Laser Volume Heat Treatment for Uniform Part Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional volume heat treatment methods for parts, such as quenching and tempering, are complex, require significant energy, and often result in non-homogeneous heating and environmental heating, limiting their efficiency and applicability, especially for non-ferromagnetic materials and parts with complex geometries.
Innovation Solution
A method using a laser source to irradiate the external surface of a part, with support means providing heat insulation, allowing for uniform heating of the entire volume without heating the environment, enabling efficient quenching and tempering without displacement or immersion in fluids, and allowing for rapid cooling and energy savings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional oven heating is used for volume heat treatment, then the entire volume of the part can be heated, but the heating process is slow and energy-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional thermal conduction heating (oven) with laser beam heating, substituting a mechanical/thermal system with an optical energy system. The laser source directly irradiates the part surface, converting optical energy to thermal energy locally and rapidly, achieving fast volume heating without the slow heat diffusion process of conventional ovens
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pulsed laser irradiation to heat the part in controlled intervals. The laser operates in pulses rather than continuous mode, allowing rapid heating cycles followed by cooling periods, which achieves volume heat treatment through repeated thermal cycles rather than prolonged continuous heating
2Productivity
If laser surface heating is used, then heating speed is fast, but only local heating is achieved rather than volume heating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary surface heating via laser to the part, then utilizes the part's own thermal conduction properties to distribute this surface heat throughout the volume. The initial laser heating prepares the surface with high temperature, which then conducts inward to achieve volume heating without requiring direct laser irradiation of the entire volume
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the part material itself as an intermediary to transfer heat from the laser-heated surface to the interior volume. The thermal conduction of the part material mediates the heat transfer process, converting localized surface heating into volume heating through the material's inherent thermal properties
3Loss of energy
If conventional heating methods are used, then the environment and support means are heated, but this wastes energy and complicates the system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies heating locally to only the part surface using a focused laser beam, rather than heating the entire environment or support structure. The laser energy is concentrated on the part surface with minimal spread, creating a localized heating zone that does not significantly heat the surrounding environment or support means
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the heating function from the general environment and support structure, isolating it to only the part itself. By using laser heating, the thermal energy is delivered directly to the part without heating the support means or surrounding environment, effectively separating the part heating from environmental heating
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves efficient, energy-saving volume heat treatment with minimal environmental heating, enabling effective hardening and structural modification of parts across various materials and geometries, including non-ferromagnetic materials, with rapid cooling and reduced operational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
irradiating with the laser source at least one segment of the external surface of the part with a laser exposure power and duration to obtain a temperature rise in essentially the entire volume of the part
Implementation Method 2
irradiating with the laser source at least one segment of the external surface of the part with a laser exposure power and duration to obtain a temperature rise
Implementation Method 3
the support means have a degree of heat insulation between them and the part. As will be explained later, the inventors suggest having such a large degree of heat insulation, so that heat (or thermal energy) generated by the laser source at the level of the external surface segment of the part being irradiated is more likely to diffuse into the material making up the part than into the support means
Implementation Method 4
Then, the latter is usually cooled, for example rapidly by exposing it to a liquid or gaseous fluid, often by immersing it in it. The rapid cooling is often necessary in order to maintain the material at room temperature in the structure induced by the temperature rise
Data Source
AI summary
A method for volume heat treating a part having an external surface delimiting its volume, the method comprising the following steps:a. providing a laser source;b. providing the part;c. providing support means for supporting the part;d. placing said part so that it is held in position by said support means; ande. irradiating with the laser source at least one segment of the external surface of the part with a laser exposure power and duration to obtain a temperature rise in essentially the entire volume of the part.