Research on laser-driven metal transfer of 2219 aluminum alloy in GMAW

Taking the 2219 aluminum alloy as the research object, a laser-driven GMAW metal transfer test system is built. High speed camera system is used to capture the metal transfer process and the effect of the addition of laser on the droplet transfer behavior is analyzed. The results demonstrate that by changing the process parameters, the addition of a laser changes the force state of the droplet, which in turn changes the droplet transfer mode and the flight trajectory. When the pulsed laser irradiates the neck of the droplet, the resulting recoil force can effectively promote the detachment of the droplet from the welding wire and the desirable one drop per pulse transfer is obtained. Better weld formation is obtained because the transfer process is more stable. The process can not only improve stability of the metal transfer, effectively improve the weld formation, but also appropriately solve the problems of narrow welding process transfer range of the aluminum alloy welding, high heat input to the base metal and poor stability of the welding process. © 2019, Editorial Board of Transactions of the China Welding Institution, Magazine Agency Welding. All right reserved.