TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 792/2004
Steve Shi and Paul Hilton compare CO2 laser welding with hybrid CO2 laser MAG welding
Background
Hybrid laser-arc welding was introduced in the 1970s, but only recently has it received sufficient experimental attention to make it a viable manufacturing method with significant benefits.
In general, the hybrid process combines the advantages of both laser and arc welding, in terms of high welding speed, improved weld profile and mechanical properties, high process efficiency and the ability to accommodate relatively large gaps. The work reported here has established welding conditions, at various joint gaps, and compared the results to the gap bridging capabilities of autogenous laser and laser filler wire welding.
Objectives
- To obtain acceptable welding conditions for producing fully penetrating butt joints in 8mm C-Mn steel using the hybrid CO 2 laser MAG process.
- To compare the joint bridging capability of CO2 laser welding, CO2 laser welding with filler wire and hybrid CO2 laser MAG welding, in butt joints on 8mm thickness CMn steel.