PowerPhotonic is taking part in a collaborative research project with industrial and academic partners to develop a new type of laser welding process to help optimise EV (Electric Vehicle) battery casings. Known as the ‘Soni-Shape-Laser’ project, it is funded as part of an Innovate UK research grant worth £640k. The Soni-Shape-Laser project will bring ground-breaking improvements to weld integrity and quality, by uniquely combining non-contact Power-Ultrasonic Vibration Treatment (PUVT) and optical beam shaping. The project is led by Carrs Welding, a laser welding solution provider, with partners PowerPhotonic, for its wafer scale, beam shaping, freeform optics; WMG, an industrial research arm of the University of Warwick developing, testing and validating advanced laser welding solutions; and IONETIC, designing and manufacturing EV battery packs for niche vehicle applications.
Dr. Emma Modrate, Sales Applications Engineer at PowerPhotonic, said, “The Soni-Shape-Laser project will bring multiple welding benefits to customers. Not only will it enable an autogenous welding process requiring no wire or additional weld material, but also the resulting weld will be hermetically sealed. More accurate control of the weld keyhole should be enabled, whilst reducing porosity and the use of shielding gases. PowerPhotonic will design and manufacture a precision, freeform, fused silica beam shaper for the project, capable of handling up to 100 kW of power, with minimal scatter and far higher laser powers than traditional, optical solutions.
“The Soni-Shape-Laser project is expected to contribute a 20% increase in the productivity of EV battery box welding, with up to 50% faster production run changeovers. It should also improve welding accessibility in confined or restricted areas; deliver up to 15% weight saving through intense use of aluminium with no filler wire; reduce energy consumption by as much as 20%; maintain or improve weld strength; and produce less harmful, carbon emissions.”
The research project’s full title is “Soni-Shape-Laser. Autogenous laser welding of aluminium battery cases, via contactless ultrasonic and free-form beam shaping”.
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