An orientation and guide mechanism for a welding system includes a pair of opposed guide members. A weld wire having a non-round cross-section is fed through a guide passageway formed between the guide members, each of which have recessed channels that combine to define the guide passageway. The guide passageway has a non-round shape corresponding to the non-round shape of the wire. The orientation mechanism and the guide members thereof is adjustable relative to a welding device of the weld system, such that the orientation of the wire can be controlled and maintained by adjusting the orientation mechanism. The wide side of the wire may be adjusted to be presented to a radiant energy source, and/or the non-round wire may be adjusted relative to the desired weld seam.

A method of attaching a first metal object to a second metal object is presented. The first metal object and the second metal object are dissimilar materials. The first metal object comprises an upper surface and a lower surface. The method comprises: positioning the first metal object in intimate contact with the second metal object such that the second metal object is in contact with the lower surface of the first metal object; identifying at least one attachment location on the upper surface of the first metal object where the first metal object is in intimate contact with the second metal object; adding a powdered metal on the upper surface of the first metal object at the at least one attachment location; and firing a heat source at the powdered metal to melt the powdered metal and drive the melted powdered metal through the first metal object and into the second metal object.

In a battery assembly including a first battery and a second battery, the first battery includes a negative terminal, and the negative terminal has a first metal section and a second metal section formed of a metal different from the first metal section. The second metal section is joined to the top of the first metal section with the dissimilar metal joining, and the second metal section is formed with a joint surface and a recessed portion. A method of manufacturing the battery assembly includes a process of inserting a welding assist member into the recessed portion, and a process of placing a bus bar on the joint surface of the negative terminal in which the welding assist member is inserted in the recessed portion, and joining the bus bar onto the joint surface of the negative terminal by laser welding.

A production method for welding a copper conductor to an electrical contact element of a workpiece for electrical contacting. The contact element has a first copper alloy, and the method has the following method steps: mechanical contacting between the copper conductor and the contact element at a join of the contact element, the welding of the copper conductor to the contact element being carried out with the aid of a focused laser beam, the laser beam having a wavelength of less than or equal to 0.6 μm, and a welded seam is produced which has a welding depth that is greater than or equal to 100 μm.

A production method for welding a copper conductor to an electrical contact element of a workpiece for electrical contacting. The contact element has a first copper alloy, and the method has the following method steps: mechanical contacting between the copper conductor and the contact element at a join of the contact element, the welding of the copper conductor to the contact element being carried out with the aid of a focused laser beam, the laser beam having a wavelength of less than or equal to 0.6 μm, and a welded seam is produced which has a welding depth that is greater than or equal to 100 μm.

A method for establishing a weld joint comprises the step of projecting an energy beam such as a laser beam (2) onto an interface area (103) between two parts (101, 102) to be joined. The beam (2) is projected onto the interface area (103) so as to produce a primary spot on the interface area (103), and the beam (2) is repetitively scanned in two dimensions in accordance with a scanning pattern so as to establish an effective spot (21) on the object, the effective spot (21) having a two-dimensional energy distribution. The effective spot (21) is displaced along a track (104) over the interface area (103) so as to progressively melt mating portions of the first part (101) and the second part (102) so as to form the weld joint (105). The effective spot (21) can feature an asymmetric energy distribution.

A process for room temperature substrate bonding employs a first substrate substantially transparent to a laser wavelength is selected. A second substrate for mating at an interface with the first substrate is then selected. A transmissivity change at the interface is created and the first and second substrates are mated at the interface. The first substrate is then irradiated with a laser of the transparency wavelength substantially focused at the interface and a localized high temperature at the interface from energy supplied by the laser is created. The first and second substrates immediately adjacent the interface are softened with diffusion across the interface to fuse the substrates.

A process for room temperature substrate bonding employs a first substrate substantially transparent to a laser wavelength is selected. A second substrate for mating at an interface with the first substrate is then selected. A transmissivity change at the interface is created and the first and second substrates are mated at the interface. The first substrate is then irradiated with a laser of the transparency wavelength substantially focused at the interface and a localized high temperature at the interface from energy supplied by the laser is created. The first and second substrates immediately adjacent the interface are softened with diffusion across the interface to fuse the substrates.

A process for room temperature substrate bonding employs a first substrate substantially transparent to a laser wavelength is selected. A second substrate for mating at an interface with the first substrate is then selected. A transmissivity change at the interface is created and the first and second substrates are mated at the interface. The first substrate is then irradiated with a laser of the transparency wavelength substantially focused at the interface and a localized high temperature at the interface from energy supplied by the laser is created. The first and second substrates immediately adjacent the interface are softened with diffusion across the interface to fuse the substrates.

A process for room temperature substrate bonding employs a first substrate substantially transparent to a laser wavelength is selected. A second substrate for mating at an interface with the first substrate is then selected. A transmissivity change at the interface is created and the first and second substrates are mated at the interface. The first substrate is then irradiated with a laser of the transparency wavelength substantially focused at the interface and a localized high temperature at the interface from energy supplied by the laser is created. The first and second substrates immediately adjacent the interface are softened with diffusion across the interface to fuse the substrates.