Laser Welding Knowledge

Laser Welding

Laser beam welding (LBW) is a welding process which produces coalescence of materials with the heat obtained from the application of a concentrate coherent light beam impinging upon the surfaces to be joined.

The focused laser beam has the highest energy concentration of any known source of energy. The laser beam is a source of electromagnetic energy or light that can be pro jetted without diverging and can be concentrated to a precise spot. The beam is coherent and of a single frequency.

Gases can emit coherent radiation when contained in an optical resonant cavity. Gas lasers can be operated continuously but originally only at low levels of power. Later developments allowed the gases in the laser to be cooled so that it could be operated continuously at higher power outputs. The gas lasers are pumped by high radio frequency generators which raise the gas atoms to sufficiently high energy level to cause lasing. Currently, 2000-watt carbon dioxide laser systems are in use. Higher powered systems are also being used for experimental and developmental work. A 6-kw laser is being used for automotive welding applications and a 10-kw laser has been built for research purposes. There are other types of lasers; however, the continuous carbon dioxide laser now available with 100 watts to 10 kw of power seems the most promising for metalworking applications.

The coherent light emitted by the laser can be focused and reflected in the same way as a light beam. The focused spot size is controlled by a choice of lenses and the distance from it to the base metal. The spot can be made as small as 0.003 in. (0.076 mm) to large areas 10 times as big. A sharply focused spot is used for welding and for cutting. The large spot is used for heat treating.

The laser offers a source of concentrated energy for welding; however, there are only a few lasers in actual production use today. The high-powered laser is extremely expensive. Laser welding technology is still in its infancy so there will be improvements and the cost of equipment will be reduced. Recent use of fiber optic techniques to carry the laser beam to the point of welding may greatly expand the use of lasers in metal-working.

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