Laser Welding Techniques: Tips For Success With nexAir’s Equipment 

Laser Welding is the process of joining materials together using a laser beam. The laser beam produces a high amount of energy, which in turn produces heat that results in precise welding. It can be used to join metals, thermoplastics, and ceramics.
Laser welding is such a great innovation as it allows for precise and accurate welding. This makes welding of small or delicate items easy and simple. It also reduces the time spent on welding as the process involves speedy heating and cooling times.

Laser Welding Techniques

There are two primary laser welding techniques:

Continuous Wave Laser Welding

As the name implies, this technique involves the production of a continuous laser beam at a constant power level, ensuring a consistent heat supply throughout the welding process. The continuous wave technique is perfect for high-precision welds as the continuous beam allows for a smooth and intricate weld. Hence, it is mostly used to weld delicate items such as medical devices and micro-electronics.

Pulsed Laser Welding

As opposed to a continuous beam, pulsed welding produces laser beams in pulses (short bursts of high energy), creating controlled heating and cooling cycles. With pulsed welding, it is possible to adjust the weld’s depth or thickness by controlling the pulse’s frequency and duration.
This flexibility makes it a great option to weld items with different material makeup. Pulse welding is also best for joining heat-sensitive materials, preventing distortion.

Tips For Successful Laser Welding

As useful and effective as laser welding is, it may not be used to its full potential if not used properly. We have compiled some tips to help you get the best result with laser welding.

Pay Attention To Your Materials

Every material has a unique response to laser welding based on its thermal conductivity, reflectiveness, and absorption. It is, therefore, important to pay attention to the materials being welded to determine how the welding is to be carried out.
The heat requirement to weld metals differs from that required to weld metals, and welding both materials the same way will produce an ineffective result. Using the proper equipment is also vital.

Adjust Settings

Laser settings are of utmost importance when welding, as the goal is to get the perfect fusion and penetration. This cannot be achieved if the laser settings, such as the pulse duration, are not set. If you are uncertain about what the best setting is, you can try out some sample materials till you get your desired results.

Remove Contaminants

It is also important to eliminate all forms of impurities on the surfaces to be melded, as every foreign material can significantly interfere with the welding process. You can make use of solvents to get the surfaces clean.

Employ Monitoring Systems

It is possible to get carried away with the welding process and not notice a deflection from the intended design. Having a monitoring system allows you to notice any deflection that may arise and make the necessary adjustments.

Keep Your Eyes Safe

Eye safety in laser welding goes beyond just wearing random goggles. It is of utmost importance to pay attention to the laser wavelength you are using and ensure that your protective eye gear is suitable for that wavelength. Using inappropriate gear can have harmful consequences.

Laser welding does not have to be a complicated process. Employing a combination of nexAir’s dependable equipment and the tips discussed, you are guaranteed to achieve the best result for your next laser welding project. Reach out to us today, and let’s help you get started.