REPORT ON LASER-MIG HYBRID WELDING

SUBMITTED BY
VARANASI SAI HARSHA
ROLL.NO 143763
MSED
NIT WARANGAL
 Page 1 of 25

STATE OF THE ART OF HYBRID LASER-ARC

WELDING:
The concept of hybrid welding

One of the remarkable characteristics of laser welding is the narrow and

deep configuration of the weld. This narrow weld is the result of the high
energy concentration of the process and the high welding speed which result
in a low heat input into the workpiece.
Several applications take advantage of this narrow weld characteristic
and high speed processing, but for a lot of other applications the laser
process is too expensive and its narrow weld leads to some difficult
metallurgical and fit-up problems. To avoid these problems hybrid welding
technique has been developed which combines the laser welding process
with an arc process, namely hybrid laser-arc welding. In hybrid laser-arc
welding a laser (CO2 or YAG) is combined to an arc process (TIG, MIG,
MAG or plasma). This combination allows us to benefit from the
advantages of both processes. The laser beam offers the possibility of
producing deeper welds in one pass, whereas the arc energy is used to
increase welding speed and to fill the fit-up defects between the pieces to be
joined.

In the following sections laser welding and arc welding will be briefly
described separately and in their hybrid conjunction;
 Page 2 of 25

LASER WELDING
Laser welding involves focusing the beam of a high power laser on the
joint between two work pieces (see figure 1). Nowadays, the power of these
lasers is often in the range of 5-10 kW (up to 50 kW in some cases) for the
CO2 lasers, and 0.3-3 kW (6 kW lasers are available) for Nd:YAG lasers.

This energy is very concentrated, with an intensity of power input at the

weld surface of around 106 W/cm2, which is one of the highest among the
different welding processes available. This high energy concentration
produces a weld with a high depth to width ratio and with minimal thermal
distortion. The process is also quite fast, which is of interest when looking at
productivity. But this deep and narrow shape of the weld, which has many
advantages, is also one of the main drawbacks to the process because it
requires careful and accurate machining and positioning of the workpieces

Figure 1: Schematic of the laser welding process

Page 3 of 25
 Page 4 of 25

MIG welding (Metal Arc Inert Gas Welding

MIG welding is a welding process based on the creation of an electrical
arc between a welding torch (anode) and the workpiece (cathode), see figure
2. Heat is transferred to the workpiece through a plasma. The intensity of the
power input of this process is around 103 W/cm2 (significantly lower than
for laser welding), which produces a weld of small depth and medium width.
The welding speed is also lower than the one provided by the laser
process and this can result in some distortion of the workpiece, which
often needs to be machined afterwards. But MIG welding is interesting from
an industrial point of view because it has a good bridging ability, the
equipment costs are low compared to laser welding, and this process is also
very energy efficient (60 to 80 %).

Figure 2: Schematic of the MIG welding process

To sum-up, the main advantages of the MIG welding process are:
1) Excellent gap bridging
ability
2) Low cost of equipment
3) High efficiency of the process (60-80 %)

But this process has also some drawbacks which are:

1) Energy density and welding speed lower compared to laser welding. This
causes high heat input to the workpiece and consequent thermal distortions.
2) Low speed
 Page 5 of 25

LASER HYBRID WELDING

It has been known for many years that the combination of a laser beam and
an electric arc can produce welds with many of the technical advantages of
those made using just a laser, for example; deep penetration and low
distortion. This process where both the laserand arc act in the same melt
pool (see figure 3) gives higher speeds, with even deeper penetration and
greater tolerance to fit-up compared to the laser alone.
Hybrid laser-MIG welding allows high completion rates in comparison
with laser processes, with a decrease in the necessary laser power and a
clear improvement of the joining process reliability. Hybrid welding is thus
cheaper than laser welding and retains, or even improves the technical
benefits of laser welding [1, 3 and 4].

Figure 3: Schematic of the MIG welding process

Hybrid welding minimizes the drawbacks of both the single laser and the
MIG process to obtain an optimized welding technique. The main
advantages of hybrid laser-arc welding compared to laser welding are:

1) Lower capital cost, reduction of 30-40% compared to laser alone due to

reduction in laser power requirement
2) Higher welding speeds.
 Page 6 of 25

3) Reduction of edge preparation accuracy needs.

4) Control of seam width

Control of metallurgical variables through the addition of filler wire

1)Less material hardening

2) Improved process reliability

3) Higher electrical efficiency, up to 50% reduction in power consumption.

However, a large number of parameters have to be correctly set to achieve

these improvements .

Laser power

An increase in laser power will generally increase the weld penetration. In

the case of hybrid laser-arc welding (as opposed with the laser-only process)
this phenomenon is accentuated because the reflectivity of the workpiece
metal is reduced when the metal is heated by the arc.

Welding speed

The weld penetration increases when the welding speed is decreased because
the heat input per unit length of weld is higher. Also the gap filling capability
by the filler wire is improved at lower welding speeds (at constant filler wire
feeding). The ratio between welding speed and filler wire feeding is
important to the stability of the keyhole and thus for the stability of the
process itself.

Relative arrangement of the laser and the MIG torch

To get the maximum weld penetration the laser is positioned perpendicularly

to the direction of welding. The leading or trailing position of the arc
torch is a determining factor for the weld characteristics. For mild steels
the arc leading configuration is preferred since an increase in penetration is
obtained in this way. Also, the distance between the laser and the wire tip
is one of the most important parameters to control in hybrid laser-arc
 Page 7 of 25

welding. A short distance, typically 2 mm between the laser spot and the
filler wire tip has been shown to be favorable for a steady keyhole and for
maximum penetration.

Focal point position:

The maximum weld penetration for the hybrid laser-arc process is
generally obtained when the laser beam is focused below the top sheet
surface (2 to 4 mm).

Angle of electrode

The penetration of the weld increases with the angle of the electrode to
the workpiece surface up to 50 degrees. The gas flow along the welding
direction provided by the arc torch deflects the plasma induced by the laser,
and reduces the absorption of the laser beam by this plasma when CO2
lasers are employed. Therefore the angle of electrode to the top surface of
the workpiece is often set at around 40-50 degrees.

Shield gas composition

The predominant constituent of the shield gas is generally an inert gas such
as helium or argon. A shield gas providing a higher ionisation potential is
required since the plasma can deflect or absorb a portion of the laser
energy when CO2 lasers are employed.
Helium is therefore often preferred to argon for laser welding, but its
lightness is a disadvantage and it is often combined with argon which
is heavier without substantial alteration of the weld penetration depth. The
addition of reactive gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide has been
shown to have an influence on the weld pool wetting characteristics
and bead smoothness.

Power modulation of the arc welding source

The arc welding source uses a DC mode rather than an AC mode because
 Page 8 of 25

the energy input and density are higher in the first case. The arc source is
often operated in a pulsed mode since this has been shown to reduce the
amount of spatter whilst maintaining a deep penetration of the weld. The
welding voltage has been shown not to greatly influence theweld penetration
depth, which is mostly dependant on the laser power, but the weld bead gets
wider if the welding voltage increases, giving a lower depth to width ratio
for a same laser power. The arc voltage (and wire feed rate) will therefore
need to be increased for wider fit-up gaps, to avoid any lack of fusion. The
welding current is generally matched to the filler wirediameter (higher
welding current for higher wire diameter). Considering a given
wirediameter and voltage settings it has been shown that an increase in
welding current will give a deeper weld, with a higher depth to width ratio.

Joint gap

For laser welding gaps up to 0.2 mm can be managed. Gaps larger than this
will lead to weld defects such as an incomplete weld bead and undercut.
The hybrid laser-arc process allows us to join workpieces with gaps of 1 mm
without any problem and even wider gaps if the wire feeding is set high
enough. This process is therefore more tolerant to inaccurate joint
preparation and joint fit-up as well as thermal distortion of the workpiece
during the welding process. It is also more tolerant to a beam to gap
misalignment.

Edge preparation

For conventional laser welding parallel and straight edges with a narrow gap
are required, due to the small diameter of the laser beam. For arc welding
a V-shape or other angled cut are necessary.
In the case of hybrid laser-arc welding, the need for edge preparation
is lower than for laser welding, since it is not as sensitive to the presence
of oxides on the edges to joint, as long as the gap is wide enough. An edge
groove is generally machined for material thickness higher than 8-10 mm.
 Page 9 of 25

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

The hybrid welding process is involved in a growing number of

industrial applications due to the economic and technical advantages of
this technology.
Some important superior features, compared to pure laser welding, are:

 A higher welding speed. Productivity is improved through increased

welding speed. For
sheet material it is possible to get 40% enhancement of the speed
compared to
conventional laser welding without the addition of the arc power.
 When using a hybrid combination, the investment cost for the
power source is significantly less and the electrical efficiency is much
higher when using a hybrid process
 A larger tolerance of the joint configuration due to gap bridging with
the added MIG wire. Processing and joint fit-up tolerances are thus
improved.
 A good weld quality is obtained with low and predictable distortion,
which implies a reduction in the need for rework. In addition,
the potential benefit of improved dimensional tolerances is
generally recognized in heavy industries to be of the order of 20-30%
of the labour cost due to a reduction of rectification work.
 For hybrid processes, which consume filler wire, it should be possible
to weld lower cost, lower grade steels than those which are usually
required for autogenous laser weldingTo sum-up, hybrid laser MIG
 Page 10 of 25

welding combines the advantages of both arc and laser processes

resulting in high joint completion rates with increased tolerance to fit
up and without compromising joint quality and distortion control. The
benefits to industry include increased productivity, simplified set-up
procedures and reduced post weld reworking costs.However, this
technology is experiencing only slow growth in today’s industries.
Some reasons for this slow acceptance are the high cost of the
investment and the complexity of the process due to its large number
of parameters. The set up of the processing parameters requires a
high degree of skill and accuracy, and these imperatives added to an
incomplete knowledge of the process are limiting factors for the
industrial application.

Most of today’s applications for hybrid welding are limited to sheet materials
in the range of 2 to 10 mm, but thick materials may also derive benefits from
this joining process.
 Page 11 of 25

This paper presents a comparison of a mathematical model of laser

hybrid welding with experimental evidence. Figure 4 shows how many
inter-related phenomena are involved when a laser acts alongside a MIG
arc. The arc not only provides energy to the process but also liquid metal in
the form of droplets. Figure 5 provides a schematic of how the various
different variables are accounted for in the mathematical model.

Figure 4: Side view of the complex geometry and physics during hybrid welding

Figure 5: Mathematical model

 Page 12 of 25

Here presents a comparison of experimental results and calculated

figures which describe the process. For example; figure 6 shows the
calculated gas and vapour flow characteristics of the weld zone with a high
speed photo of the actual process.
Figure 7 compares calculated and actual weld cross sections as a function
of gap width and
wire feed rate.

(a) (b)
Figure 6: Shielding gas flow, arc and escaping keyhole plasma jet: (a) calculation, (b) high
speed imaging (Naito 2001)

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 7: Calculated weld seam cross section: for varying gap width (a), wire feeding (b),
compared to experiments (c)
 Page 13 of 25

A comparative study of laser beam welding and laser– MIG

hybrid welding of Ti–Al–Zr–Fe titanium alloy
• 4 mm thick Ti–Al–Zr–Fe medium strength titanium alloy sheets were
welded at a high speed of 1.8 m/min and power of 8 kW using LBW and
LAMIG welding methods. All the welding joints obtained are of no defects,
like oxidation, cracks, porosities and lack of penetration. LAMIG method can
improve the weld forma-tion by adding welding wire and higher heat input.
• LBW fusion zone consists of primary _ as the principal phase at a rapid
cooling rate. LAMIG method can adjust the microstructure of fusion zone
with lower microhardness.
• All tensile specimens fractured at the parent metal, and face bend-ing tests
showed higher bending angles in the LAMIG welded joints.

• The LAMIG welded joints have better combination of strength and ductility.
The process of the LAMIG welding is proved to be feasible for the
production of titanium sheet joints.

Distance from weld centerline(mm) Distance from weld centerline(m

a) LBW b) LAMIG
 Page 14 o
f 25

Microhardness(HV 0.5 )
280

0.5
290

Microhardne
280 270
270
260

ss(HV
260
250
250
Fusiong Zone HAZ PM Fusion Zone HAZ PM
240 240
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
 Page 15 of 25

The influence of arc transfer mode in hybrid laser-mig welding

In order to obtain a reliable and repeatable process many topics must be

taken into consideration:

1. The two sources involved in the process must be at a 2–3 mm mutual

distance in order to avoid turbulence in the weld pool and disturbance of the
keyhole formation and to achieve synergy between the processes.
2. The Laser beam focal position must be set below the upper base metal
surface in order to achieve the best penetration. The distance between the
base metal surface and the Laser focus depends on the GMAW metal
transfer mode: 4–6 mm for short-arc, 6–8 mm for pulsed/spray-arc.
3. The base metal transfer mode is important in order to achieve a stable and
repeatable process: pulsed/spray-arc should be preferred to short/globular-
arc.
4. The arc voltage does not play a significant role in bead depth, while it
should be taken into consideration to improve gap bridgeability.

Characteristics of microstructure and fatigue

resistance of hybrid fiber laser-MIG welded Al–Mg
alloy joints:

The microstructures of the hybrid welded joint were

investigated using OM and TEM. And the mechanical
properties, fatigue resistance of the hybrid welded joint were
also studied in comparison with the MIG welded joint.
Following con-clusions can be drawn:

(1)
From the mechanical properties results, the hybrid welded join
t shows a narrower HAZ than that of the MIG welded joint;
for the tensile strength, the hybrid weld does not show
 Page 16 of 25

obvious advantages over the MIG weld.

(2) The strength loss of the hybrid welded joint can be
attributed to the vaporization of Mg, the decrease of the
precipitates and the growth of the grain size.
(3) Compared with the MIG welded joints, the fatigue
perfor-mance of the hybrid welded joints is better. The
conditional
fatigue strength (Nf > 107 ) of the hybrid weld could reach
up to 110 MPa, which is approximately 84.6% of the base
metal’s conditional fatigue strength (130 MPa), while MIG
weld is only 95 MPa.
(4) The main reason for the decrease of the fatigue strength
was porosity.
Page 17 of 25
 Page 18 of 25

The influence of shielding gas in hybrid LASER– MIG welding

Hybrid CO2 LASER–GMAW welding process yields a great industrial

interest thanks to its large applicability and versatility. In order to obtain a
stable and efficient process, the role of the shielding gas must be taken into
consideration:

A minimum helium content, equal to 30%, must be exploited to limit plasma

formation and consequently a low laser power absorption.
A 30 up to 40% helium content gas mixture allows to exploit factory default
synergic curves in the GMAW sources and it grants a good process
feasibility.
Helium content above 40% yields to unstable arc conditions and does not
lead to a significant increase of bead penetration depth.
A shielding gas flow between 10 and 30 l/min is enough to grant a suitable
cost-effective welding environment.
Page 19 of 25
 Page 20 of 25

Coupling mechanism of laser and arcs of laser-

twin-arc hybrid welding and its effect on welding
process:

1) Laser provides a conductive, stable plasma channel for the arc,

which can influence the arc shape, slow down droplet transfer,
reduce resistivity and stabilize arcs.

(2) Electron temperature of hybrid arc plasma in alternate

burning is from 7000 K to 17000 K, and distributed as ‘M’ curve,
the highest is near the arc center. Electron temperature
increases with the increasing laser power and decreasing
defocusing distance.

(3) The twin-arc weld fusion zone microstructure was

composed of columnar proeutectoid ferrite with intergranular
acicular ferrite and pearlite. The hybrid weld displayed a
higher heat input than the twin-arc weld, resulting in a wider
HAZ and a fusion zone microstructure that contains a larger
amount of pearlite than the arc weld.

(4) The increment rate of penetration acquired after laser

hybrid is more than that of input of energy with the same
arc welding parameters. The combination of the laser and
the twin arcs in hybrid welding acquires deeper penetration
than

possible with twin-arc welding alone.

Page 21 of 25
 Page 22 of 25

Modeling of transport phenomena in hybrid laser-MIG

keyhole welding:

Mathematical models have been developed to investi-gate the

transport phenomena in a hybrid laser-MIG weld-ing process. The
complicated velocity and temperature
distributions caused by the impingement of filler droplets are
calculated. The mixing between base metal and MIG droplets in the
fusion zone is traced by the concentration of sulfur.
As shown
droplets into in
the the
basestudy,
metal the mixing affected
is greatly and diffusion
by the of the filler
dynamics of
the weld pool fluid flow. The competition between the rate of mixing
and the rate of solidification determines the compositional
homogeneity of the weld pool. The welding parameter, such as
filler droplet size (wire diameter) can influence the rate of mixing
and/or the rate of solidification. Increasing the droplet size can
enhance the vortex formation in the weld pool created by the
downward momentum carried by the droplets. It can improve the
latitudinal
too large ofdiffusion
a dropletofwill
the leave
fillera droplet in thezone
low diffusion fusion zone. metal
of filler However,
at
the center of the final weld. Also, by adding of additional metal into
the weld pool via the MIG droplets in hybrid laser-MIG welding, the
final weld bead shape can be modified. Porosity and undercuts can
be eliminated. The developed model can be used for further
parametric studies or optimization of the hybrid laser-MIG welding
process.
 Page 23 of 25

I
n

L
A
 Page 24 of 25

Microstructure characteristics of laser–

MIG hybrid welded mild steel
(1) For laser–arc hybrid welding, the ‘‘wine-cup’’
shape of weld means the more synergic effect
between laser and arc, and is the typical hybrid
weld shape. This shape can exert the
advantages of laser–arc hybrid welding to the
greatest extent and can be classified as two parts:
the wide upper zone and the narrow nether zone,
which were defined as arc zone and laser zone,
respectively.
(2) The obvious difference between laser zone and
arc zone of laser–arc hybrid welded mild steel
was observed in this experiment. Compared to
arc zone, laser zone has finer grain size, higher
microhardness, smaller element content in fusion
zone and narrower HAZ restraining the
appearance of hardened region.
(3) The fusion zone microstructure of arc zone
consists of the coarse columnar dendrite and fine
acicular dendrite between the columnar dendrites,
but that of laser zone is composed of the fine
equiaxed dendrite irregularly distributing in the
center and columnar dendrite around the
equiaxed dendrite.
(4) The discussions showed that the observed
difference was caused by the difference of the
temperature gradient, crystal-lizing and the
effects of arc pressure of molten pool between
laser zone and arc zone.
Page 25 of 25