 to 18 June. The new system of rules was developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques in Freiburg.

The KIT in Karlsruhe has discovered the precise mechanism which produces “random lasers”. This discovery could well play an important role in lighting technology applications. Researchers in Karlsruhe have managed to explain why in some easily manufactured materials, such as the semiconductor zinc oxide, novel and randomly scattered emissions of laser light can occur when certain specific conditions apply. In the future it may be possible to use highly economic lasers of this type as a thin layer system or even in fluid solutions.

Baden-Württemberg leads the way in research into and application of optical technologies in Europe. Around 40 per cent of all laser beam sources and 25 per cent of all the laser systems used around the world originate from southwest Germany. More than 50 institutes at Baden-Württemberg’s universities and non-university research institutions are engaged in light research and the ongoing development of optical systems.

www.uni-stuttgart.de
www.ifsw.uni-stuttgart.de
www.fgsw.de
www.kit.edu
Brochure "Photonics in Baden-Württemberg" at Downloads