Laser welding with ALPHA LASER laser welding devices
Our laser welding systems yield high-strength precision seams
Whether joint welding or deposition welding, with wire or with powder: our goal is to make the laser welding process ever more precise, application-oriented, and faster. The good controllability of laser energy allows welding of metallic materials with high melting temperatures or high thermal conductivity. Materials that are otherwise difficult or impossible to fuse can often be jointed by laser welding.
Laser technology is indispensable when it comes to mechanically solid, precise, and visually appealing joints. Our laser welding systems use fiber lasers and Nd:YAG lasers for pinpoint energy input that results in less heat and thus prevents distortion of the material. Laser welding yields a smooth, oxide-free surface and a slim seam on butt welds, overlap welds, or fillet welds. Some of our laser systems can also be used for powder deposit welding. This process is perfectly suited to protect your components and tools as well as increase their service life, or for applying material even faster over larger areas.
With laser welding, light is focused on a 0.2 to 2 mm small spot via the focusing optics. The energy input at the focal spot is very high, which causes the material surface to melt quickly. Depending on the welding requirements, the joint can be made with or without different filler metals (wire). At the same time, the weld seams are cooled again at high speed due to the temperature difference in the workpiece. As a result, the thermal distortion of the material is very low.
When welding in CW mode, a continuous melt is the result. When welding in pulsed mode the melt cools during the pulse pauses, which results in a lower welding depth, less distortion on thin components and a lower energy input into the material.
CW laser welding or “CW deep welding”, on the other hand, achieves large welding depths through high energy densities (high average power with a small focus diameter). The “CW thermal conduction welding” process is also used for build-up and joint welding of crack-prone base materials, which enables a very homogeneous weld metal without micro-cracks, depending on the joined material.
