Investigation on the laser welding process of tin phosphor bronze

Tin phosphor bronze is a tin-based copper alloy which is widely used in the electronics industry. It is being used in components such as computer and mobile connectors, lead frames, vibrating plates and terminals. Because of the high reflectivity and high thermal conductivity of copper and its alloys, joining these materials by laser welding is still a challenging operation. In this study, tin phosphor bronze plates with three different thicknesses were welded by laser with the aid of an absorbent material. The weld quality was evaluated in terms of weld geometry, microstructure and mechanical properties of the welds. Results show that the full-penetration welds were successfully performed with the application of the absorbent material. In addition, finite element method was undertaken for investigating temperature profiles in laser welding of bronze. Great agreements were also obtained between experimental and numerical results.