Why Laser Welding?
Traditional welding has been the industry standard for as long as the industry has existed. While there have been advancements, especially in health and safety, the core technology has remained almost unchanged. Laser welding, while not a direct replacement for traditional methods offers distinct advantages that can give your business a competitive edge.
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Fast Speed
Laser welding is fast, especially for simple repeatable welds. The speed is controlled by the wire feed rate, typically ranging from 500-1,000mm/min. Setting up a new job is also quick, with minimal downtime required to switch between different materials and thicknesses.
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High Quality and Consistency
Laser welding delivers high-quality welds both structurally and aesthetically - comparable to those achieved by skilled manual welders. Its main advantage, however, is consistency. The laser welder operates at a constant speed with precisely controlled parameters, including feed rate, frequency, power, and other key settings. This controlled environment allows for a perfectly uniform weld along the entire seam. Once the parameters and setup are consistent, laser welding produces highly repeatable results between welds, even if a different operator is using the machine.​
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Ease of use
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Compared to traditional methods, laser welding demands significantly less experience. TIG, the closest analogue to laser, requires highly skilled operators and years of practice to consistently produce quality welds. In contrast, a laser welder operator can achieve results like the ones below within a few attempts. High versatility Laser welding is highly versatile and compatible with most common materials, including mild, stainless, galv, and aluminium. It can bridge gaps up to 5-6 mm, penetrate materials up to 5 mm thick, and handle materials as thin as 1 mm without risk of burn-through. Adjustments between these ranges are straightforward and involve minor parameter changes on the main control screen, with occasional adjustments to wire thickness and nozzle type when necessary. Parameters such as wobble amplitude (covered in detail later) enable the same wire thickness to be used across different material thicknesses and gap sizes, preventing the need for a tie consuming second setup. Low distortion and heat input The laser welder lens focuses all the energy from the laser source onto the welding point. This is a significantly more efficient process than traditional means, which reduces the amount of heat transferred to surrounding areas, minimizing heat-related defects such as distortion.