Laser welding aluminium is much faster than tig
Tests show Laser welding is typically 5 times as fast as TIG welding. Can you afford NOT to have a laser welder?
LASER WELDING VS TIG
TIG is the traditional choice for welding aluminium. It gives good control of heat, which is required because aluminium gives little warning that it’s about to melt and fall away. Penetration and weld appearance can be very good. However the weld speed is slow, and the skill level is very high resulting in a high processing cost.
Conversely, laser welding is fast and easy to learn so the processing cost is a fraction of the cost of TIG welding. Laser also allows good penetration. The aesthetics of the weld are similar to TIG but more uniform whereas TIG has the “stack of dimes” effect due to laboriously daubing the filler rod and progressing the weld bead.
laser welding vs mig
MIG welders are often used on aluminium as a faster alternative than TIG. People like to think they get good penetration. Some may, but my recent examination (see below) of MIG welded aluminium shows poor penetration. In this case, the strength comes from the weld fillet size, not from penetration.
In comparison, laser welding is faster and neater. Laser welders do not produce spatter, unlike MIG.
WHAT CAN A LASER CLEANER BE USED FOR?
Laser cleaners are perfect for cleaning metals, as the contaminants burn off without damaging the metal substrate. They can also be used on most types of stone. In general, pulsed lasers cause minimal damage to the substrate. Continuous wave lasers are more powerful but more damaging to the base material being cleaned. Laser cleaners remove rust, paint, oil and oxides from all metallicl and some non metallic surfaces. Carbon black absorbs fibre laser energy strongly, allowing quick cleaning of black ash, carbon deposits and oil stains. Lasers are commonly used to clean tyre moulds of rubber build up, as tyre rubber contains high amounts of carbon black.
How much does a laser cleaner cost?
Pulsed lasers are the best at protecting the base material, but also the most expensive, costing around $20,000 upwards depending on power level. Constant Wave (CW) lasers are cheapest and most powerful, but also have the least finesse.
How fast is a laser cleaner?
Thin contaminants can be removed quite quickly, but the thick layers take much longer. For thin layers a 1500W CW laser can clean up to 20 square metres per hour. Pulsed lasers around 200W are about half the speed (depending) but are gentle to the substrate being cleaned.
Rust removal with a laser cleaner
Paint removal with laser cleaner
Laser Cleaner Safety
Same as for laser welding, eye protection for the laser cleaner user and anyone in the area is critical. While laser welders produce welding fumes like TIG or MIG, requiring some level of lung protection, laser cleaners put all their energy into burning materials. As such, they require high levels of protection from fumes and the chemicals generated during cleaning.