Pulsed or continuous laser?
CW Laser or QCW Laser or YAG laser or Qswitch Laser?
Your laser welding machine can be equipped with one of the following two types of lasers: a pulsed laser or a continuous laser. The choice of one over the other depends mostly on the quality of the weld you want to have and of the thickness of the material you want to weld.
- The pulsed laser:
- It is suitable for metals that are very light and thin.
- It prevents them from being deformed or melted.
- This type of pulsed laser is mainly used to weld sheet metal, razor blades, gold jewelry chain links and titanium pacemakers.
- Welding of none high volume production parts
- The continuous laser:
- It is recommended for welding thicker parts.
- It is particularly effective on refractory metals.
- It can pose problems if it is used on metal or a part that is too thin. In these cases the laser could damage, deform or melt the part. this is mostly solved by wobble technology.
- It is more expensive than a pulsed laser, but it also reduces operating costs and runs much faster and more stable.