Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
In the automotive industry, various joining methods are used in manufacturing of electrical connections within battery packs for electric and hybrid vehicles. Here, weldability, weight, and electrical conductivity are important factors in joining tab and bushbar materials. This study investigates the applicability of laser welding copper to Hilumin® used for cell-tab connections in the lithium-ion battery packs. The effects of welding parameters on weld seam were examined, and parameters were optimized using Taguchi method. After joining Hilumin® and copper plate specimens by laser welding, electrical resistance and shear strength of specimens were measured. As a result of the optimizations, laser welding parameters that provided the lowest electrical resistance and the highest mechanical strength were determined. The lowest electrical contact resistance and the highest mechanical strength values in battery interconnects were obtained using a parameter combination of 1.14 mm amplitude, 850 W laser power, and 6.4 m/min laser speed. Applying optimum parameter combination in the production of battery interconnects resulted in a maximum weld seam strength of 123.34 MPa and a minimum electrical contact resistance of 0.36 mΩ. The results obtained in this study show that laser amplitude plays a significant role in the weld seam geometry, mechanical strength, and electrical contact resistance. Increasing laser amplitude also increased the strength of weld joint. Increasing laser amplitude increased weld seam width and therefore weld seam area. The increase in the weld seam area is one of the reasons for increase in the shear strength of the weld seam.