The Effects of Laser Power and Travel Speed on Weld Geometry in the case of Manual Laser Welding

Abstract

In our research, we investigated the effects of laser power and travel speed on the weld geometry in case of manual laser welding. Our experiments revealed that a characteristic two-part weld geometry is obtained under our experimental parameters. It was also found that increasing the laser power leads to a nearly linear increase in the weld width, while increasing the travel speed leads to a decrease in the weld width. The penetration depth does not increase further above a certain power level. A decrease in travel speed results in an increase in penetration depth. At the travel speeds tested, a narrow and deep weld geometry was obtained at the 70-80 % power level and a wider but shallower weld at the 90-100 % laser power level.