INTERACTIVE LASER WELDING AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES OF SUPERALLOY ARTICLES

摘要

A process is provided for laser welding a superalloy article (20) by pre- heating the entire weld area and region adjacent to the weld area of the article to a ductile temperature within the range of 1400-2100 degrees F with an induction heat coil (14) and maintaining such tem- perature during welding and solidification of the weld; and welding the preheated ar- ticle using a laser (11) with a powder al- loy feed (12), with a control system which controls the laser powder feed (12) and a motion system on which the article is fix- tured, wherein the control system includes a vision system which digitizes the weld area of the article (20) providing a path for the laser to follow.