14th International Conference on Shot Peening

Development of a peening device with a handheld laser on a collaborative robot

Y. Sanoa,b,c, Y. Mizutab, S. Tamakic, K. Yokofujitad, T. Hosokaib, T. Tairaa

Institute for Molecular Science, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan – yuji-sano@ims.ac.jp

Osaka University, SANKEN, Ibaraki 567-0047, Japan

LAcubed Co. Ltd., Yokohama 220-0012, Japan

Unitac Co. Ltd., Onomichi 722-0212, Japan

Introduction

Laser peening without coating (LPwC) improves the fatigue properties of metallic materials through generating compressive residual stress (RS) on the surface [1,2]. The process of LPwC is simple, as it only irradiates laser pulses on a material covered with water [3]. However current laser system is fragile and complex, thus preventing LPwC spreading widely. Recent progress in microchip lasers [4] could simplify the LPwC device and reduce the size and weight significantly [5].

Objectives

In order to expand the application of LPwC not only indoors but also outdoors, we have developed a compact LPwC device with a thumb-sized microchip laser mounted on a collaborative robot arm.