Welding 316 Stainless Steel

Side by side 0.03" weld beads, on 0.02" thick 316 stainless steel sheet, created using a Synrad 240W laser.

    The photo above shows a 0.02" thick 316 stainless steel sheet welded to the edges of a 0.375" thick rail using a Synrad Evo 240W laser. The welds were made using 240W at a speed of 40ipm with argon as a shield gas. The laser provides clean welds with little to no splatter, heat deformation, or vaporization of the 316 sheet.  

    The welds in this case are designed to form a hermetic seal to replace a brazing operation.  With no tungsten electrodes to rework and replace, laser welding provides an excellent solution for automated welding systems.

Drilling Polyurethane

0.006" holes drilled in 0.003" polyurethane sheet using a Synrad 25W laser and 2.5" positive meniscus lens providing a spot size of 0.004"

    Using a Synrad 25W laser we drilled the 0.003" thick polyurethane sheet shown above.  The 48-2 laser was pulsed at 1.85KHz with a pulse length of 190 microseconds giving an average power of 4.4W.  Each 0.006" hole was made using 25 pulses and 5psi Nitrogen assist gas. The assist gas was set up to be a diffuse source to both blow the vaporized plastic through the hole and form a shield around the drill area to prevent debris from settling on the surface.  To do this, a gas nozzle with a 0.125" opening was used and positioned 0.25" from the surface. This particular type of polyurethane film is used in the medical field and is commonly perforated using a hot needle.

Marking PVC Insulated Wire

Marking PVC coated wire using a 10W Synrad  CO₂ laser.