Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Takanori Fujii

Kazuhide Matsuo

Iwao Maruyama

Kenji Makihara

A laser beam welding apparatus has a first laser oscillator for applying a laser beam to a right-hand automobile door, a second laser oscillator for applying a laser beam to a left-hand automobile door, and first through fourth laser beam path changing mechanisms for changing the laser beam path of the laser beam from the first laser oscillator in the event of a failure of the second laser oscillator, and changing the laser beam path of the laser beam from the second laser oscillator in the event of a failure of the first laser oscillator. Even when one of the laser beam oscillators fails to operate due to a malfunction, an overall welding line combined with the laser beam welding apparatus does not need to be shut down, and the laser beam welding apparatus can smoothly and efficiently weld the workpieces.

Methods of and apparatus for welding workpiece with laser beams

Scanning welding heads are introduced through respective openings of a workpiece into the workpiece by respective welding robots. When a laser beam is emitted from a laser beam emitting device, the laser beam is applied to a beam splitter of one of the welding robots, which reflects about 50% of the energy of the laser beam and introduces the laser beam into a scanning welding head. The beam splitter passes the remaining 50% of the energy of the laser beam therethrough. The laser beam that has passed through the beam splitter is reflected by a totally reflecting mirror of another scanning welding head. The scanning welding heads apply the laser beam to respective regions in the workpiece to weld the workpiece.

Method of and apparatus for welding workpiece

After a workpiece introduced into a welding station by a feed mechanism is positioned and fixed in the welding station, the workpiece is welded by laser beams guided by scan heads. Each laser beam is applied from one of the scan heads to a location on the workpiece through a beam path switching mirror of a beam path switcher to weld the location on the workpiece. Thereafter, the beam path switching mirror is retracted to guide the laser beam from another one of the scan heads to another location on the workpiece to weld the other location on the workpiece.

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Kawagoe, Japan

Takanori Fujii