HYBRID LASER—ARC WELDING

For several decades, the practical application of the high-power lasers in the industry have been significantly increasing; nowadays, lasers are considered quite well-established hi-tech industrial instrument. And one of the main industrial applications of the lasers is welding.

The technical potential of such high-brightness sources of energy as lasers to establish high-quality welding seams at high rates is really outstanding and that is the reason why so many welding applications of lasers and electron beams have been developed.

The main problem of using lasers for welding was the stringent tolerances applied to the joints as demanded by the welding processes involving electron beams and lasers. The laser beams normally heat only the welding seam itself plus some very limited area around the seam. Should the wider gap be there, it may eventually result in such defects as undercuts and underfills, while sometimes the beam partly transmits through the gap instead of welding the metal.

Thus, for years people considered it impossible to use the above mentioned techniques in the industry. Long story short, it took many years and several brilliant technological advances to enable people to use the electron beams and lasers for welding. And this publication will demonstrate you how the welding is made covering the most important aspects of the process...