F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E F O R L A S E R T E C H N O L O G Y I LT

Heat treatment using laser radiation

Heat treatment using laser radiation

L a s e r r a d i a t i o n i s i d e a l l y s u i t e d t o t h e precise, local heat treatment of metallic materials, enabling the
spe c if ic m odifi c a ti o n o f p ro p e rti e s . T h e F raunhofer I ns ti tute for L as er Tec hnol ogy I LT dev el ops cust om ized
solut ions f or v a ri o u s a p p l i ca ti o n s .

The Process

hardening edges, ribs or grooves precisely. Large areas can be

hardened using rectangular dimensions up to a width of 100 mm.

During heat treatment with laser radiation, the material is

High-power lasers in the wavelength range of around 1 m

heated locally to a temperature below the melt temperature.

(Nd:YAG, diode lasers, fiber lasers) normally do not require an

The wall thickness determines whether just the surface layer

absorber layer on the workpiece to increase absorption. Take for

or, in the case of sheet metal, the entire cross-section is

example the surface layer hardening of torsion springs used for

heated. Unlike furnace treatment, this technique invariably

door hinges. Wear occurs at the contact area between the tor-

involves a short-time heat treatment with cycle times in the

sion springs and the guide rollers. Using dual-beam technology,

region of a few seconds. The heating rate, the maximum

the contact area is hardened over an area of 170 and a length

temperature and the cooling rate can be set specifically via

of 10 - 12 mm with diode-laser radiation. The bulk properties

temperature control.

of the torsion springs are retained. The process is used in 3-shift

operation to produce around eight million springs a year.

Surface Layer Hardening

Softening
When hardening a component made out of hardenable steel
or cast iron, a surface layer is austenitized for a short period.

Heat treatment using laser radiation can also be used for spe-

The induced heat quickly flows into the cold bulk volume during

cific softening, e.g. of high-strength steels. These steels exhibit

cooling. As a result of this quenching effect, the austenite

a complex microstructure made up of martensite, austenite,

is transformed into martensite. This transformation can be

perlite, ferrite and carbides. The proportion of martensite

adjusted up to a depth of approximately 1 mm. The formation

largely determines the strength. The softening mechanism is

of martensite is associated with an increase in hardness, which,

based on the tempering or partial austenitization with subse-

in turn, improves the components wear-resistance properties.

quent ferrite-perlite transformation. The softening can be used

The microstructure of the bulk volume remains unaffected

to improve the forming properties of steels. High-strength

so that, for instance, toughness and wear resistance can be

steels are increasingly being used in the automotive industry

combined to the best possible effect. The compressive residual

for body or chassis parts on the basis of their outstanding

stresses induced during martensite formation can also be uti-

mechanical properties. These steels are generally cold-formed

lized to improve the fatigue properties of components subjected

in the high-strength state in which they were delivered.

to oscillating loads. Using beam-forming optics, the laser beam

However, the higher strength limits the degree to which they

can be adjusted specifically to the task in hand. A circular laser

can be formed so that cracks may appear in areas of high

beam with a surface of a few square millimeters is ideal for 

deformation degree. As a result, certain components

cannot be made out of high-strength steels. Local softening

Forming

using laser radiation increases the formability in areas of high

deformation degrees. In this state, the B-pillar of a car body

Laser radiation allows metal sheets to be formed in a flexible

can be manufactured using a cold-forming process without

process without any physical contact. Forming can be pro-

any cracks developing.

duced either thermally by inducing a temperature field and,

hence, a mechanical stress field, or non-thermally by means

Another application of softening involves the recrystallization

of laser beam-induced shockwaves, which are generated by

of thin metal sheets. The cold-formed material is temporarily

the explosive evaporation of an absorption layer. This process

heated using the laser beam until the grain structure has been

requires beam sources with pulse lengths of 3 - 30 ns and

fully renewed, enabling the material to be cold-formed again.

pulse intensities between 1012 - 1014 W/m2.

Homogenous recrystallization across the strip thickness of

0.3 mm with a strip throughput-speed of up to 65 m/min has

Contacts

been achieved for cold-rolled strips of a copper/iron alloy.

Dr. Andreas Weisheit
Annealing

Phone +49 241 8906-403

andreas.weisheit@ilt.fraunhofer.de

Laser radiation can also be used for annealing processes where

only local treatment is required, or where furnace treatment

Dr. Konrad Wissenbach

is not an option due to the resulting distortion. One such

Phone +49 241 8906-147

application is stress relief annealing of components and tools

konrad.wissenbach@ilt.fraunhofer.de

that are repaired by means of laser cladding. High residual

tensile stresses normally develop in the laser-clad areas, with
the potential to cause premature fatigue if oscillating loads are
involved. This risk can be countered with local heat treatment,
with creep and diffusion processes reducing the internal stress.
Annealing can also be used to specifically alter electromagnetic properties. The domain structures can be refined by means
of laser heat treatment of electric steel strip, which is used in
applications such as transformers, enabling hysteresis losses to
be reduced significantly.
1 Hardening of torsion springs

2 Annealing of a stator sheet

3 Local hardening of a cold
formed part
4 Hardening of linear guide rails
using four-beam system
5 Local softening of a sheet
made of high strength steel

Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT

With about 300 employees and more than 11,000 m of usable
floorspace the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT is
worldwide one of the most important development and contract research institutes of its specific field. The activities cover
DQS certified by

a wide range of areas such as the development of new laser

DIN EN ISO 9001

beam sources and components, precise laser based metrology,

Reg.-No. DE-69572-01

testing technology and industrial laser processes. This includes

laser cutting, caving, drilling, welding and soldering as well as
surface treatment, micro processing and rapid prototyping.
Furthermore, the Fraunhofer ILT is engaged in laser plant
technology, process control, modeling as well as in the entire
system technology. We offer feasibility studies, process

Fraunhofer-Institut

qualification and laser integration in customer specific manu-

fr Lasertechnik ILT

facturing lines. The Fraunhofer ILT is part of the Fraunhofer-

Director

Gesellschaft with more than 80 research units, 17,000 em-

Prof. Dr. Reinhart Poprawe M.A.

ployees and an annual research budget of 1.5 billion euros.

Steinbachstrae 15
52074 Aachen, Germany
Phone +49 241 8906-0
Fax +49 241 8906-121
info@ilt.fraunhofer.de
www.ilt.fraunhofer.de

Subject to alterations in specifications and other technical information. 11/2009.