OCT for Efficient High Quality Laser Welding

High requirements for duration and quality of laser welding are the main topics in the line production nowadays, especially in the automotive industry. With acquisition rates up to 100 kHz and microseconds duration capture times, optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful adaptive tool, with a few microns resolution, for real-time direct non-contact investigation of material processing. The measurement system used to acquire the workpiece topography enables high accuracy automatic seam tracking, process monitoring and quality assurance (QA), and these functions are executed simultaneously.