APPARATUS FOR BUTT WELDING STEEL STRIPS BY USING A LASER BEAM IN A STEEL STRIP-PROCESSING LINE

摘要

Disclosed herein is a laser-welding apparatus comprising a pair of clamp means at least one of which is movable reciprocally along the steel strip-feed line direction and which are adapted to clamp the edge portions of preceding and trailing steel strips, a shear which is advanceable and retractable between the pair of the clamp means in a perpendicular direction to the line and cuts the edge portions of the preceding and trailing steel strips, means for butting the cut faces of the preceding and trailing steel strips while being clamped by means of the clamp means, means for continuously feeding a filler wire at a weld zone at which the laser beam is condensed, and a laser torch adapted to condense a laser beam from a laser oscillator on an off-line at a weld zone and movable in a width direction of steel strips to be welded together.