LightWELD from IPG Photonics provides fiber laser welding in hand-held system

IPG Photonics Corp. has launched the LightWELD hand-held laser welding system.

Designed and built with patented and patent-pending fiber laser technologies, the small, lightweight system enables fast welding and high-quality results in a variety of materials and thicknesses, with low heat input and little or no filler wire, according to the manufacturer.

Simple controls, including 74 stored preset and user-defined process parameters, help novice welders learn the system in a matter of hours. The system welds thick, thin, and reflective metals with minimal distortion, deformation, undercut, or burn-through, the company reports.

Welding fixtures are simplified or unnecessary, and metals do not need to be prebrushed or ground completely clean. The system handles materials with dissimilar thicknesses and high/low electrical conductivity. The HAZ is minimized, as is the need for traditional postprocessing grinding or polishing.

Laser power up to 1,500 W is adjusted with intuitive controls that can dial in optimum weld settings quickly for various materials and thicknesses. Select stored modes provide up to 2,500 W of high peak power.

Features include wobble welding (which provides up to 5 mm of additional weld width), a 5-m delivery cable, connections for gas and external connectivity, multilevel sensors and interlocks, and a laser-welding gun with wobble/scan capabilities.