What is laser welding?

Is Laser Welding Right For Your Project?

You’ve probably heard of TIG, MIG and Arc welding, but you might not be as familiar with welding by laser. What is this type of welding? It uses a beam of light to join to materials, allowing a more precise, faster, easier and more efficient process. If this newer kind of welding may be the right process for your product, call SMF.

What Are The Advantages Of This Kind Of Welding?

It has distinct advantages over more common welding processes. It’s fast, highly accurate and precise. Two small or delicate pieces may be welded together without damage. In addition, the learning curve for this kind of welding is much shorter than for many other kinds of welding, which require time and practice to master.

What Materials Can Be Welded By Laser?

Welding by laser allows for an unusual variety of materials, mostly metals but in some cases non-metals:

• Aluminum
• Brass
• Copper
• Titanium
• Steel
• Nickel
• Polycarbonate
• Nylon
• ABS
• Specific ceramics
• Certain composites

What Are The Most Common Types Of Welding By Laser?

There are many types of welding by laser. Autogenous laser welding uses no filler – the materials themselves are melted together. Non-autogenous welding includes a filler material.

• Heat conduction welding: The laser beam melts the two pieces together, forming a solid joint when they harden. This is ideal for thin parts. This technique produces a neat, smooth, rounded seam. No finishing or grinding will be required to clean up the weld.
• Keyhole welding: With this technique, a very intense laser beam creates a metal vapor in addition to melting metal. It’s a high-speed process that narrowly focuses on a small zone, so it causes very little material distortion.

What Are The Disadvantages Of This Kind Of Welding?

The equipment needed for laser welding requires a large investment and greater maintenance costs. It also requires even more exacting safety requirements than other welding processes.

What Industries Depend on Laser Welding?

A number of industries have learned that laser welding is ideal for their needs. Some of the industries that use it most often include:

• Automotive
• Medical
• Electronics
• Aerospace
• Jewelry

What Other Welding Processes Does SMF Perform?

No one type of welding is ideal for every project, which is why SMF offers a variety of different welding options, including MIG, TIG and spot-welding. We have a staff of experienced, highly trained welders, and also have a line of robotic welders available for routine welding needs.

What Related Metal Services Does SMF Offer?

Our full array of fabrication and machining capabilities makes us a one-stop metal shop. Some of our other types of metalwork services our experienced professionals provide include:

• Forming
• Powder coating
• Assembly
• Saw cutting
• Blasting
• Machining
• Laser cutting

For Quality Welding Now, Call SMF Today!

What is laser welding? It’s one more quality welding service we are happy to offer as an option to our customers. We have the capacity to serve clients throughout the United States, and no job is too large or too small for us. We are your one-stop metal fabrication shop. So for custom welding of any kind, including by, or any other metal manufacturing needs, give us a call at 309-432-2586 (Illinois) or 864-226-0470 (South Carolina).