Solutions
With the TruLaser Weld 5000 and the FusionLine function, TRUMPF is lowering the previous maximum requirements for component accuracy as a prerequisite for laser welding in 2016. FusionLine makes it possible to compensate for inaccuracies in a part, such as those that occur during the bending process. This means that components not suitable for laser welding can be joined using laser metal deposition. FusionLine closes gaps up to one millimeter wide without any problems. Switching between FusionLine and classic laser welding, such as heat conduction and deep penetration welding, is possible without retrofitting the system. “It was above all the high demands on component preparation that for a long time made us hesitant to get into automated laser welding,” says Kevin Kempf looking back. “With FusionLine, TRUMPF has removed this hurdle with FusionLine.”
Another aspect that has long commanded the brothers' respect was the previously elaborately milled devices equipped with copper plates for heat dissipation that were necessary for the process. “If you tell a customer that the fixture alone for a part costs a few thousand euros, they'll wave you away,” says Kevin Kempf. But times have changed in this was too. Today, modular fixtures made of sheet metal are perfectly adequate, as are reusable standard clamping systems. “We were sure that we could easily build the sheet metal fixtures ourselves,” Marcel recalls, Kevin adding with a grin: ”It wasn't quite that easy at the beginning, but we managed it."
The TruLaser Weld 5000 is equipped with a dual station table on which large quantities are welded at high speed at Kempf in parallel to the main welding process. “The machine is so fast that we need significantly longer for the preparation than the system needed for the actual welding process,” says Kevin Kempf. The rotate and tilt positioner, which enables components to be processed on both sides, is used at Kempf for welding more complex parts. “We have components that we worked on for over an hour with TIG welding and the necessary post-processing. We can do it in ten minutes with the laser. With the TruLaser Weld 5000, we can do in one shift what used to take us a whole week,” Kevin Kempf sums up enthusiastically.
Implementation
The Kempf brothers got to grips with the issue of machine utilization with a clever idea. “Our employees initially showed little enthusiasm for redesigning parts for automated welding and building the devices required for the process. That's when we came up with the idea of a bonus for every part optimized for laser welding. I required a processing program, an appropriate fixture and documentation of the new process - i.e. how it was before and how it works now. And of course the customer must give the go ahead", says Kevin Kempf. “If an employee delivers this, they get a bonus." Within a short space of time, the employees identified numerous parts suitable for laser welding, worked out the programming and developed and built the devices.
More and more customers are now also excited about the technology. “Customers who have had their part redesigned for the process once and have seen a laser weld seam don't want anything else. They realize that the process represents a quantum leap in quality compared to MIG, MAG and TIG welding, especially when it comes to manual welding,” says Marcel Kempf. The decisive factor is that the TruLaser Weld 5000 processes orders quickly and punctually. It also consistently delivers 100% reproducible welding results. "That is the type of reliability that our customers want,” says Marcel Kempf.
