Laser cutting/welding

Lasers are capital intensive tools and, in order to ameliorate the costs, systems should be utilised to maximise their production capacity. One method of achieving this is to use one laser source for cutting and welding. This principle has been demonstrated industrially in the manufacture of a C column, where two zinc coated steel sheets are overlaid in the clamping system and then laser cut. The cut edges are then re-positioned and welded together in a butt joint configuration using filler wire additions. For this application, the main advantage is the achievement of a high quality weld which requires minimum finishing to produce a Class A surface.