Benutzer:Stefan M 2014/Artikelentwurf ALAS
European Project ALAS
ALAS is a research project in the fields of optics and laser processing, providing an adaptive laser cladding system with variable spot size. ALAS is supported by the European Commission[1 Wikipedia-Link: European Commission] and puts together 5 SMEs located in 4 different countries, and 3 RTD performers in 3 different countries which provide experts from different knowledge areas involved in the design and development of a laser cladding system. The coordinator of the project is Aimen. The ALAS project aims to shorten the gap between research and economy with latest research activities in the fields of optics, measurement and control, by developing an innovative laser cladding system, focused on repairing of complex geometries and controlling the effect of heat accumulation, yielding a fully automated and safe solution.
| ALAS
Adaptive Laser cladding System with variable spot size | |
| Keywords | Laser cladding, zoom optic, process control |
| Funding Agency | European Commission |
| Project Type | Collaborative Project |
| Reference | FP7-3156614 |
| Objective | Research for SME |
| Participants | AIMEN – Technology Centre, (coordinator), Spain Fraunhofer ILT, Germany |
| Budget | 1.076.000,00 € |
| Duration | 09/2012 – 08/2014 |
| Web Site | http://www.alasproject.eu/ |
Technical objective[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Currently, to process a cladding track with complex geometry, it is necessary to program several cladding paths. Using the adaptive ALAS cladding head, developed in the project, this laborious programming process will be eliminated. The main objective proposed in the ALAS Project is to develop an innovative laser cladding head, which includes an adaptive optical path that controls the laser focus diameter on the fly, and has a user friendly interface in order to simplify the programming of this variable tracks. Coevally, a monitoring system which controls the laser parameters depending on the process status ensures a steady process quality. This system constitutes an efficient instrument for part repair with complex geometries and coating selective surfaces. The main benefits for the industry are:
- Higher processing flexibility and productivity
- An increase of the market share for the end users
- Improved repairing sector competiveness
- Improved the working conditions of for operators
- New opportunities for high-technology products like optical design, system solution for laser cladding or other laser processes
Results[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
The ALAS-prototype is designed as a modular cladding head with a zoom-module as the central element. This concept has the advantage, that the module can be adapted to different components like fiber-connectors, collimators and beam splitters. The developed variable optical system allows adapting the laser beam size to the requirements of the geometrical aspects of a complex shape. Thus, the system ensures the performing of clad tracks with variable width simplifying the programming cladding strategy. A monitoring system, based on a coaxial machine-vision system set-up is used to control the heat accumulation. A closed loop control system modifies the laser beam power according to the melt pool geometry, which is measured using a CMOS camera. This guarantees constant characteristics of the laser cladding process, avoiding heat accumulation effects, due to external factors like workpiece geometry. A high-level control system (HLCS), being a third development in the global ALAS concept, is a system dealing with the input of the parameters in the ALAS optical system and ALAS controller. In the HLCS important input parameters are listed, such as the track width at every position of the tool path, the laser traveling speed, the positioning of the optical system and the required laser power at every position. The tool path is visualized together with the beam widths and interpolation shape in a Human Machine Interface. The main results are fully described in the public deliverables[3] which are available to the public on the project's website. The research under this project has received funding from the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013) under Grant Agreement n° 315614.
Links[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
- Official website: http://www.alasproject.eu
- AIMEN – Technology Centre, Spain: http://www.aimen.es
- Fraunhofer ILT, Germany: http://www.ilt.fraunhofer.de/en
- VITO, Belgium: https://www.vito.be
- TIC – LENS, Slovenia: http://www.tic-lens.com/en/
- Sill Optics GmbH & Co. KG, Germany: http://www.silloptics.de/english/welcome.php
- Talleres Mecanicos Comas SLU., Spain: http://www.tmcomas.com/en/
- PRECITEC KG, Germany : http://www.precitec.de/en/precitec-group-start-page/
- NEOVISION , Czech Republic: http://www.neovision.cz/
References[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
CORDIS [2] Official website [3] Public Deliverables ALAS Website
Categories[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]
Research projects, Seventh Framework Programme projects