LASER welding vs. Arc Welding processes

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Hi All,I am on the hunt for information about LBW compared to GMAW or GTAW processes. Our company builds a sheetmetal product utilizing a robotic GMAW process. Naturally it was designed to be joined with conventional Arc welding processes and therefore the joint designs are typical for those. E.g. plug, fillet, PJP groove etc. I set up and operated an old Photon Sources 300 watt laser 150 years ago (well, maybe not that long ago) but have not really kept up with the technology lately. I recently was looking into LBW for another product of ours that is currently laser welded outside our facility. As I was reviewing todays capabilities for LBW, I wondered how realistic it might be to convert our GMA welded product over too. Naturally the salesman for the LBW equipment looked at our product and swore up and down that it was a perfect candidate for laser welding. However, I'm a little skeptical only because I am ignorant to LBW weld strength compared with GMAW  strengths. The sales person claims that in industry today, sheet metal components can be designed to accept LBW type welds that are equally as strong as say a plug weld of a given size. This may or may not be true but I have no idea where to find information about it. I do see a lot of info for laser hybrids WITH GMAW but I'm not interested in that technology at this point. I'd rather learn more about LBW as a stand alone process.Does anyone know of a study, or have experience in converting a previously GMAW or GTAW component over to LBW? If this is viable, I can see a freat deal of savings for us. I'd just like to be better informed up front before I veer down this path. Any suggetions?Thanks! David
Reply:Hey David,Your best friend will be GOOGLE. This forum provides information with the most common/used processes, ie., MIG,TIG,SMAW,O/A, & Plasma & attempt to help the youngsters/newbies learn techniques & solve common welding issues/repairs. I haven't seen any member query his need for laser welding. Shoot....many members can't afford a $100 welder, let alone something like a laser. Good luck......DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Give me an idea on thickness, material (CS or SS, galv, etc).  Laser can do some nice staking type welds, as well as pretty good on lap, etc.  Fitup is crucial, however, .5mm is huge in laser
Reply:I don't know the answer, but about 250 years ago I was involved in the electronic design of high power Laser power supplies for military applications. Not welding though.One question might be the power level and speed of the welding process.A 300 watt CO2 laser  is going to have a lot less heat output than a multi kilowatt GMAW welder.It may do a terrific job and make perfect welds, but you may grow old waiting for each weld to complete.  I would think the metal gauge would have to be absolutely ultra thin before Laser welding could compete with either spot welding or GMAW for production purposes.Cheers,  Tony._________________________________Transmig 310 + Argoshield LightOxy acetyleneOxy propanePrehistoric stick welder_________________________________
Reply:Are you asking if you can add a laser in place of the GMAW on the Robot. If so ya it is possible. In the welding and cutting industry there are pretty much two types of lasers used in industry. CO2 and ND-YAG. CO2 lasers use a wavelength of 10,600 nanometers and are not plausable on robotics so much because on a multiaxis robot, such as 5 or 6 axises you have to have a very accurate and elaborate mirror system to get the beam to the end of the robot. As each axis moves independitly or in coordinated motion the mirrors must remain in perfect alignment for the beam to travel to the work. Now ND-YAG (neodinium yitrium aluminum Garnett) disregard spelling errors its late, is a different story. They wavelength is 1060 nanometers wich is a spectrum that can be transmitted through fiber optic cable and much more desiirabe for robotic applications. You eliminate the need for the elaborate mirrors, now the beam can go directly to the robot torch via fiber optics. This is nice because you can keep your beam generator and other components in a totally different sealed controled room. The laser beam can be run through the cealing via fiber opticas.  Without seeing a drawing of what you are working with or a picture of what you are building i can't help much more. If you need to know anything more please ask. I have pretty extenive knowlege on laser welding and much first hand experiance programming and designing systems. Weld strength is very comparable to anything else. --Gol'