Laser Welding Equipment

Lasers welding equipment that is used in today’s industry exist in two forms; these are gas and solid-state lasers. The gas lasers use mainly carbon dioxide and the solid state laser use Nd:YAG lasers.

• The solid-state laser is comprised of several materials these include:
• Chromium in aluminum oxide
• Synthetic ruby
• Crystal made of yttrium aluminum (Nd:YAG) or neodymium
• Neodymium in glass (Nd:glass)
• Gas lasers are composed of a mixture of gases that include nitrogen, carbon dioxide (CO2 laser) and helium

It does not matter the type of the laser that you use once the medium is excited.
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Laser Welding Equipment – Solid State Lasers

A solid-state laser operates on a wavelength of 1 micrometer this is much shorter than the wavelength of gas lasers. Because of this, welders who operate such lasers are required to wear special protective eyewear or use special screens to prevent possible retina damage. Solid-state lasers can operate in a continuous mode as well as a pulsating mode.
The original design of this laser is still widely used. It consists of a single crystal rod that is 200mm in length and 20mm in diameter, both ends of the crystal are ground flat. The rod is enclosed in a flash tube filled with Krypton and Xenon and when the tube is flashed with light a laser beam is emitted (it lasts about 2 milliseconds per flash).
Disk shaped crystals are now becoming popular in the laser industry and diodes are replacing flash lamps due to greater efficiency. Fiber optics are used to deliver the high intensity beam to the weld area.

Laser Welding Equipment – Gas Lasers

Gas lasers require a low current, high-voltage power source to provide the energy that is needed to excite the mixture of gases that are used for the lasing medium. Gas lasers can operate in both a pulsating or continuous fashion. The laser beam has a wavelength of 10.6 micrometers. Fiber optics are destroyed at this wavelength so a strong lens and mirror is used to deliver the beam to the weld. The power outputs of the gas laser are much higher than a solid state laser and can reach 25 kW.

Laser Welding Equipment – Fiber Lasers

Fiber lasers incorporate technology that uses an active gain medium such as an optical fiber that is doped with rare earth metals including Thulium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Ytterbium, and Erbium. These materials will amplify light without lasing and are related to doped fiber amplifiers. Another media that can be used for fiber lasers is Fiber non-linearities such as four-wave mixing or Raman scattering.
Below are some safety issues to keep in mind when using laser welding equipment:

1. Eyes: Exposure to certain laser light wavelengths and power can cause retinal or cornel burns and in extreme cases both. Excessive exposure will cause retinal injury.
2. Skin: Extensive exposure to optical radiation may burn the skin and exposure to certain wavelengths (290-320 nm) may lead to skin cancer.
3. Chemical: In order for some lasers to work hazardous chemicals need to be introduced to the welding process.
4. Electrical: High voltage is required for most lasers this is potentially lethal
5. Fire: There is always risk of fire whether by the dyes used in the welding process or the high voltage power that is required. The beams from the laser can also ignite flammable materials in the vicinity.

Before you purchase any laser welding equipment make sure that you know exactly which type you will need for your projects. You do not want to buy a lasery welding system that does not do what you want.