Initial assessment of a new approach for laser: tandem GMA welding

Abstract

Recently a large number of research and development has been made regarding the use of Laser in welding operations, turning this process into an important tool for a variety of applications. Although it is possible to use Laser as a unique source of heat to promote union of materials, the combination of the beam provided by a Laser system with an arc welding process has become largely studied and applied in the so called hybrid welding. Generally, the final result of such combination is an increase in the weld penetration depth, width and welding travel speed. Despite all these facts, there are many issues still requiring further research and development concerning the use of hybrid welding using Laser and arc welding, including more comprehensive understanding on the various welding phenomena involved and the exploitation of new combinations. This paper describes a new approach for hybrid welding combining LBW with Tandem GMAW (Laser beam placed between the Tandem GMAW wires). The first view on such hybrid process variation is described and some basic aspects regarding its performance are discussed. The Laser beam had a positive effect on the aspect of the weld beads produced and a 10 mm inter-wire distance showed to be the most appropriate among the distances tried.

Key words: hybrid welding, LBW, tandem GMAW.