| 摘要 |
A thin-walled, laser-welded multi-piece door knob assembly (20) is disclosed in which two halves (22, 24) of a knob assembly (20) are formed by standard stamping or forming processes and an interface edge is formed thereon. The stampings are placed in abutting alignment and joined together in a welding process, which fuses the two halves together with no filler material. During the welding process, each of the knob halves (22, 24) are constrained to their nominal shape as they are held in appropriate position and rotated together on a common axis. During the welding process, the welder (52) is radially manipulated with respect to the interface edges (30, 34) to maintain a fixed distance between the welder and the knob assembly (20) regardless of the circumferential configuration of the knob assembly. Sizing fixtures (40) may be utilized to constrain the knob halves (22, 24) and facilitate loading thereof through the use of articulated holders. Upon completion of the welding process, the welded knob assembly (20) is further finished utilizing sanding and polishing steps to remove any visible weld joints. Subsequent plating, physical vapor deposition or powdered coating is used to provide the desired surface finish.
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