Process Date: November 1999


Using 20 watts of laser power, the coating was successfully removed from this wire.
Wire stripping is an excellent application for sealed CO₂ lasers. The usually highly absorbing coating is ablated away by the laser, leaving the underlying metal untouched. While sealed CO₂ lasers cannot match the speed of some existing TEA/Nd:YAG laser techniques, they are ideal for less speed critical applications.

Welding wire with a 25-watt laser
The welding of this wire was achieved with 20 watts of power, and a pulse length of less than 100ms. The key to the success of the process is to firmly attach the wire to the piece to be welded.