Effects of activating flux on CO2 laser welding process of 6013 Al alloy

In order to increase the absorption of laser energy and improve the weld appearance in laser welding of Al alloy, 1.8 mm- 6013 Al alloy plate was welded by activating flux CO2 laser welding. Activating flux includes oxide and fluoride, which was coated on the workpiece surface before welding. The experimental results show that the activating flux can effectively improve the absorption of CO2 laser energy and increase the amount of the molten base metal. The improvement on the absorption of laser energy by oxide activating flux is greater than that by fluoride activating flux or two-component activating flux, but the slag detachability made from both the single activating flux and two-activating flux is poor. The gas pore sensitivity with oxide activating flux is much higher than that with fluoride activating flux in CO2 laser welding of 6013 Al alloy.