Gantry Laser Welding Machine for Battery Shell Welding: Zero-Leak Sealing of Aluminum EV Battery Enclosures

Project Background

A new-energy battery enclosure supplier producing aluminum shells for electric-vehicle packs and commercial energy-storage cabinets needed a welding process that could pass helium leak testing on every unit. The shells are thin-walled (0.8–2.0 mm) and up to 1,800 mm long, with long continuous seams around the top cover, side walls and busbar openings. The existing TIG process required three passes, post-weld straightening and manual rework, and still failed airtightness testing on a significant share of units.

Manufacturing Challenges

• Leak-tight sealing: coolant and moisture ingress is unacceptable in an EV pack; every shell must pass a helium leak test.
• Thermal distortion: thin aluminum walls warp under TIG heat input, closing the gap for the module stack and complicating downstream assembly.
• Throughput bottleneck: manual rework and straightening consumed more floor time than the welding itself.
• Highly reflective material: aluminum reflects most of the beam energy, causing porosity and unstable penetration with conventional laser heads.

Solution: 3000W Gantry Galvanometer Laser Welding System

Hailei Laser engineered a gantry-mounted galvanometer laser welding system (model HL-ZJ-3000W) around the customer’s shell envelope. Instead of moving a heavy part under a fixed head, the gantry carries the welding head over the workpiece, so the working envelope is limited only by the rail length — a decisive advantage for extra-long battery shells and tray-level assemblies.

• Long-travel gantry frame: high rigidity keeps micron-level repeat positioning across seams longer than 1.5 m, with no vibration at production speed.
• Wobble welding head: an oscillating beam widens the weld pool, bridges fit-up gaps and eliminates porosity in reflective aluminum without extra filler wire.
• Ultra-low heat input: the high-energy-density beam confines the heat-affected zone, so shells stay flat and the internal module channels remain unobstructed.
• Dual-station layout: one station welds while the operator loads the next shell, cutting idle time and lifting output by more than 70% versus a single-station cell.
• CCD vision and closed-loop control: seam position, power and shielding gas are monitored in real time, giving full traceability for each shell serial number.

Verified Technical Configuration

Production Results

Project Gallery

Why Gantry Beats a Robotic Arm for Battery Shells

Robotic arms suit compact 3D parts, but battery shells are large, flat and long. A gantry gives a straight, stiff axis precisely where the seam runs, so penetration stays constant from the first millimeter to the last. Combined with galvanometer scanning, the beam can jump between weld points without moving the frame, which is why cycle time drops so sharply on multi-seam shells.

Customer Feedback

“The straightening and rework stations are gone. We now weld a full shell in one pass and it goes straight to the leak test.”

Conclusion

Gantry laser welding turns battery shell production from a rework-heavy manual process into a single-pass, traceable operation. For suppliers of EV battery enclosures, energy-storage cabinets and liquid cold plates, the combination of long-travel rigidity, wobble-beam gap tolerance and dual-station throughput delivers sealing reliability and a measurable ROI within the first production quarter. Contact Hailei Laser with your shell dimensions and annual volume for a tailored welding configuration.