Chapter 14 - Applications of laser welding

Abstract

This chapter discusses various applications of laser welding. Laser welding competes with various techniques such as arc, resistance, and electron beam welding. The technical advantages of lasers, coupled with the fact that laser welding produces high-quality welds at high seam rates in a wide variety of metals, in a process that is easily automated and that achieves high throughput, have led to the adoption of laser welding for many practical industrial applications, especially in high-volume production. The parameters of the laser beam and the properties of the workpiece strongly influence the results of a laser welding application. The thermal diffusivity of the workpiece is important. High thermal diffusivity allows faster conduction of the heat energy through the workpiece and permits greater depth of welding. High surface reflectivity can reduce the energy absorbed by the surface. Welding of metals with high reflectivity requires more energy than welding of low-reflectivity metals. Thus, surface reflectivity influences the choice of the laser to be used, so that one may operate at a wavelength where the reflectivity is relatively low.