Laser Zentrum Hannover Develops Dual-Wire Hybrid Welding Technology for 30 mm Thick Steel Plates

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, the LaHDo joint R&D project led by Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) disclosed its development plan for dual-wire laser-arc hybrid welding technology, targeting unalloyed steel components with a maximum thickness of 30 mm. The approach combines dual-wire arc filling with an oscillating laser beam to develop a welding process and supporting equipment system capable of joining thick-walled steel plates in a single pass.

The process uses two consumable welding wires as filler material, forming a high-deposition-rate molten pool through arc melting, while an oscillating laser beam provides targeted heating of the groove sidewalls to improve fusion between the filler metal and the base material. Unlike conventional thick-plate welding, which requires multiple layers and passes to gradually fill the groove, the project's approach attempts to compress the welding process into a single pass through dual-wire feeding and laser-assisted fusion, reducing filler material consumption and welding energy use.

The project's processing target is unalloyed steel plates with a thickness of up to 30 mm, materials applicable to mechanical equipment, pipelines, steam turbine blades, and shipbuilding. For different thicknesses and joint configurations, the R&D team needs to establish corresponding welding process parameters and verify sidewall fusion and bead formation quality.

Equipment development is the responsibility of Laser Zentrum Hannover. The Machines and Controls team is developing the hybrid processing head, while the Metal Joining and Cutting team is responsible for welding process development. Merkle Welding Technology provides the adapted welding power source, 4D Photonics develops the integrated in-process monitoring system, and Hahn Welding Systems is responsible for building the demonstration equipment. Durum Wear Technology is developing a dedicated flux-cored wire for this process, with wire diameters of up to 2.4 mm.

The project also involves several industry-associated partner organizations, including B.I.G. Technical Services, Civan Lasers Europe, Laser on Demand, Precitec, and Westphalian Wire Industries, which participate in related technology and material support work.

The LaHDo project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy through the 8th Energy Research Programme, under grant number 03EN4132A. Current R&D work focuses on the coordinated development of the welding process, hybrid processing head, supporting power source, in-process monitoring, and demonstration equipment.