7/25/2020 Laser-hybrid welding - Wikipedia

Laser-hybrid welding
Laser-hybrid welding is a type of welding process that combines the principles of laser beam welding
and arc welding.[1]

The combination of laser light and an electrical arc into an amalgamated welding process has existed
since the 1970s, but has only recently been used in industrial applications. There are three main types of
hybrid welding process, depending on the arc used: TIG, plasma arc or MIG augmented laser welding.
While TIG-augmented laser welding was the first to be researched, MIG is the first to go into industry
and is commonly known as hybrid laser welding.

Whereas in the early days laser sources still had to prove their suitability for industrial use, today they
are standard equipment in many manufacturing enterprises. The combination of laser welding with
another weld process is called a "hybrid welding process". This means that a laser beam and an electrical
arc act simultaneously in one welding zone, influencing and supporting each other.

Contents
Laser
Laser-hybrid process
Fatigue behavior
References
See also

Laser
Laser welding not only requires high laser power but also a high quality beam to obtain the desired
"deep-weld effect". The resulting higher quality of beam can be exploited either to obtain a smaller focus
diameter or a larger focal distance. A variety of laser types are used for this process, in particular
Nd:YAG where the laser light can be transmitted via a water-cooled glass fiber. The beam is projected
onto the workpiece by collimating and focusing optics. Carbon dioxide laser can also be used where the
beam is transmitted via lens or mirrors.

Laser-hybrid process
For welding metallic objects, the laser beam is focused to obtain intensities of more than 1 MW/cm2.
When the laser beam hits the surface of the material, this spot is heated up to vaporization temperature,
and a vapor cavity is formed in the weld metal due to the escaping metal vapor. This is known as a
keyhole. The extraordinary feature of the weld seam is its high depth-to-width ratio. The energy-flow
density of the freely burning arc is slightly more than 100 kW/cm2. Unlike a dual process where two
separate weld processes act in succession, hybrid welding may be viewed as a combination of both weld

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processes acting simultaneously in one and the same process zone. Depending on the kind of arc or laser
process used, and depending on the process parameters, the two systems will influence each other in
different ways.

The combination of the laser process and the arc process results in an increase in both weld penetration
depth and welding speed (as compared to each process alone). The metal vapor escaping from the vapor
cavity acts upon the arc plasma. Absorption of the laser radiation in the processing plasma remains
negligible. Depending on the ratio of the two power inputs, the character of the overall process may be
mainly determined either by the laser or by the arc.

Absorption of the laser radiation is substantially influenced by the temperature of the workpiece surface.
Before the laser welding process can start, the initial reflectance must be overcome, especially on
aluminum surfaces. This can be achieved by preheating the material. In the hybrid process, the arc heats
the metal, helping the laser beam to couple in. After the vaporisation temperature has been reached, the
vapor cavity is formed, and nearly all radiation energy can be put into the workpiece. The energy
required for this is thus determined by the temperature-dependent absorption and by the amount of
energy lost by conduction into the rest of the workpiece. In laser-hybrid welding, using MIG,
vaporisation takes place not only from the surface of the workpiece but also from the filler wire, so that
more metal vapor is available to facilitate the absorption of the laser radiation.

Fatigue behavior
Over the years a great deal of research has been done to understand fatigue behavior, particularly for
new techniques like laser-hybrid welding, but knowledge is still limited. Laser-hybrid welding is an
advanced welding technology that creates narrow deep welds and offers greater freedom to control the
weld surface geometry. Therefore, fatigue analysis and life prediction of hybrid weld joints has become
more important and is the subject of ongoing research.

References
1. Graf, T. "Laser-Hybrid Welding Drives VW Improvements" (https://web.archive.org/web/2008121205
4335/http://www.aws.org/wj/jan03/feature1.html). Welding Journal. Archived from the original (http://
www.aws.org/wj/jan03/feature1.html) on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2013.

See also
List of laser articles

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