laserwelding

Laser Beam Welding (LBW), is a relatively recent welding operation having only been established for a couple decades. And only recently has it begun to filter down into general usage. At first it was in used with exotic metal types that were exceedingly difficult to weld with normally established welding procedures. But over time, laser welding has evolved into a more prominent position amongst the many different types of welding processes.

Perhaps you've wondered what laser welding is. It is a very accurate welding process that is accomplished by the use of a tightly focused laser beam. This laser projects a high-power beam of light onto a metal assembly which then causes the metal to melt and fuse together, or in laymen's terms, become welded.

The resultant beam of light that is emitted by the laser assembly can be one of two types: a visible beam of light or an infrared beam of light. As the beam of light travels from the laser, it is then guided by specialized optics that are used to accurately position the beam wherever a weld is required. It's because of these highly accurate and specialized optics that the beam focus can be controlled so tightly, and focused on a very small area or spot.

A major benefit of laser welding is the ability to tightly focus the beam's power on an extremely small or tightly controlled region. The benefit of this is that by concentrating the beam on a small area you will increase the energy density without requiring a larger power input. This also has the effect of lowering the size of the heat affected zone (HAZ) and increasing the speed of the heating and cooling cycle. Control over the laser beam size and focal point is so accurate that the average weld size rarely deviates in size, which is typically a fraction of a millimeter up to about 2 centimeters.

Because of recent advances in computer control, most laser welding is completely automated. There are occasions where it may be semi-automated, but they are the exceptions and not the norm. Focal Length, depth of weld, power input, weld area, and pulse time are just a few of the parameters that are easily controlled, and aid in producing extremely accurate and repeatable welds in a variety of metal types and thicknesses. So with the computer control, and high quality results, laser welding is often the best choice in welding processes, especially if you're looking for an automated process in a production environment.

Within the laser welding process are two basic types of laser welding. Pulsed beam laser welding, and continuous beam laser welding. As their names imply, continuous beam laser welding is done with a beam that's continuously operated, whereas a pulsed beam welder pulses on and off. Which type of welding process you'll use will depend mainy on the thickness of the materials that you need to weld. Thinner and more difficult to weld materials will normally use the pulsed weld process. This will help to limit the amount of heat that's transferred to the weldment, and in turn will reduce or eliminate warping and distortion. For thicker pieces that need to be completely fused all the way through, the higher powered continuous beam laser welding process will normally be used. Which one you choose will depend on your specific circumstances and requirements.

So as you can see, even though it's a relatively new process, the different types of laser welding processes are capable of producing extremely high quality welds across a variety of different metals and thicknesses. Almost any type of metal that's weldable can be welded with the laser process including titanium, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, and even copper for instance. Click here for more information and a good example of a laser welding machine