What is a laser ?

LASER- Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

Laser light- special wave

• Highly collimated- the beam is close to straight

• Having single frequency or colour

• Coherent/in phase-All the wave move up and down at the same time
Lasing principle: During spontaneous emission of photons, the quanta are emitted in a random direction at a
random phase. In contrast, the atoms emitted during stimulated emission are forced into phase by the radiation
field. When a number of these in-phase wave trains overlap each other, the resultant radiation field propagates
in the one direction with a very stable amplitude.
Effects of Beam Quality
 Types of laser
There are many types of lasers available for research,
medical, industrial, and commercial uses. Lasers are
often described by the kind of lasing medium they use -
solid state, gas, excimer, dye, or semiconductor.
• Solid state- Ruby or Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped
yttrium aluminum garnet) lasers, Fiber optics laser.
• Gas lasers - Helium and helium-neon, He Ne,CO2
• Excimer lasers - Name is derived from the
terms excited and dimers. use reactive gases such as
chlorine and fluorine mixed with inert gases such as
argon, krypton, or xenon. When electrically
stimulated, a pseudomolecule or dimer is produced
and when lased, produces light in the ultraviolet
range.
• Dye lasers
• Semiconductor laser
Comparative study of different laser
Applications:
Joining Efficiency
Comparison of different welding process
Principle of laser welding
Laser Beam Welding (LBW) is a fusion joining process that produces coalescence of
materials with the heat obtained from a concentrated beam of coherent, monochromatic light
impinging on the joint to be welded. In the LBW process, the laser beam is directed by flat
optical elements, such as mirrors and then focused to a small spot (for high power density) at
the workpiece using either reflective focusing elements or lenses. It is a non-contact process,
requiring no pressure to be applied. Inert gas shielding is generally employed to prevent
oxidation of the molten puddle and filler metals may be occasionally used. The Lasers which
are predominantly being used for industrial material processing and welding tasks are the Nd-
YAG laser and 1.06 µm wavelength CO2 laser, with the active elements most commonly
employed in these two varieties of lasers being the neodymium (Nd) ion and the CO2
molecules respectively.
LBW disadvantage:
Electron Beam Welding (EBW)
EBW principle:
Electron Beam is capable to weld work pieces with thickness from 0.01 mm up to
150 mm of steel and up to 500 mm of aluminum. Electron Beam Welding may be
used for joining any metals including metals, which are hardly wieldable by other
welding methods: refractory metals (tungsten, molybdenum, niobium) and chemically
active metals (titanium, zirconium, beryllium). Electron Beam Welding is also able to
join dissimilar metals

High-vacuum welding:

• Welding in same vacuum chamber as beam generation to produce highest quality

• Weld Medium-vacuum welding- welding in separate chamber

• Non-vacuum welding- welding done at or near atmospheric pressure, with work

positioned close to electron beam generator
a) Electron gun
b) Electron gun power supply
c) Vacuum chamber
d) Emitter/Filament
e) Anode
f) Grid Cup
g) Focusing unit
h) Work piece handling device.
Advantages of Electron Beam Welding (EBW):
• Continuous weld
• Low distortion
• Narrow weld and narrow heat affected zone
• Filler metal is not required

Disadvantages of Electron Beam Welding (EBW):

• Expensive equipment
• High production expenses
• X-ray irradiation
Plasma Arc Welding
Plasma arc welding (PAW) :

Principle of operation:
the weld pool.
Equipment:

a) Power source
b) Plasma torch
c) Filler material and Shielding gas
Advantages:
• Good arc stability and excellent weld quality
• Better penetration control than other AW processes
• High travel speeds Can be used to weld almost any metals
Disadvantages:
• High equipment cost
• Larger torch size than other AW processes
• Tends to restrict access in some joints
 Ultrasonic welding
• Principle
– Ultrasonic acoustic vibrations + pressure
– Molecules of one material diffuse into
other material
• Advantages
– Joining of dissimilar materials
– Low thermal impact on material
– Precise and clean welds
– Reproducible weld quality

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 Ultrasonic welding

• Parts are placed onto the nest.

• Mechanical vibration is applied to the parts to be welded by sonotrode.

• Ultrasonic generator delivers high power AC signal with frequency matching

resonance frequency of the ultrasonic stack.

• Electrical signal converted into mechanical vibration by converter.

• Amplitude of the vibration modified by booster.

• All three elements of the stack resonate at exactly the same ultrasonic frequency.

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 Ultrasonic welding
Sonotrode
• Point or area welding
– Different shapes and sizes of horn and anvil
– Can be designed for our purposes, e.g. 0.5 x
10 cm2
• Continuous welding Nest
– Sample moved between rotating sonotrode
Sonotrode
and anvil
– Material needs to be quite robust

Nest
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Different combinations of sonotrode & anvil

Sonotrode Sonotrode

Anvil Anvil

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Schematic of Ultrasonic Welding

FIGURE 32-20 Diagram of the

equipment used in ultrasonic
welding
Application of Ultrasonic Welding