| Technological advantage | Conventional welding techniques | Laser welding (lightWELD) |
|---|---|---|
| Precision & accuracy | Moderate to high | Very high |
| Heat-affected zone (HAZ) | Large | Very small, minimal distortion and thermal damage |
| Speed | Average | Up to 4 x faster than MIG and TIG |
| Automation | Complex | Simple |
| Variety of materials | Limited | Wide variety |
| Loss of material | Moderate to low | Very low |
| Energy efficiency | Low to moderate, depending on application | Very high, less energy consumption |
| Working environment | Impairment due to smoke and dirt | Less smoke and dirt, clean working environment |
| Post-processing | Post-processing required | Minimal to no post-processing required |
| Weld seam quality | Depending on the user's experience | Consistent, high-quality and evenly clean seams |
| Wobble welding | No | Yes - up to 5mm additional welding width |
When buying a welding machine, people rarely look at energy efficiency. They are more obsessed with the operational welding costs, which include gas, wire, rods, labor and overhead. There is no denying that most welding power sources do not perform well in converting incoming mains power to welding output power and in fact only 60% to 70% efficiency is the norm.
Certain practical studies show that manufacturing companies can save a large sum annually if due attention is paid to the power consumption of welding equipment.
There are cases where the annual expenditure on the power consumption of a welding machine exceeds the original purchase price. Manufacturers with multiple power sources and/or high duty cycle applications are understandably keen to calculate the energy efficiency of a welding machine at the time of purchase.
For most laser-welded sheet metal parts, the weld quality and processing speed are far superior to conventional welding methods, which ultimately leads to higher profit margins. When considering the entire sheet metal fabrication process (i.e. cutting, bending, punching and welding), welding and rework account for approximately 70 percent of the cost per part. This is mainly due to the time required and high consumable costs associated with these processes. These primary cost drivers are reduced by the consistent quality and cosmetic seams of laser welding. Our adjustable wobble feature elevates this consistent weld quality and boosts the cosmetic perfect result to the highest level.
As sheet metal fabricators benefit from the laser welding process in various ways, the return on investment varies depending on the production needs of the shop. However, based on typical calculations, a laser welding cell can achieve a very high return on investment. For example, the payback period is about 5 to 8 months when a manufacturer processes parts such as covers and boxes or devices such as counters and sinks for the medical or food industry. This applies even if the machine utilization is less than 50 percent and only one shift per day is active.
Industrial manufacturing and the welding process in particular are very energy-intensive and require large amounts of gas, electricity and consumables. Laser welding uses only 1/20 to 1/10 of the energy and gas required for the same weld with TIG welding, drastically reducing our customers' carbon footprint. We are committed to developing technologies that reduce energy consumption, improve the sustainability of our industry and enhance worker safety.
Many customers are misled into believing that laser welding is out of their price range. However, despite the superior results and the use of advanced technology, laser welding is very affordable, with production costs that are much lower than conventional arc welding when compared to the total process cost.
In both MIG and TIG welding, spatter can – and often does – remain on the workpiece. In addition, in both processes, filler material is usually introduced into the weld. This excess material usually has to be removed by grinding or similar finishing processes before the part can be further processed or used. In contrast, the heat applied in laser welding is so concentrated and brief that there is virtually no spatter or material build-up. This characteristic simplifies the manufacturing process for laser-welded parts, since the parts do not need to be ground or otherwise reworked after welding and can be painted and/or assembled immediately.
Faster processing speeds are important for both reducing project lead times and lowering overall production costs.
If you decide on the laser welding process for your welding projects, you, as an industry professional, can drastically reduce lead times and labor costs. The increase in processing speed when using laser welding techniques is supported by the use of advanced robotic technology. The robotic components enable even faster welding speeds (between 1250 and 2500 mm per minute) as well as more precise and accurate welding positions. These features lead to fast and consistent results with an extremely low error rate.
By using a highly concentrated, high-intensity laser beam during laser welding, a much higher welding speed is achieved and the size of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the workpiece is minimized. This smaller HAZ results in better functional and aesthetic properties – in particular, the main advantage is the reduction or elimination of thermal distortion.
When heat is applied over a long period of time to a large area, the metal workpiece often distorts, which can compromise the structural integrity and aesthetic quality of the finished part. The laser welding process eliminates both of these problems by creating a strong and aesthetically pleasing weld.
When laser welding, welders can create two different types of welds: keyhole and cosmetic (or conduction) welds. Keyhole welds are typically deeper than they are wide and tend not to look cosmetic.
In contrast, keyhole or cosmetic welds are wider than they are deep and are more likely to be produced by longer applications of continuous waves. Both methods result in extremely strong welds with a high depth-to-width ratio, comparable to that obtained with conventional welding.