Laser welder

C

chevman

Oldtimer
I went to a local laser welding demo a few months ago, the brand is IPG Light Weld, headquartered in Massachusetts, but they have a few destributors around the country including the one close to me in Novi Mi, and they claim its made in the US. They sent me this email today as a follow up, even though I already told them I can't purchase it.

Someone would have to use it everyday and twice on Sunday to be able to justify the price, but its not overpriced IMO. It has the same type laser power supply as the other manufacturers, but its like comparing a model T, to a new cadillac, which both have an internal combustion engines---for now anyway. I speak with a small amount of experience, with welding and cleaning laser machines.

In the email was a video that is interesting. It was sent to them by one of their customers, but the next video is one of their two sales people explaining the set up and use of the machine. I think you will like it just for entertainment, and to be aware of whats available.
 
Indeed.
Anybody can make perfect welds every time, as long as you fine tune it, and even thats not hard to do.
The only problem with it is that you can't see the weld, so when butt welding without the wire feeder you need a guide. Using the wire not only controls the speed, but the wire will also stay in the gap when butt welding and keep the weld on the seam.
 
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i saw him welding the stainless and thought that would be great for boat railings then he showed the picture lol. so how much was the whole setup?
 
It only makes sense for someone who welds a few hours everyday, and in that case it would save a lot of time and pay for itself. I wouldn't think using it on a boat would be safe, but boat parts welded in the shop would be good. When welding reflective materials the laser beam can be deflected and hurt someone else nearby. The laser beam for welding is a lot of power concentrated in a small beam which can be very dangerous in the wrong hands.

The cleaning function, and wire feeder are optional, but this cleaning method is only used for cleaning the weld, or for preparing the metal for a weld, and not worth the optional price of $6000. The laser welder alone is about $20,000. I wouldn't waste time on any other laser welder.

There are other manufacturers that offer hand held laser cleaning machines for rust and paint removal, some of which work very good, but also expensive. The laser beam for these rust cleaning machines is much wider, so the lightly tinted glasses is the only protection needed, but its still a laser beam. Its similar to blasting, but doesn't leave a scratch profile even close to being good enough for paint adhesion. When cleaning sheet metal, the power must be low and keep moving the beam to keep from overheating the metal, but it can be done right in the shop with just an exhaust fan running. You can stop work at any time right in the shop, turn on the machine, clean an area of rust, and shut the machine down and be back to work in just a few minutes with only minimal clean up.

As with anything else the quality of the machines varies, but a high quality machine will also be in the $20,000 range. The laser cleaning machines leave some of the debris on the metal and it is burned metal which is a dark gray color, and in videos it will look like clean metal, so if you watch videos that are out there, just remember this. Lightly sanding that same metal quite often reveals more rust that wasn't removed. So don't believe everything you see. Also, if ordering a machine from China, there is a 25% tarriff on it.
 
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Finally a welder that can make my welds look good.... SOLD!!!

Seriously, that's a cool piece of equipment. My only chance of getting one will be when Harbor Freight starts making one, lol

Thanks for sharing,
 
You can buy them now from China, which will be the same as HF. I don't have any connection with IPG, just thought it would be interesting to see. I didn't mention that the laser beam is impulsed wave, which will reduce distortion, and is something the imported welders do not have. This one also has default settings, and the others do not, in fact they have settings that go to infinity.:mad:
 
It's cool technology. However after tig welding for 37 years focusing on "the puddle" I don't think I could get used to not seeing the weld until after it's complete. If I understood the procedure correctly?
 
I'll say its almost out of sight, but when using the wire feeder you can feel the wire in the gap, and you can feel it pushing the gun. So you're trading the sight of the weld, to the feel of the weld. It was very easy to adapt, but without a gap or guide, you will end up off the seam.

I just checked the link, and the second video is different now. This one is more helpful for what we do. If I had enough spare change laying around I would buy it. I did buy a laser rust remover, its just so convinent, and without the mess of blasting. He explains the machine and safety in the beginning so go to 22 minutes.
 
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