LASER MATERIALS
PROCESSING
[Link]
Senior Manager
Welding Research Institute
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Tiruchirappalli 620 014
Email: gbs@[Link]
Why LASER or EBW?
Conventional welding
Wide & partial fusion
Laser & EB Welding
Narrow & deep fusion
LASER WELDING
INCANDESCENT Vs. LASER LIGHT
CO2 Laser Theory
Total Lasing (Light Amplification)
Generation of laser beam
Laser medium
Mirror
(100% reflective)
Laser output
Mirror
(partially transparent)
Excitation
source
LASER SYSTEMS
Semi conductor lasers : Laser diodes
Gas lasers
: He- Ne, CO2
Chemical Lasers
Liquid lasers
Excimer lasers
Solid state lasers
: Hydrogen Fluoride
: Organic dye
: Rare gas mixtures
: Nd:YAG, Ruby
LASERS FOR MATERIAL PROCESSING
Gas lasers : up to 45kwatt
Solid state lasers:up to 4kwatt
Semiconductor lasers: up to 40watt
CW lasers welding, cutting & surface modification
Pulsed lasers drilling & welding
Circular and linear beams
CARBON DIOXIDE LASERS
CO2 :
Lasing gas, 1-9% of the gas mixture
N2 :
Efficient excitation of CO2 molecules,
10-55% of the gas
mixture
He :
For conducting heat out of resonator
and emptying the
lower CO2
energy level, balance of gas mixture
CO2 Laser principle
TYPES OF
CARBON
DIOXIDE
LASERS
CROSS FLOW CARBON DIOXIDE LASER
Nd YAG Laser Principle
Nd:YAG LASER GENERATION
Laser Source and
operating panel
Enhanced Absorption for Aluminum
Compared to Other Lasers
> 6 m/min with 1 mm
thick plates
Smooth, spatter free
welds
Simple Cover Gas
No special preparation
of material
No special shearing
required for part
preparation
Bi- thickness plates can
be welded easily
Ref: E. Schubert et al., New Possibilities for Joining by Using High Power Diode Lasers, LAI Proceedings ICALEO 98, VOL 85
LASER BEAM
ABSORPTION
FOR
DIFFERENT
MATERIALS
KEYHOLE FORMATION
High irradiance of
focused beam
heats the metal
beyond its MP
Liquid metal
better absorber of
beam heats until
vaporisation
Vaporised metal
opens a cylinder keyhole
SCHEMATIC OF LASER WELDING
Incoming laser beam
Focusing lens
Shielding gas inlet
Weld pool dynamics
Shielding cup
Keyhole
Molten metal
Material
CW Solid State Nd:YAG System : 2000Watts
SQ and Sine Wave modulation
Peak power : 5000Watts
CNC - X-Y and Rotary axis, 802D Controller
LASER WELDING HEAD
CHARACTERISTICS OF LASER
Vapor capillary inside the keyhole is desirable
Laser transfers energy to partially ionised
vapor
Radiation from incandescent plasma heats
metal
Vapor escapes from capillary & forms a plasma
cloud resulting in low energy to the keyhole
Ar - induces plasma cloud formation
He - quenches plasma while escaping from
keyhole
Gas jet to push the plasma
MATERIALS FOR LASER WELDING
Rapid heating & cooling due to small beam
diameter
Grain growth / sensitisation in austenitic steels
can be avoided
Rapid solidification produce a typical
microstructure in steels
Stainless steel
Nickel base alloys
Titanium
Aluminium
LASER WELDING OF STEEL
Killed steels low porosity
Rimmed steel high porosity
0.3 to 1.0% C hard to laser weld
1. Ferrite can dissolve 0.02% C
2. Beyond 800 deg. C iron transforms to
austenite (can dissolve 2% C)
3. Slow cooling can revert to ferrite and
pearlite / cementite
4. High cooling rates forms martensite with
hard HAZ and microstructures prone to
cold cracking
LASER WELDING OF SS
Austenitic SS are easily weldable
Sensitization (Cr23C6 formation in the grain
boundaries) leads to Inter granular corrosion
Extra low carbon (304L, 316L) and alloy
addition (321, 347 Ti, Nb) will reduce
sensitization
3-5% ferrite in austenitic SS weld can
minimize cracking
Grain coarsening in ferritic SS (430)
Martensitic SS with low C (410) good results,
with higher C (420) PH to avoid cracking
LASER WELDING OF ALUMINIUM
High reflectivity and thermal
conductivity of Al is restricting the use
of lasers
Al-Li alloys are more suitable for laser
welding
Surface modification recommended
prior to laser welding
Only high power lasers can be used
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED
IN LASER WELDING
1. Material composition
2. Surface condition
3. Joint design
4. Fixturing
5. Fit-up
6. Edge preparation and surface
cleanliness
7. Shielding
LASER PARAMETERS FOR CW
WELDING OF VARIOUS STEELS
Steel
Grade
thickness power
mm
kw
Low carbon
Low alloy
3.0
3.1
Medium carbon 3.0
3.2
1.8
High alloy
Austenitic
5.0
1.25 160
5.0
speed FL
m/min mm
120/160
120
DISSIMILAR WELDING
Factors affecting weld penetration
1. Thermal conductivity
2. Surface absorption
Cu
L
H
Precautions
-Beam positioning and beam angle
-Use lower processing speeds
Ni
H
L
DEFECTS IN LASER
WELDING
GAS ENTRAPMENT
POROSITY
COLD BONDING
Beam Power vs Depth of
Penetration
2.5
DOP (mm)
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
500
1000
1500
Beam Power(Watts)
2000
Beam Power vs Bead Width
3.5
BW (m m )
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
500
1000
1500
Beam Power (watts)
2000
LASER POWER Vs WELDING SPEED
Seam Speed (in/min)
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
Laser Power (kW)
Using Optional Lens System, welding speed exceeds 450/min
Temperature distribution in the plate at load step no. 1
LASER WELDING AT WRI CO2 LASER
STAINLESS STEEL WELD
3.30mm
Laser weld macrophotograph -WRI
1500watt
450mm/min
DIRECT DIODE LASER WELDING
Diode Laser is a line source that is equivalent to
TIG or MIG welding system but does not require
conductive materials and is not affected by
magnetic field
Higher quality welds are produced
No Keyhole or plasma generated
Dissimilar Materials can also be welded
Laser easily welds all weldable ferrous and
nonferrous alloys as well as non-metallics
Unibody construction of automobiles by stitch and
lap welding of Zinc coated Steels and Aluminum
The non key hole process yields pore and
spatter free stainless steel and aluminum
seam welds.
LASER
WELDING IN
AUTOMOBILE
INDUSTRIES
Gas shield
laser
welding of a
Titanium
cardiac
pacemaker
housing
Laser applications in electronics
Pressure transducer
assembly
Cirseam joint
bi-thickness joint
Nano component welding
Toyota cars
SS box
low thickness-1.2mm
CO2 laser
660watt
SS tube welding
4mm thick
1800watt
400mm/min
BATTERY CAN
HERMATICALLY
SEALED
0.4mm Ni coated
carbon steel
Hydraulic test
Armature casing
for BARC
Non magnetic disc to SS
armature
0.1 +0.4mm
1.2+3.7mm
DIESEL INJECTION NOZZLE
Material: SS
Laser parameters:
Continuous wave
5-10 deg overlap
2-7 deg. beam angle
INPUT AND OUTPUT DATA
FL, Gas, DOP, BW,
Trial
WS,
[Link]
BP,Watts
Seq
mm/min mm lpm mm mm
1
28
500
400
160 15 0.431 1.127
2
47
500
400
160 10 0.314 0.684
3
39
500
400
160 5 0.460 1.216
4
1
500
400
120 15 0.363 1.135
5
20
500
400
120 10 0.587 1.094
6
12
500
400
120 5 0.575 1.097
7
55
500
400
80 15 0.862 2.283
8
74
500
400
80 10 0.544 1.299
9
66
500
400
80
5 0.727 1.820
10
34
500
800
160 15 0.287 0.885
LASER HYBRID WELDING PRINCIPLE
Laser Hybrid Welding
SEAM GEOMETRY OF LASER HYBRID
Synergies
MIG/MAG Vs. LASER HYBRID
LAP JOINTS - COMPARISION
OPTIMISED LASER HYBRID PARAMETER
High
precision
cutting
using
Nd:YAG
Robotic LASER
Cutting Head
Mechanism of
Laser Cutting
LASER CUTTING
LASER cutting - a thermal cutting process
Power density >104 w/mm2 - for a key hole
Type of lasers Nd:YAG, CO2 CW/pulsed
OPTICAL FACTORS OF INFLENCE
Beam power,
Divergence,
Focal length,
Beam dia.,
Wave length,
Power density
Depth of focus
LASER CUTTING
MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS
SURFACE PROPERTY
Surface condition,
Reflectivity &
Absorption
BULK PROPERTY
Thickness, Density, Heat of fusion, heat of
vaporisation, Diffusivity
LASER CUTTING
ASSIST GASES Air, Oxygen, Nitrogen
and Argon
AIR Al, Composites, Glass, Quartz
O2CS, SS, Cu
N2-
SS, Al, Ni alloys
ArTitanium
For Al up to 1mm air is OK and for
higher thickness use N2
Inert gas produce quality cutting
LASER CUTTING
CHARACTERISTICS OF LASER CUT:
1. KERF WIDTH: for CO2 0.1 to 1mm
Short FL and small beam dia
CS wider kerf due to burn back
2. ROUGHNESS: 1mm thick
1.6micron
10mm thick10microns
1. DROSS:
Material adherence to bottom of cut
edge
Due to improper focus, low gas
pressure and high cutting speed
LASER CUTTING OF 5mm SS PLATES
