Introduction

Laser welding is a welding method that uses a focused laser beam as an energy source to bombard the weldment with the generated heat. Because the laser has optical properties such as refraction and focusing, so laser welding is very suitable for welding of micro-parts and parts with poor weld ability. Laser welding has the characteristics of low heat input, small welding deformation, and is not affected by electromagnetic fields. The welding process is of thermal conductivity type, that is, the surface of the workpiece is heated by laser radiation, and the surface heat is diffused to the inside through heat conduction. By controlling the laser power, swing width, frequency and other parameters, the workpiece is melted to form a specific molten pool.

Advantages of fiber laser welding

1.The heat input can be reduced to the minimum required amount, the metallographic change range of the heat-affected zone is small, and the deformation caused by heat conduction is also the lowest.

2.There is no need to use electrodes, and there is no concern about electrode contamination or damage. And because it is not a contact welding process, the wear and deformation of the machine tool can be minimized.

3.The laser beam can be focused on a small area and can weld small and closely spaced parts.

4.A wide range of materials that can be welded, and can also join various different materials.

5.Easy to weld at high speed automatically, and can also be controlled by digital or computer.

6.When welding thin materials or small diameter wires, it will not be as easy to be troublesome as arc welding.

7.Unaffected by magnetic field (arc welding and electron beam welding can be affected easily), can accurately align the weldment.

8.Two metals with different physical properties (such as different resistance) can be welded.

Other advantages

1.Labor cost ：

Labor cost of argon arc welding: argon arc welding requires a mature welder. The monthly salary of a mature welder starts at 8K. The labor cost for a year is 8k*12=9.6w；

Hand-held welding labor cost: Hand-held welding is simple and easy to learn. Ordinary operators can learn it within 1-2 days. The monthly salary of ordinary operators is generally about 4k, and the labor cost for a year is 4k*12=4.8w; so In terms of labor costs alone, replacing argon arc welding with handheld welding can save 4.8w of wages per worker per year.

Argon arc welding welders are "difficult to recruit" and require extremely high experience and skill requirements for welders. Laser welding can also be operated by non-professional personnel. "Getting started and welding" has become a unique advantage of laser welding. Moreover, as labor wages have increased year by year, this has further increased the labor costs of enterprises. The cost of a professional welding worker and a general worker has generally reached a gap of 2-3 times.

2.   Deformation：

The heat of the laser welding machine is more concentrated, and the thermal deformation caused by the material is small. The heat-affected zone of laser welding is only one-tenth of that of argon arc welding. When the thin plate is fully welded, the deformation is also the smallest.

3.   Welding quality：

Laser welding machines have more advantages in welding thin-walled materials. In terms of accuracy, the laser welding machine has higher precision, and the laser welding machine is more beautiful. The subsequent welding basically does not need to be polished, which reduces a process, and saves time and trouble and saves the cost of polishing.

4.Welding speed：

For a mature argon arc welding worker, we assume that he can weld 10 products in an hour. We conservatively estimate the speed of laser hand-held welding. At least 20 products can be welded in one hour; it is equivalent to the capacity of two argon arc welding workers. The annual salary of 2 argon arc welding workers is 19.2 watts; one hand-held welder’s annual salary is 4.8 watts; the saved salary is 14.4 watts.

Comparison of laser welding and traditional welding methods