Extraction of Molten Pool and Keyhole Characteristics during High Power Fiber Laser Welding

Abstract

It is well known that weld pool geometry plays a critical role in laser welding. In this study, an IPG YLR-10000 device was used to capture a series of molten pool images during high power fiber laser welding process. Then an extraction method of the geometric characteristics of these images was developed. This method could be applied to monitor the configuration of a molten pool and keyhole which was related to welding quality. The experimental results showed that this method was a reliable inspection method for monitoring the configuration of molten pool during high power fiber laser welding.