Views: 60 Author: Leapion Publish Time: 04-19-2022 Origin: https://www.leapion.com/
Today，Leapion will show you advantages and disadvantages of laser welding.
To be able to weld a material, a temperature just above its melting point must be reached. In conventional welding processes, the melting temperature of the material is therefore a limiting factor: Not every material can be processed with every welding process. Only electric welding has a certain scope as to the intensity of spot heat it can emit at its electrodes. Laser beam welding is different: Of all welding processes, it offers the greatest flexibility in terms of welding temperature. This overview of commonly used materials and their melting points illustrates the range of materials that can be processed by laser beam welding:
(1) Plastics: 150 to 350 °C
(2) Aluminum: 600°C
(3) Glass: 600 to 800°C
(4) Copper: 1085 °C
(5) Steel: 1400 °C
In practice, much higher temperatures are achieved during laser beam welding. Nevertheless, this spectrum clearly shows how variable this joining process is.
1.High precision
2.Torsion freedom
3.High joining speed
4.No burr formation
5.Consistent quality
6.Wide material tolerance
The consistently high precision of laser welding is its outstanding feature. In addition to the particularly fine seam, the low temperature input is the most important plus. In contrast to gas-shielded welding, where work is slow and a lot of heat is applied, laser welding is extremely fast and minimally invasive. This avoids a complete heating of the base material. Selective thermal expansion therefore does not take place, which also avoids distortion of the workpiece after cooling. Finishing the welded construction on a straightening bench is therefore not necessary after laser beam welding.
The uniform, pulsed beam of laser welding also ensures a particularly clean seam. Welding beads or burrs, which are often unavoidable in gas-shielded or electric welding, do not occur in this joining process. Finally, any weldable material can be processed on a laser welding machine. Of all joining processes, laser welding offers the widest range of materials that can be processed. Glass or plastic, for example, cannot be joined at all by any other process.
A major disadvantage of laser beam welding is the high cost of the equipment. This investment must be very well thought through. The ROI should already be reasonably secured before the purchase, otherwise a laser welding system can quickly become a loss-making business. Should a contract service provider therefore consider including a laser welding system in their machine park, a correspondingly high investment in a suitable marketing campaign is recommended. Laser welding is being supported by the fact that customer demands for tolerances in production are constantly increasing. It is to be expected hat conventional welding processes will no longer be suitable for many applications. An investment in laser welding is therefore still a risk, albeit a more and more manageable one.
A limiting factor to laser welding is the type of application: The operation of a laser welding system is comparable to that of a CNC milling machine. It is true that incorrect operation cannot cause such tremendous damage as an incorrectly programmed cutting machine. Nevertheless, a well-founded education, a mathematical-technical basic knowledge and a thorough familiarization are required in order to be able to handle a laser welding machine efficiently.
On the other hand, the health risks associated with laser beam welding are minor. It goes without saying that laser welding of aluminum requires a powerful extraction system. It should also be minded keeping distance to motor-driven kinematics. Operators must stay away from the work area of an active robot arm. This is basic fact in dealing with modern, automated manufacturing processes. After all, laser welding basically requires the wearing of laser safety goggles. This prevents accidents caused by looking into the laser light. If these safety rules are observed, laser welding poses no particular danger.
If you have any questions about welding machine, Leapion is here to resolve any of your queries. We specialize in all types of laser technologies. You can contact us and we will be available to assist you.
