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:
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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
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Nd:YAG laser weld in
6 mm thick Ti-6Al-4V 
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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:
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Laser and Sheet Processes Group
TWI Ltd Granta Park Gt Abington Cambridge, CB21 6AL (previously CB1 6AL), UK |
email: lasers@twi.co.uk Tel: 01223 899000 Fax: 01223 890661 |
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