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Clutch plate manufacturer selects industrial CW laser

JK Lasers have supplied Setco Automotive with a high power industrial CW laser, which will be used to manufacture its automotive clutch plates. The parts produced by the company will be used in heavy duty trucks in India and a range of Premium Class vehicles in Europe and Russia.

Setco Automotive has headquarters in Mumbai and manufacturing facilities in Kalol and Uttaranchal, India, Lancashire, UK and Paris, Tennessee, USA. They are one of the world's premier manufacturers of clutch assemblies and pride themselves on producing quality, long lasting products that offer optimum performance even in the most demanding environments.

JK Lasers were able to match the company’s strict quality requirements and were selected to provide a 2kW laser to produce a 2.5mm deep seam weld, joining the inner disc ring to the drive plate.

The strength of the weld was of prime importance, therefore Setco Engineers and JK Lasers’ Applications team based in Rugby, UK, carried out comprehensive trials to develop and perfect optimal laser welding parameters.

In addition to the strength requirements, JK Lasers had to achieve rapid cycle times to meet with the company's high production demands. Following extensive trials, the entire 722mm (230mm diameter) seam weld was achieved in an impressive 20 seconds.

The timeshare facility offered by JK Lasers was also utilised in this process, it enables two workstations to be supplied from a single laser source, which effectively doubles the production capabilities of the Setco plant.

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