Laser Welding Safety
Handheld Laser Welding — A Practical Guide for U.S. Manufacturers and Shops
A practical, easy-to-understand guide for U.S. manufacturers and fabrication shops considering handheld laser welding. It covers safety, equipment selection, setup, process basics, materials, joint design, fume control, qualification, quality, and practical steps for getting started—supported by reliable industry, government, manufacturer, and peer-reviewed sources.
When The Laser Isn’t the Problem
One subsystem that has caused me more commissioning trouble than people might expect is the cutting gas system.One lesson I learned building laser cutting machines is that saying:“I need 300 psi nitrogen.”doesn’t really define the requirement.What you actually need to know is:“I need this pressure while flowing this much gas.”Laser cutting—especially high-pressure nitrogen cutting—can require … Read more
What You Need to Know About Handheld Laser Welding
What You Need to Know About Handheld Laser Welding is a practical, safety-focused guide for shop owners, welders, supervisors, students, and anyone considering this rapidly growing technology. It explains how handheld laser welding works, what equipment and controls are required, how to develop a repeatable welding process, and why training, ventilation, documentation, and laser safety … Read more
Advanced Motion Algorithms Are Powerful — But Physics Still Gets a Vote
Modern motion controllers are amazing. In laser processing, advanced algorithms can smooth corners, reduce vibration, improve path following, synchronize laser firing, and help squeeze more performance out of a machine. Features such as input shaping, look-ahead, contour smoothing, and frequency-response-based tuning are real tools that can make a good machine much better [1][2][3][4]. But they … Read more
Why can a Class 4 laser be operated by hand when enclosed laser machines require so much engineering?
I will admit that I am confused. You probably will be too if you read this article. But it’s an important topic that deserves to be discussed. Please read the full article. And please chime in. I have helped build industrial laser systems containing Class 4 lasers. To make the completed machines Class I, or … Read more