Please choose your delivery country and your customer group
A Rofin Sinar DY-022 diode pumped Continuous Wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser welding system has recently been installed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This modern laser technology is being investigated as a replacement for technologies, including electron beam and pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding, currently in use within the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. This report details a series of initial tests performed on this welding system in an attempt to characterize its capabilities for a two classes of materials. In order to initially characterize the capabilities of the laser, a series of autogenous laser welds are made on flat plate samples machined from two refractory metals and two grades of austenitic stainless steels. The parametric studies performed on these materials are designed to measure the response of the laser welder to changes in input power and travel speed and to determine the maximum weld depth of which this system is capable in these materials.