An alternative approach for the cost-efficient laser welding of zinc-coated sheet metal

Laser welding becomes more and more important for body in white assembly in automotive industry. But even if the modern technology offers a lot of new possibilities, laser welding of zinc-coated sheet metal is still a challenge - special effort is necessary to produce acceptable weld seams in the lap joint configuration. Already existing concepts oftentimes lead to enlarged process chains and additional costs. Therefore, this paper presents an alternative approach for laser welding of zinc-coated sheet metal with the objective to guarantee high quality laser welding and to save costs. Moreover, first results of welding experiments are shown.