QCOALA Quality Control of Aluminium Laser-welded Assemblies

Summary

The development of the QCOALA laser processing system will mean that testing is carried out so that parts are not tested until breaking point. It will also provide a reliable, high-speed, low-cost and high-quality joining solution for electric car battery and thin-film photovoltaic cell interconnections. Through fully integrated process ICTs and statistical process control, the new system will facilitate in-line quality control, as well as a higher level of automation in manufacturing and thereby achieve higher yield and throughput for both of these high-in-demand applications. This project will help the consortium partners to increase their annual turnover to the order of between 15 and 25%, productivity between 50 and 100% and yield by 2 and 10%. The new laser processing system will be based on a pulsed platform, capable of laser pulses in the range of micro seconds to milli seconds and pulse energies of up to tens of joules able to generate both near infra-red and green wavelength through a dual-wavelength beam scanner. Real-time temporal pulse control will be developed to allow close-loop control of the monitored process. The fully-integrated system will produce continuous (i.e. not sample-based) inspection rates, with a â˜fingerprintâ™ of each laser weld captured in real time, and allow in-line process control when welding car battery and thin-film PV cell interconnections. QCOALA is focused on energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly and agile manufacturing, through the feedback of in-line information into the production line relating to monitoring and inspection, allowing for process control and continuous quality improvement, as well as waste reduction. Whereas the aim of the project is to produce smarter and more energy-efficient manufacturing, the applications addressed in the project are categorised in the green, â˜alternativeâ™ energy market.

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Web resources:	http://www.qcoala.eu https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/260153
Start date:	01-09-2010
End date:	31-08-2013
Total budget - Public funding:	3 926 091,00 Euro - 2 627 239,00 Euro

Cordis data

Original description

The QCOALA project will develop a new dual-wavelength laser processing system for welding thin-gauge aluminium and copper, 0.1mm to 1.0mm in thickness, with integrated process monitoring and in-line non-destructive inspection, and establish its capability to provide a reliable, high-speed, low-cost and high-quality joining solution for electric car battery and thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cell interconnections. Through fully integrated process ICT and Statistical Process Control (SPC), the new system will facilitate in-line quality control, as well as a higher level of automation in manufacturing, and thereby achieve higher yield and throughput, for both these high-in-demand applications. This project will help the Beneficiaries, with expertise in the constituent components of the new system, to increase their annual turnover between 15 and 25%, their productivity between 50 and 100% and their yield between 2 and 10%.
The new laser processing system will be based on a pulsed platform for PV interconnections, capable of laser pulses in the range of µs to ms and pulse energies of up to (tens of) Joules, and capable of generating both the near-IR and green wavelength through a dual-wavelength beam scanner. Real-time temporal pulse control will be developed to allow closed-loop control of the monitored process. A dual , pulsed green and continuous wave (cw) IR platform will be used for welding battery interconnections. In this case, the combined green and IR beams will be delivered through the same dual wavelength welding head. The fully-integrated system will produce 100% inspection rate, with a 'fingerprint' of each laser weld captured in 'real-time', and allow in-line process control when welding car battery and thin-film PV cell interconnections QCOALA is focused on energy-efficient, environmental-friendly and agile manufacturing, through the feed-back of in-line-monitoring and inspection information into the production line, allowing process control and continuous quality improvement and waste reduction. Whereas the concept of the project is aimed at smarter and more energy-efficient manufacturing, the applications that are addressed in the project fall are categorised in the 'green' alternative energy market.

Status

CLO

Url

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/260153

Call topic

FoF.ICT.2010.10.1

Update Date

27-10-2022

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Factories of the Future Partnership - Made in Europe Partnership

Comment: The new laser system that will be developed in QCOALA will comprise an optimised laser source with a wavelength suited to aluminium and copper welding, fully integrated with in-line process monitoring and inspection systems to ensure the quality of products that are produced. The new system will facilitate in-line quality control, as well as a higher level of automation in manufacturing, and thereby achieve higher yield and throughput, for both these high-in-demand applications.

Comment: The QCOALA manufacturing process combines several knowledge-intensive technologies including laser and beam delivery system integration, laser-based material processing, advanced process monitoring and inspection. The combination exploits the convergence of a number of high-tech technologies, which will create a knowledge-intensive process applicable to products of both new high-tech and highgrowth industries, such as PV, and also benefit the high-value knowledge-based traditional industries, such as car battery manufacture.

Comment: The project has

Comment: The QCOALA concept will enable the development of products with improved performance. This is particularly important for applications requiring the highest level of performance and reliability in challenging conditions, essential in an application such as the electric car battery. Higher performance products will provide European manufacturers with an additional source of competitive advantage.

Comment: This project hase the target to decrease the energy consumption by more than 20%.The project will be using the latest in laser technology which have a wall-plug efficiency of around 30%, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of the current ‘workhorse’ in industry, i.e. the lamp- pumped Nd:YAG laser. The QCOALA system is aligned with the European Photovoltaics Technology Platform’s objectives, outlined in their implementation plan published august 2009. The report mentions the need for a pan-European approach to solving the roadblocks of PV technology and manufacture.

Comment: The QCOALA project brings together a diverse multi-disciplinary and multisector consortium from across the EU, generating additional innovation and cooperation, which will fuel the continuous innovation required to increase European competitiveness.

Comment: The project focuses on ICT for agile and environmentally friendly manufacturing. The advanced level of automation that the fully integrated (laser) welding station will offer, will allow the approach not only for mainstream high-volume manufacture, but also for small-series production. The application of the laser scanner, for instance, allows fast, versatile programming of laser paths, which can be altered for each product, if necessary. The dual-wavelength nature of the scanner will facilitate a fast change-over between the welding of copper and aluminium interconnections. Smallscale manufacturing (and to some extent large-scale manufacturing) requires traceability of products, through its production life and its in-serve lifecycle. Using the same laser source for marking will facilitate this aspect of small-series production.

Comment: Customised manufacturing will be facilitated by the use of a dual-wavelength laser system, beam scanning, integrated imperfection recognition algorithms that are ‘interactive’, for example, the system can be taught depending on the product/ quality level set, robust and adaptable software packages adaptable to suit the end-use.

Result items:

Battery interconnection welding system integration demonstration

PV-cell welding system demonstration

Result items:

Battery interconnection welding system integration demonstration

The super-capacitor battery comprised a ‘bank’ or ‘stack’ of batteries, which were interconnected using copper busbar terminals. Laser welding offered the advantage of high-speed, low heat input and low-distortion.

PV-cell welding system demonstration

Flexible organic and inorganic solar cells are increasingly becoming important as an alternative source of energy. Although solar cells are a proven concept / product, many challenges remain in the production process of these flexible thin-film solar cells. As part of the QCOALA project, flexible metal tabs or foils, made of aluminium or copper, were welded to the cells to form modules. This allowed an accurate, low heat input process within the solar cell, which is a very important aspect, since PV cells on

Quality Control of Aluminium Laser-welded Assemblies

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QCOALA | Quality Control of Aluminium Laser-welded Assemblies

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Paola Debono