Laser cutting on a plated steel sheet is executed by cutting the plated steel sheet by irradiating the plated steel sheet covered with a plate metal with laser light at a wavelength in a 1 micrometer band; and emitting assist gas onto a cut surface of the plated steel sheet, the cut surface being formed in the step of cutting, to make the plate metal fused by irradiation of the laser light flow to the cut surface so as to cover the cut surface with the plate metal.

Laser cutting on a plated steel sheet is executed by cutting the plated steel sheet by irradiating the plated steel sheet covered with a plate metal with laser light at a wavelength in a 1 micrometer band; and emitting assist gas onto a cut surface of the plated steel sheet, the cut surface being formed in the step of cutting, to make the plate metal fused by irradiation of the laser light flow to the cut surface so as to cover the cut surface with the plate metal.

A laser machining method able to effectively satisfy cutting quality required on one side of a cutting spot of a workpiece. A laser machining method for cutting a workpiece W by using a machining head able to emit a laser beam and an assist gas coaxially and non-coaxially includes: preparing a machining program specifying, for the workpiece W, a cutting line, and a first region and a second region on both sides of the cutting line where cutting quality requirements are different; and maintaining a state in which a center axis of the assist gas is shifted from an optical axis of the laser beam toward the first region in response to the difference in the cutting quality requirements during the cutting between the first region and the second region along the cutting line in accordance with the machining program.

Devices for laser welding using welding wire have a welding head, a wire guide for the welding wire, and a wire feed drive. The welding wire can be moved by the wire feed drive during a welding process with a feed movement in a feed direction, guided by the wire guide. A positioning device has a positioning drive, by which the welding wire is moved in an oscillating manner in the longitudinal direction of the welding wire, when a wire end of the welding wire is arranged in a welding readiness position. Methods for laser welding using a welding wire as added material are carried out using the devices. A control program controls the devices. The devices for laser welding can be provided as a part of a welding robot.

A composite member is manufactured by a manufacturing method including adding, on a surface of a base member composed of a first material, a second material different from the first material, using additive manufacturing employing directed energy deposition as an additive manufacturing process. The manufacturing method is performed by placing the base member in a machining area of a machine tool configured to perform subtractive machining. Accordingly, a composite member can be obtained that is manufactured through additive manufacturing and that is in a state in which the composite member can be promptly machined.

A shift in position of a laser beam used for welding objects is corrected without need for intervention by a welder. An irradiator performs welding along a welding part of objects to be welded by relatively moving objects to be welded and a nozzle for emitting a laser beam. An arm apparatus movably holds the nozzle while applying a biasing force to the nozzle in a direction toward the welding part such that the nozzle comes into contact with objects to be welded to irradiate the welding part with the laser beam.

An additive manufacturing system may include an energy source, an optical system to modify and direct an energy beam from the energy source toward a component to form a melt pool, and a material delivery device to deliver material to the melt pool. The optical system may form an annular energy beam, direct the annular energy beam toward the component, receive at least a portion of thermal emissions produced by the annular energy beam and the melt pool, and direct the portion of the thermal emissions toward an imaging device, which may be used to control the energy source.

An article includes a ceramic material and features a machined surface that is characteristic of cold ablation laser machining, and the machined surface exhibits no visible oxidation. A laser machining apparatus and technique is based on cold-ablation, but is modified or augmented with an inert assist gas to minimize deleterious surface modifications and mitigate oxide formation associated with laser machining.

An article includes a ceramic material and features a machined surface that is characteristic of cold ablation laser machining, and the machined surface exhibits no visible oxidation. A laser machining apparatus and technique is based on cold-ablation, but is modified or augmented with an inert assist gas to minimize deleterious surface modifications and mitigate oxide formation associated with laser machining.

A method for realizing high-speed cladding of hollow offset-focus annual laser. The method includes the following steps: dividing laser into annual light, and forming an offset-focus annual light spot after the annual light is focused, which acts on a surface of a matrix; during cladding for the surface of the matrix, selecting laser parameters according to different materials; after every cladding, making a shift by 20-80% of the diameter of the light spot in a vertical direction of a scanning speed of the laser; in the cladding process, selecting shielding gas for protection, and blowing the shielding gas to the molten powder in the air to spray the molten powder in air towards the surface of the matrix at a certain speed so that the cladding layer and the matrix are bonded firmly, and cladding the surface of the matrix to form a coating layer.