Chapter 9 - Laser Arc Hybrid Welding

Abstract

The laser arc hybrid welding process utilizes synergic effects of laser welding and arc welding in a common weld pool. This hybridization effect leads to a number of process benefits over laser welding and arc welding, such as higher welding speed, deeper penetration, increased productivity, excellent gap-bridging capability, better process stability, higher process efficiency, etc. This article provides comprehensive knowledge about the laser arc hybrid welding process. The introduction presents an overview of laser arc hybrid welding, which includes operation principle, historical developments, process requirements, advantages, and limitations of this process. The subsequent sections elaborate different variants of the laser arc hybrid welding process. Thereafter, it furnishes a detailed discussion on control parameters that govern the performance of the laser arc hybrid welding process. It is followed by a description about improvements of performance characteristics and weld qualities achieved by using the hybrid welding process, which is evidenced by sufficient research findings. The succeeding section presents a number of examples of industrial applications of laser arc hybrid welding. The final part of the article provides the concluding remarks.