Laser Welding

Titanium

Titanium is used in many industrial sectors for its light weight and high strength (aerospace sector, sports, oil and gas), excellent corrosion properties (chemical industry, oil and gas) and bio-compatibility (medical).

Weld Quality

Titanium is highly reactive with both oxygen and nitrogen. To ensure welds are of good quality it is essential to prevent absorption of gases into the molten pool, as this leads to poor ductility and porosity. This requires:

Laser butt weld
  • correct choice of shielding gas
  • adequate shielding methods
  • pre-cleaning (de-greasing)
  • good joint surface quality
 laser welding

Titanium and its alloys are readily welded with lasers observing these precautions. In practice, a specially prepared trailing shoe delivering inert gas is used to prevent oxidation of the solidifying and cooling weld metal.

Benefits of Laser Welding

  • High productivity (nearly 10 times faster than TIG).
  • Low heat input and therefore low distortion.
  • Ease of automation for repeatability.
  • No need for filler wire, thus reducing costs.
 Nd:YAG laser weld in
6 mm thick Ti-6Al-4V
Nd:YAG laser weld in 6 mm Ti-6Al-4V

Typical Parameters for Ti-6Al-4V

Thickness
mm		 Laser Power
kW		 Speed
m/min
4 CO 2 5 2.0
8 Fibre 7 1.5
6 Nd:YAG 4 1.0
3 Nd:YAG 4 2.5

Contact:

Laser and Sheet Processes Group
TWI Ltd
Granta Park
Gt Abington
Cambridge, CB21 6AL (previously CB1 6AL), UK

email: lasers@twi.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 899000
Fax: 01223 890661
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