A European consortium with six partners from research and industry was developed to perfect laser-stabilized plasma welding processes, Laser Zentrum Hannover eV (LZH) announced recently. Fifty interested enterprises attended the one-day startup workshop for the European Union’s project CLAiM (Customized Laser-Aided Plasma Arc Welding of Light Alloys and Steels) in Turkey, listening to lectures on the planned optimizations for welding thin metal sheets. German firm Merkle Schweißanlagen-Technik presented the welding system, while LZH explained the process and Spanish partner Tecnalia Automotive described the welding process control concept. The Turkish companies at the workshop were informed of the possibilities of participating in EU projects and of the funding initiatives for cooperating with German partners. Two European research institutes and four industrial enterprises will work together until September 2012 under project CLAiM. The organizations include Tecnalia and Taller de Modelos y Troqueles SL of Spain, Form Engineering Ltd. of Turkey, Laser-Tech of the Czech Republic, and Merkle and LZH of Germany. The research and development activities will be supported financially by the 7th Framework program of the EU. The goal of CLAiM is to shorten the processing time for established plasma welding processes while at the same time significantly increasing welding seam quality. CLAiM hopes this will strengthen the position of SMEs (small- and middle-size enterprises) in the market. Laser Zentrum Hannover carries out research and development in the field of laser technology and is supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport of the State of Lower Saxony (Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Verkehr). For more information, visit: www.lzh.de