Physico-technological special features of laser welding in continuous and pulsed-periodic regimes

The special features of laser welding in continuous and pulsed-periodic (PP) regimes are discussed. It is concluded that application of the PP regime increases the penetration capacity of the laser beam and thus the efficiency of welding. An experiment is described in which the optimum range of the PP regime is determined for welding sheets of the 10Kh18N10T steel with an electroionization laser. Using a laser beam power of 3kW, a welding speed of 2 mm/sec, and an on-off ratio of four, it was found that the plasma jet disappeared almost completely in the pulse repetition frequency range of 360-400 Hz. This range was characterized by maximal penetration and the formation of high quality welds.