Maximizing Weld Quality in Al-2024 Alloy Laser Welding: A Multi-Objective Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm Approach

The use of laser welding has a considerable impact on the advanced manufacturing sector, particularly for materials that are challenging to weld using traditional welding. Al-2024, a light metal alloy finds widespread use in spacecraft, automobile, marine, and aviation industries for its excellent strength-to-weight ratio. But it has very poor weldability for its physical and thermal characteristics, and for this needs special attention while welding. In the present research, the effect of the different process variables including laser peak power, scanning speed, and laser frequency of Nd-YAG laser on weld width and breaking load is investigated. Taguchi methodology is used to plan for the experiments, and UW YAG 300W pulsed laser welding machine is used for welding. Analysis of variance and regression equations are generated using statistical tool. To get best combination of process parameters, multi-objective artificial bee colony optimization is performed and the optimal breaking load with nominal weld width is predicted.