Laser welding is a non-contact process which requires access to the weld zone from only one side of the parts being welded. Lasers produce high intensity beam of light which, when focused into a single spot, provides a concentrated heat source, allowing narrow, deep welds and fast welding speeds. Laser welding is frequently used in high volume applications such as in the automotive and medical industries.
Advantages of Fiber Laser Welding Systems
Fiber laser welding systems do not exhibit the shortcomings in output power, spot size and focal point variations caused by thermal effects on the glass rods of traditional nd:YAG laser welders.
Fiber laser welders offer true welding consistency at all power levels, across all pulse sequences and during the entire lifetime of the laser. The laser parameters remain predictable and consistent. The reason for this is that the generation and transport of the laser beam to the work-piece takes place entirely within the confines of a single mode fiber. The beam shaping provided by this fiber neither degrades over time nor changes with laser power - this also makes the laser physically robust and stable, thus suitable for the most challenging of industrial environments.
Additional advantages of fiber laser welders are the small spot size and high beam quality that translate to high irradiance at the focal plain. Workstations equipped with fiber laser welders can produce better results at lower power levels. The focused beam of energy consistently affects a very small area of metal, providing the benefit of very little heat generated around the weld point.