Laser Welding Wire Segment Pairs for Motor Generators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional resistance welding methods for wire segment pairs in electrical machine production, such as three-phase generators for motor vehicles, face challenges in ensuring quality, automation, and preventing damage to insulation due to high heat dissipation and oxide layers, leading to inconsistent welds and low productivity.
Innovation Solution
A method and device utilizing a contact-pressing unit to align and press wire segment pairs, followed by laser radiation to weld the segments at their contact regions, ensuring precise positioning and minimal heat dissipation, with adjustable laser parameters for optimal weld quality, and using a device with a contact-pressing unit and laser welding heads to guide wire segment pairs along concentric circles for simultaneous welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If resistance welding method is used for wire segment pairs, then the joining process can be automated, but the quality of weld connections cannot be ensured due to high heat dissipation and oxide layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional resistance welding method with laser welding technology. The laser beam acts as a focused energy source that melts and fuses the wire segments with precise control, eliminating the reliance on contact resistance and electrode-workpiece contact surfaces that limit resistance welding quality. This substitution enables both high automation and consistent weld quality through programmable laser parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements precise control of laser welding parameters including power, pulse duration, focal position, and scanning speed. By dynamically adjusting these parameters, the process optimizes the melting and fusion characteristics of wire segments, ensuring consistent weld quality while maintaining automation. The system monitors and adapts parameters in real-time to compensate for variations in material properties.
2Productivity
If resistance welding is performed with high heat dissipation, then the joining process can be completed, but damage to insulation such as peeling, rupturing or crack formation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The laser beam is focused to a small spot size, concentrating energy precisely at the wire segment contact region. This localized heating melts only the necessary area for welding while minimizing heat spread to surrounding insulation. The system further protects insulation by using pulsed laser modes and controlling duty cycles to limit total heat input.
Solution Approach 2:
The laser welding process is performed in rapid pulsed sequences, completing each weld connection quickly before excessive heat can diffuse to the insulation. The high-speed automated positioning system moves the laser beam through all wire segment pairs in succession, minimizing the overall process time and reducing cumulative thermal damage risk.
3Productivity
If wire segment pairs are welded in large numbers, then productivity increases, but maintaining consistent position and secure fixation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a universal fixture system with standardized clamping mechanisms that can securely hold multiple wire segment pairs in identical positions. The fixture integrates positioning features, clamping elements, and alignment guides that work consistently for all wire segments, ensuring uniform fixation and positioning regardless of the number of pairs being welded.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors and vision systems that monitor the position and fixation status of wire segment pairs in real-time. This feedback is fed back to the control system, which automatically adjusts laser positioning and welding parameters to compensate for any deviations, maintaining manufacturing precision throughout high-volume production.
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 high-quality, consistent welds with improved automation and reduced heat damage, enabling efficient series production by maintaining a 'technically zero gap' between wire segments and using sensors for precise control and quality assurance.
Implementation Method 1
a contact-pressing unit with which a contact-pressing force can be exerted in sequence on the wire segment pairs so that the wire segments are pressed against one another at their contact regions
Implementation Method 2
at the respective weld moment, laser radiation is directed at the particular wire segment pair or at those particular wire segment pairs against which the contact-pressing unit is exerting a contact-pressing force at this weld moment
Implementation Method 3
laser radiation is directed into one region of the wire segment pair in which the contact regions of the wire segments of the corresponding wire segment pairs are pressed against one another
Data Source
AI summary
A method for welding a plurality of wire segment pairs is disclosed. Each wire segment pair has two adjacent wire segments, and each adjacent wire segment has a contact region where the wire segment is to be welded to the respective other wire segment. The wire segment pairs are successively guided between two elements of a pressing unit, and at a weld moment in which at least one of the wire segment pairs is located between the two elements. The pressing unit exerts a pressing force onto the wire segment pair such that the contact regions of the wire segments are pressed against each other. At each weld moment, laser radiation is irradiated onto the wire segment pair to which the pressing unit is exerting the pressing force, and the laser radiation is irradiated onto a region in which the contact regions are pressed against each other.