Welding characteristics of a pulsed 1kW Nd:YAG laser with fibre optic beam delivery system

TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 436/1991

By S Nasla

Background

The two main types of laser currently used in materials processing applications are pulsed Nd:YAG lasers and pulsed or continuous wave CO₂ lasers. Recently high power Nd:YAG lasers (1kW) have been developed in conjunction with fibre optic beam delivery systems to produce equipment which is thought to have a large potential in nuclear, automotive, chemical and aerospace industries.

Although commercial lasers are now available there is little information on the welding performance of the equipment fitted with a fibreoptic.

This report is concerned with an evaluation of the welding characteristics of a 1kW pulsed Nd:YAG (Lumonics Model JK706) on 3mm and 9.5mm thick stainless steel.