Laser welding of aluminum and copper for battery welding applications using a 500W single mode fiber laser

For conductive materials such as aluminum and copper the use of a single mode fiber presents some clear advantages of welding speed and cost effective welding solution. The ability to a focus to a sub 30 micron spot size enables the single mode fiber laser to achieve the necessary power densities required to couple into these reflective materials. In addition the heat conduction of the materials stabilizes the weld from over heating due to the highly localized power density and also spread the weld volume to ease the potential issues of seam tracking with such as small spot size. The paper provides experimental details of the welding and specific examples of welding aluminum welding battery cans and conductive tabs for battery pack manufacture.