Magna International Inc.

Aldo Van Gelder

Boris Shulkin

Hongping Gu

Jeremiah John Brady

Edward Karl Steinebach

Todd Deaville

Mark Justin Jones

Maximilian Amtmann

William A Kokosza

A pressing device for a laser welding apparatus includes an arm member with opposite mounting and pressing ends. A pressing pad at the pressing end has an opening for allowing a laser beam to irradiate a workpiece assembly that is being pressed by the pressing device. The mounting end has a mounting structure for detachably securing the pressing device to the laser welding apparatus. The arm member is shaped to position the opening at a known fixed distance from a laser source of the laser welding apparatus. The pressing pad has a pressing surface on a workpiece-facing side thereof for applying a joining force to the workpiece assembly at a welding location. At least one of the size, shape and smoothness of the pressing surface allows a sliding-contact movement of the pressing surface along a surface of the workpiece assembly during application of the pressing force.

Method and apparatus for applying an active joining force during laser welding of overlapping workpieces

A process is disclosed for laser-welding sheet metal plates that have an aluminum-silicon containing pre-coat layer. The pre-coated sheet metal plates are arranged one relative to another such that an edge of one of the plates is adjacent to and in contact with an edge of the other one of the plates, and a laser-welded joint is formed along the adjacent edges of the pre-coated plates. In particular the joint is formed absent removing the aluminum-silicon containing layer from along the adjacent edges, such that aluminum from the aluminum-silicon containing layer enters into the melt pool that is formed. Additionally, an alloying material is introduced into the melt pool during forming the laser-welded joint and forms a compound with at least some of the aluminum in the melt pool.

Method of laser welding coated steel sheets with addition of alloying elements

A process is described for laser welding a sheet metal workpiece having an aluminum-silicon containing pre-coat layer disposed on at least one major surface thereof, and having first and second opposite side edges. The sheet metal workpiece is arranged such that the first and second side edges are in contact with one another and such that the at least one major surface faces outwardly. A closed tube-shaped product is obtained by forming a laser-weld joint between the first and second side edges. In particular the laser-weld joint is formed absent removing the aluminum-silicon containing layer from along the adjacent edges, such that aluminum from the aluminum-silicon containing layer enters into the melt pool that is formed. An alloying material is introduced into the melt pool during laser welding and forms a compound with at least some of the aluminum in the melt pool.

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Newmarket, Canada

Aldo Van Gelder