Laser Cutting Buyer's Guide

How to Use this Buyer&#;s Guide

The purpose of this Buyer&#;s Guide to Cutting Lasers is to help you select a cutting laser. We&#;re not going to tell you which laser to buy or which company to buy it from. However, we are going to provide you with a lot of context so you feel confident when you&#;re ready to make a purchase decision. More than anything else, our goal is to educate you on what questions to ask when you&#;re researching buying a cutting laser. 

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from HUIYAO.

TIP: The Overview Chart provided lists the main types of cutting lasers currently available and is a great place to start your journey. Links embedded in the Overview Chart will take you to more information on the lasers themselves, or directly into the sections of this document that offer guidance on which of these technologies is usually most appropriate for a given application. 

Getting this application specific information isn&#;t always straightforward because many vendors only offer a limited range of laser technologies. As a result, they promote what they have as being optimal for every use, whether it is or not. 

Coherent is one of the world&#;s largest laser companies, and a global leader in materials and networking, as well. We service numerous cutting applications for the industrial, communications, microelectronics, instrumentation markets, and more. Most importantly, Coherent manufactures a comprehensive range of cutting lasers, covering virtually every technology currently in use. This allows us to provide unbiased recommendations based solely on your unique needs and project requirements. 

But what are your unique needs and project requirements? A critical first step in making an informed purchasing decision is properly identifying the considerations that are most significant in your own application. Some of the most common of these include:

• Technical factors, such as material compatibility, throughput speed, and cut quality
• Cost considerations , such as purchase price, maintenance costs, consumables, and operating costs
• Integrations factors, such as supported interfaces and communications protocols, and product size and weight
• Service, such as the geographic availability of spare parts and maintenance, and service response speed
• Applications support, such as vendor willingness to process samples, and aid in process development

A more detailed treatment of the typical considerations involved in cutting laser selection is provided in the Cutting Laser Selection Checklist .

Portable handheld laser welding machines are innovative tools for precession welding in various industries. A handheld laser welding machine is a portable laser beam welder that couples a high thermal energy light beam into an optical fiber turns it into parallel light through a collimating lens, focuses on the weldable metal parts, and releases heat to join pieces of metal together.

A portable laser welder is an easy-to-move welding machine that works with a handheld laser welding gun to achieve the connection of metal joints indoors and outdoors, which is user-friendly and easy to use for both beginners and professionals.

It is flexible and convenient to achieve non-contact welding of those difficult-to-weld parts. The manual laser beam welder can realize the spectrum separation on time and energy, and create multi-beam welds at the same time, providing the conditions for highly precise welds compared with the traditional MIG & TIG welder, electric welder, and more arc welders.

Handheld Laser Welder Pros & Cons

&#; Featuring with power options of watts, watts, watts, watts for various penetration depths up to 8mm.

&#; Easy to move, flexible and convenient, enabling both indoor and outdoor welds.

&#; Fast welding speed, 2-10 times faster than traditional MMA, TIG and MIG welders.

&#; Straight and uniform welded seam, smooth and clean, deep penetration, small taper, no polishing required, save time and cost.

&#; Firm welded metal joints with no deformation and less scar.

&#; Less consumables, low energy consumption and long service life.

&#; User friendly, easy to use, safety, and environmentally friendly.

&#; Limited power compared to larger stationary laser welding systems.

&#; Operator skill is required to avoid weld defects.

&#; It can cost extra for ongoing servicing and maintenance.

Handheld Laser Welding Machine Technical Parameters

ModelLW, LW, LW, LWLaser PowerW, W, W, WLaser WaveLengthnmFiber LengthStandard 10 Meters (Maximum 15 Meters)Operate ModeContinuationCooling ChillerIndustrial Water Chiller InsideWorking Environment Temperature Range15-35 &#;Humidity Range of Working Environment< 70% No CondensationWeld Thickness Recommendations0.5 - 8mmWorking Voltage220V/2P for W, W, W; 380V/3P for WPrice Range$5,200 - $8,000

How Much Does A Handheld Laser Welder Cost?

A portable handheld laser welder is not the cheapest option you will find in the market. While it offers greater accessibility and flexibility, it can cost you more than traditional stationary welding machines.

Based on the data from Google, Amazon, and STYLECNC the average cost of a handheld laser welding machine is around $6,180 depending on the power options. An entry-level W handheld laser welder starts at around $4,600 for beginners and hobbyists at home. An affordable W handheld laser welding machine ranges from $4,800 to $5,280 for a small, low-cost business.

A professional portable laser welder machine with a W fiber laser welding gun can cost you anywhere from $6,800 to $7,280. An industrial portable laser welding machine with a W fiber laser power option is priced as high as $ for commercial use. A multipurpose 3-in-1 portable handheld laser cleaning, welding, and cutting machine is budget-friendly and ranges from $4,700 to $6,800.

Portable Fiber Laser Welding Machine Features

&#; High laser energy density, small thermal effect area, not easy deformation, less or no subsequent processing.

&#; All-in-one control cabinet with laser generator, power pack, industrial water chiller, controller, featuring with powerful, small footprint, and easy to move.

&#; Easy spot, stitch, nail, butt, lap, splice, edge, stack, crimp, and tee welding.

&#; Multiple detection and protection measures ensure long-term stable operation of the machine and avoid losses and injuries caused by unexpected conditions.

&#; Non-contact processing, stress free, noiseless, no pollution to the environment, which belongs to the green processing.

&#; High welded quality, smooth and clean appearance.

&#; The communication function monitors all data of the laser.

&#; The welder comes with a specific fiber to achieve the welding of tiny solder bumps.

&#; High quality fiber laser beam, high conversion efficiency and therefore high speed, high aspect ratio, high strength.

&#; Excellent spectral system minimizes energy loss to ensure that the laser energy of each fiber is almost the same.

&#; The welder adopts optical fiber transmission, can realize remote welding, conveniently to equip with automatic welding workbench, manipulator, assembly line and other equipment together to work. More uniform light spot and more beautiful solder joints after the light transmission.

&#; A variety of input and output signals are very easy to achieve the machine's automated production and assembly line production.

&#; Solder joints non-pollution, weld strength and toughness at least equivalent to or stronger than the base metal.

&#; Touch screen input, friendly human-computer interaction makes setup and operation easier. The operating system is easy to learn and easy to operate.

&#; A variety of angle nozzles and multiple specifications of wire feed nozzles are available to meet the welds of different projects.

Automatic wire feeding system for option

The company is the world’s best Lithium Battery Top Cover Laser Welding manufacturer supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

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What Is A Handheld Laser Welding Gun?

Handheld laser welding gun is a portable welder combined with laser generator, controller, cooling system, and automatic wire feeder to achieve stitch, nail, butt, lap, edge, crimp, and T welding, as well as more types of metal joints. The hand-held laser welder gun is flexible and convenient, which can realize long-distance and outdoor welding. The user-friendly operating mode enables the weldable parts in any position and at any angle, which is suitable for various complex metal joints.

The hand-held laser beam welding gun is composed of a gun body, a cooling chamber and a protective gas chamber. It is not only simple and compact in structure, easy to operate and carry anywhere, but also can be easily connected to the cooling medium source and the protective gas source, so that the laser gun can be effectively cooled, and the working area can also be effectively used. A protective gas atmosphere is formed, which makes the weld quality reliable.

Portable Laser Welder Applications

Portable laser welders can weld stainless steel, carbon steel, brass, copper, aluminum, gold, chromium, silver, titanium, nickel, platinum, rhodium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum and other metals or alloys, which can also weld a variety of different types of metal materials, including brass to stainless steel, copper and brass, titanium and molybdenum, titanium and gold, nickel and copper, and so on.

Handheld laser welding machines are applied to all walks of life from home use to industrial manufacturing:

Aviation - Engine casings, wing spacers, fuselage skins and ribs, wall panels, bellows.

Electronic Instruments - Integrated circuit leads, picture tube electron guns, all-tantalum capacitors, speed control tubes, instrument hairsprings.

Machinery - Precision springs, dot matrix printer parts, metal thin-walled bellows, thermocouples, electro-hydraulic servo valves.

Steel Metallurgy - Welding silicon steel sheets with a thickness of 0.2~8mm and a width of 0.5~1.8mm, high, medium and low carbon steel and stainless steel, the welding speed is 100~cm/min.

Automobile - Roof, body, side frame, automobile chassis, transmission device, gear, ignition center shaft and dial assembly, etc.

High-Speed Rail - Honeycomb structure of car body.

Ships - Decks, cabin bulkheads, cabin walls, flat plate sandwich members.

Medical - Pacemakers and lithium-iodine batteries used in pacemakers.

Food - Food cans (using laser welder to replace traditional soldering or contact high-frequency welder, which features with non-toxic, fast welding speed, material saving, beautiful joints, and excellent performance).

Others - Gas turbines, heat exchangers, dry cell zinc and copper casings, nuclear reactor parts.

Handheld Fiber Laser Welding Projects

Laser Welder vs MMA Welder vs MIG Welder vs TIG Welder

MMA Welder (Manual Metal Arc Welder), also known as MMAW or SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welder), features with excessive weld spatter, low filler metal utilization, and the need to frequently remove slag and replace rods, resulting in extremely slow speed and low production efficiency. In addition, the higher reliance on rods requires welders with operating skills and experience.

MIG Welder (Metal Inert Gas Welder) features with high wire consumption and heat input, making thin metal sheets easy to deform and burn through, medium-thick metal plates require grooves, resulting in rough welds that require subsequent polishing.

TIG Welder (Tungsten Inert Gas Welder) features with shallow penetration depth and large melting width, which makes it only able to weld thin sheet metals, and results in large deformation. Moreover, high current will cause the tungsten electrode to melt and evaporate, and manual wire filling is difficult and inefficient.

Handheld Laser Welder features with environmentally friendly and pollution-free, deep penetration, high speed, smooth and clean welds with small deformation, which reduces the follow-up grinding process, resulting in straight and uniform welds without professionals.

MMA, TIG, and MIG welding machines require experienced welders, and starters with extensive training and research, while a handheld laser welder is intuitive, concise, user friendly, easy to use, which is preset with mostly used parameters, and you can customize the setting and save what you need, a beginner can easily get started after a few hours of learning.

The speed of MMA, TIG, and MIG welders typically does not exceed 1 centimeter per second, while the speed of handheld laser welders can reach 2-10 centimeters per second, and its efficiency is 2-10 times that of traditional manual arc welders. In addition, the handheld laser welder can easily weld various types of metals, including ordinary steel (such as carbon steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel), aluminum alloy, and brass, and the weld penetration depth (WPD) can reach 8mm for steel, and 6mm for aluminum alloy or brass.

Which One Is Better? - Pros And Cons Comparison

Comparison ItemsArc WelderLaser WelderHeat InputHighLowWork Piece DeformationBigSmallBonding StrengthLowHighSubsequent ProcessingPolishNo PolishWelding SpeedSlow2-10 Times HigherConsumptive MaterialMoreLessOperation DifficultyComplicatedEasy To UseHuman SafetyUnsafeSafeEnvironmental ProtectionPollutedEnvironmentally FriendlyWelding DefectsGoodGoodLight Spot WidthNot AdjustableAdjustableWelded QualityInferiorGood

Options

Handheld laser welding machines are found for various welding purposes. These machines can differ in their power and ability. We already know that these machines can vary from W to W. They can also be distinguished by their abilities.

In addition to common handheld laser welders, you can meet a portable three-in-one laser machine that comes with a handheld laser welding gun for joining metal parts, a handheld laser cutting gun for metal cuts, and a handheld laser cleaning gun for rust removal and paint stripping.

3-In-1 Handheld Laser Welding, Cleaning, Cutting Machine

FAQs

Is it easy to use a handheld laser welder?

A handheld laser welder is user-friendly with a touch screen controller, which is easy to use and requires no experience. A beginner can easily operate it after learning and operating it for a few hours, which is much easier than MMA, TIG and MIG welder that takes years of practice to become a professional.

Can a laser weld different types of metals?

You can use lasers to join different types of metals to each other, including brass to aluminum, copper to brass, titanium to molybdenum, titanium to gold, nickel to copper, brass to stainless steel.

Can a laser join metal parts of different thicknesses?

You can laser to weld metal parts of different thicknesses together for all metal joints such as butt joints, T (tee) joints, edge joints, corner joints and lap joints.

How thick of metal can a laser weld?

A laser can do single-sided welding for aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel, chromium, titanium, and nickel with a thickness of up to 8 mm and double-sided forming thickness up to 18 mm. However, the laser can weld on one side for copper, brass, gold and silver with a maximum thickness of 6 mm, and a maximum double-sided welding thickness of 13 mm. The W handheld fiber lasers can weld metals with a thickness of up to 2mm, the W portable fiber lasers can join metal parts together with a maximum thickness of 3mm, the W handheld laser welders can weld metals up to 4mm, and the W portable laser welding machines can join pieces of metal together with a maximum thickness of 6-8mm. These data are for single-sided welds, and the maximum thickness for double-sided welds is twice that of single-sided welds.

Is a handheld laser welder safe to operate?

A handheld laser welder features an emergency stop button, which can shut down the welder immediately in an emergency. Double safety light buttons ensure safe operation. The welding gun and optical fiber are safely and reliably grounded to prevent electric shock accidents. All in all, it's safe to operate. But just in case, any operator should take the usual precautions before operating, including wearing laser safety eyewear and welding protective masks and gloves.

How many modes of laser welding are available?

Lasers come with a variety of welding modes, each with their own pros and cons, but here are the five mostly used.

Spot Weld Mode

Create the same spot weld.

Pulse Mode

Laser pulses produce lower energy, slower welding speeds, and less heat input.

Continuous Mode

The laser fires continuously for maximum penetration and welding speed.

High Peak Power Weld Mode

High power short pulses penetrate reflective metals.

Multi-Stage Weld Mode

Repeat positioning or overlapping welds.

How to use a handheld laser welding machine?

Turn on the power and turn on the laser welder, and observe whether the water temperature is appropriate (usually set at around 21°C, it can be adjusted appropriately between 20 and 25°C according to the situation. Antifreeze needs to be added when the weather is cold, and antifreeze needs to be added when the temperature rises. Replace it with pure water), then turn on the laser switch, select the welding mode according to the metal parts to be welded, set the required parameters and pick up the handheld laser gun and start welding. During working, do not look directly into the laser beam with your eyes and do not touch it with your hands to avoid injury. If there is an emergency such as water leakage or abnormal sound, press the "emergency stop" switch immediately. After working, turn off all equipments in use and the main power switch in turn.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Lithium Battery Top Cover Laser Welding factory. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.