Multisensor Inspection of Laser-Brazed Joints in the Automotive Industry.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Non-Destructive Testing

Background:

• Automobile laser brazing is prone to defects due to process variability, impacting weld integrity.
• Current inspection methods may not fully address the complexities of laser-brazed automotive welds.
• Ensuring weld quality is critical for vehicle safety and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a multisensory inspection system for automobile laser-brazed welds.
• To integrate potential drop method and eddy current testing for enhanced defect detection.
• To improve the reliability and accuracy of non-destructive evaluation in automotive manufacturing.

Main Methods:

• Designed, simulated, and experimentally validated new probes for potential drop and eddy current testing.
• Developed a novel four-point probe configuration with an orthogonal shape.
• Introduced artificial defects into laser-brazed weld beads for testing.

Main Results:

• The proposed multisensory system successfully detected porosities, cracks, and lack of bonding defects.
• Numerical simulations and experimental validation confirmed the superior performance of the new orthogonal probe.
• The study demonstrated the redundancy and complementarity of the two non-destructive techniques.

Conclusions:

• The developed multisensory inspection system provides a reliable method for assessing automobile laser-brazed weld quality.
• The integrated approach enhances defect detection capabilities compared to individual methods.
• This system contributes to improved quality control in automotive laser brazing processes.