Laser beam welding

The laser welding is one of the following Production methods and is used in the industry to connect metallic components and thermoplastics. The method is based on the punctual energy supply via a laser beam, wherein usually no additional material is used.
Thanks to the energy-intensive laser beam, laser welding is characterized by a very high welding speed, a low thermal distortion in the component and a narrow and precise welding seam. It is therefore used in high-precision applications in Tool construction, in the automotive industry, in steel construction, in shipbuilding, in aerospace and in other industries.

Once the melting point of the material is reached, increasing absorption in the workpiece leads to vaporization. This process creates what is known as a keyhole—a vapor channel that absorbs nearly all of the laser energy and thus generates laser-induced plasma.

From the vapor channel, heat spreads through the workpiece, creating a molten zone around the channel. As the laser beam moves along the desired contour, the melt solidifies to form a weld seam. Due to the high energy density, melting and solidification occur within fractions of a second, allowing very high welding speeds. Under ideal conditions—for example, with a continuous straight seam—welding speeds of up to 60 meters per minute can be achieved.

Laser welding can be used to join not only metallic materials but also thermoplastic plastics and ceramic components.

The Laser cutting follows a similar method construction, wherein the high energy intensity of the laser beam is used for separating solid bodies and not for connecting.

When and what is laser welding used for?

In the metal and partly also in the plastic processing industry, laser welding has prevailed in the precise and fast joining of components. The typical applications of the method include, for example, the production of:

Technical Variants of Laser Welding

Laser welding allows the shape and quality of the weld seam to be varied by adjusting energy intensity or other process parameters. The following provides a brief overview of the key technical variants of the welding process.

Conduction Welding: In this variant, the laser intensity is kept below the critical threshold, preventing the formation of metal plasma. As a result, there is no deep welding effect, and the weld penetration remains particularly shallow.

Deep Penetration Welding: This is the most common variant of laser welding. The intensity is higher than in conduction welding, causing the described vaporization effect and the formation of laser-induced plasma.

Spot and Seam Welding: This variant produces either tiny weld spots with diameters under 0.1 mm or long weld seams with very narrow geometry. Spot and seam welding provides high-strength connections with minimal heat input.

Scanner Welding: In scanner welding, neither the processing head nor the workpiece needs to be moved to position the laser beam. Instead, a galvanometrically controlled rotating mirror is used to deflect and position the beam.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Process

Laser welding has proven itself in industry due to its many advantages in joining components where high speed, precision, and minimal thermal distortion are required. The main pros and cons of the process are outlined below:

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