What does the word "sheet metal" remind you of? Most people would probably answer something like "baking pan" or "baffle." That's because they don't know what Herbert Staufer, head of high power welding at Volners International, is doing at TrumPF Australia's production plant in Pasching. The steel plates are four meters long, 200 millimeters thick and ankle high on the ground. Volnerz became one of the leading suppliers of composite welders, and it is no surprise that Staufer knows this material like the back of his hand.

He usually travels to Pasching as a client, but has recently become a supplier on joint projects. Thomas Reiter, Staufer's project partner and customer for sheet metal processing in Pasching, explained the reason for inviting Staufer to participate in the project: "We have to weld these sheets and make them into the frame of the bending machine, which requires very specialized welding techniques." To show what was actually going on, the two men lowered their metal plates and walked toward a gray wall that looked like the outside of a windowless production plant, but was clearly inside the workshop. The TruDisk 8002 disc laser leans against the wall and is quite small by comparison.

On the other side of the wall, a hydraulic system in a large laser safe room lifts 20 tons of steel plates and tilts them to the desired Angle. The beam moves over the device, extends a robotic arm equipped with a composite welding head, slowly moves across the first row of weld joints, uses a laser to heat the material, and then begins the heavy work: the laser beam and metal active gas (MAG) arc torch work together to weld the weld. These solder joints are up to 8 mm thick and can eventually withstand up to 320 tons of pressure. This constant repetition enables the press to work properly throughout its service life.

Outside the laser room, Staufer and Reiter watch the process on a monitor. Reiter says, "We once sent the frame outside for hand welding, which took a whole week! Since then, we are determined to improve efficiency." He soon found that laser composite welding was the right solution. "This welding process is much faster because we only need one weld, unlike arc welding which has to be done bit by bit. We can also use lasers to preheat the material, and automatic processing is easier to ensure quality." So he called this solution Plan A, and just in case, he prepared Plan B - an automated solution that can be paired with traditional MAG welding robots. "But Plan B requires preheating and subsequent stress-relieving heat treatment." So no one wants to use Plan B, Reiter says. But there is A huge problem with Option A, as Staufer says: "We have delivered more than a hundred laser composite welding heads, but the thickest sheet ever processed is only 10 mm."