Automotive

Air Bag Initiators
Hermetic welds in these thin wall devices are critical to their operation and lifetime. Maintaining the proper weld penetration and weld width ensures that the weld strength always meets specifications and the total heat input is controlled. Both JK Pulsed and Super Modulated CW Nd:YAG laser systems are a solution.
Cloth cutting for Airbags, Carpets, Fibreglass
Laser cutting of materials allows repeatable cutting with fine control and no wear on the cutting tool. Key requirements for the laser for these applications are high beam quality, to give narrow cut width thus allowing fast cutting speeds and minimize charring of material. GSI GroupDC excited CO2 lasers have a high efficiency, making them economical to operate.
Con-rod Scribing
The laser scribe is easy to automate; there is no contact or tool wear. A coaxial gas nozzle with air assist blows the debris out of the scribe line creating a narrow stress riser for a good break with near zero elongation. Pulsed YAG lasers are really the only choice since they produce the pulse energy and peak power for efficient scribing.
Deep Engraving
The Aerospace and Automotive industry requires a high level of traceability of components. The integrity of the components must also not be compromised with poor surface finish. Laser technology provides one of the most reliable methods of direct part marking and can easily achieve high contrast details that enable traceability of almost any product.
Fuel Injectors
Modern fuel injectors for gasoline, diesel, and gaseous fuels all incorporate laser welding to improve quality and maximize production throughput. Most welds are best performed with Super Modulated CW Nd:YAG lasers because of the short time cycles and the metallurgy of these stainless steels and some of the free-machining grades that are used.
Heat Treating and Surface Modification
Laser heat treatment and surface modification are the key technologies used in the automotive industry to improve the performance of the car.
Hydroform and Body Cutting
Hydroform tubes are used for high strength and high stiffness as ell as convoluted shapes for truck frames, engine cradles, radiator supports, instrument panel beams, and other components. Laser cutting is the best solution. It is faster, more economical, has better quality than plasma cutting and can produce nearly any shape feature. Robots are usually used to move the fiber delivered laser cutting head. CW and Super Modulated CW YAG lasers are really the only choice since they produce the average power for fast cutting.
Laser Scribing for Chip Control
Using a laser to put a scribe into the raw part that extends down to within a few hundred microns creates an interrupted cut during turning that separates the chips for total chip control. The distance between laser scribes on the part can be adjusted to define the actual chip size and the depth of the scribe is adjusted to match the amount of material removal needed for the final part dimensions.Pulsed YAG lasers and Super Modulated CW YAGs are the best choice since they produce the pulse energy and peak power for efficient scribing with minimal heat input.

Oil and Air-bleed Holes
Pulsed YAG lasers are used to produce holes of 0.5mm diameter in iron and aluminum alloys for lubrication and fluid flow properties which ensures gets the most from the components.