Coherent Introduces New Laser Welding Head With Tactile Seam-Tracking Technology for Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

PITTSBURGH, May 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR), a leader in advanced laser processing solutions, today introduced HIGHtactile, a new laser welding head with tactile seam-tracking technology ideal for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing applications.

The growing demand for EVs is expanding applications for lasers in automotive manufacturing, spurring innovations in process automation and improvements in laser usability. Coherent introduced HIGHtactile, a laser processing head with a new patent-pending seam-tracking technology that is easily configurable to perform highly automated fillet welding and brazing.   

“HIGHtactile is the culmination of twenty years of experience designing seam-tracking systems for welding and brazing, making it a truly unique product on the market,” said Dr. Karlheinz Gulden, Senior Vice President, Laser Components and Subsystems Business Unit. “Our laser processing heads have had great success in automotive manufacturing applications. Now, with the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, we are addressing a broad range of new opportunities in critical applications, such as fillet welds that enable battery trays to be stronger and stiffer while at the same time reducing weight.”

HIGHtactile is extremely user-friendly, thanks to its wide range of embedded sensors that streamline almost every functional aspect of the welding head. The sensors improve process learning and enable faster laser processing. HIGHtactile can be configured to maximize performance for specific applications such as brazing steel or welding aluminum and steel. Those processes are typically found in body-in-white applications such as trunk lid and roof top brazing. HIGHtactile can be used with a wide range of lasers, wire feeders, and process monitoring systems.

Coherent will exhibit at Laser World of Photonics, in Munich, Germany, June 27-30, stand B3.321; Laser Korea, in Seoul, July 5-7, stand 4101; and Laser World of Photonics China, in Shanghai, stand W2 2140, July 11-13. At these conferences, Coherent will showcase the most recent additions to its broad portfolio of differentiated solutions for materials processing.