Laser-supported deep-drawing with diode lasers and solid lasers

摘要

A process in which the workpiece is heated locally by a laser beam was developed under the Austrian patent number 407.498. In order to reduce the heat outflow from the work piece into the tool, the tool is covered with a heat insulating and high pressure resistant insulation coating which is permeable for the laser beam. Figure 1 schematically illustrates a tool to produce metal dishes. The plunger (3) as well as the hold-down device (1) and the drawing ring (2) are covered by insulation (4, 5, 6).A process variation is the partial heating of the circular blank outside the tool; the heating could as an alternative also be performed inside the tool with a glass fibre coupled to the processing system. The heating could be performed during the shaping process, if the coupling-out side of semiconductor laser diodes or glass fibers would be applied behind the insulation.IMAGE