Many manufacturers offer preset welding programs in their machines, but the majority of these presets are developed specifically for groove welds and the exact machine settings are hidden as part of the manufacturer’s “secret sauce”, leaving the user uninformed as to the discrete variables being used behind the scenes.
HLI has spent considerable time developing robust parameter sets which are fully viewable to the user and openly tunable with discrete values. This 14-page document includes 7 unique welding procedures in a 5x5 matrix covering lap welds between 5 different thicknesses of 304 stainless steel ranging from 10 to 20 gauge. Also included are appendices covering the customization of these parameter sets, notes on ensuring optical cleanliness for maximum system performance, and instructions on writing your own custom weld programs into your LightWELD machine.
Note that while these parameters were developed explicitly for IPG’s LightWELD XR family of machines, we have found that they work as an excellent starting point for any single mode handheld laser welding system with a 50 µm spot size. In order to match performance, users of differently branded machines will need to identify their focus position on their own and match the focus position to the tip of their welding wire at the end of the torch.
