Laser Welding – Making Soldering Easier
Laser is a well known technology that produces a sharply focused light beam that melts a very small area of metal and can be used to join similar alloys.
It was back in 1992 when laser welding was introduced in the jewelry marketplace. It has been known as an alternative to soldering or welding. Because it is much easier, laser welder gained a wide range of industry acceptance due to its uses and ability to produce stronger connections with a high level of accuracy, resulting in a significant savings in time, labor and materials.
Laser systems have been available to the industrial marketplace for many years; it has only been in the last five to seven years that technological advancements have made them practical for many companies. These technological advancements have increased the output efficiency of today’s lasers and decreased the size of the power supply, while significant improvements in the laser’s cooling system design have led to a more compact, portable workstation.
What is the difference between laser welding and traditional welding?
It has a great difference; traditional welding or traditional electronic resistance welding requires electrodes to make contact with the parts to be welded and passes extremely high electric currents through the alloys and melt and fuse the melt together. Resistance welding also takes time it also leaves scars and blemishes at the weld point and it also requires specially shaped electrodes to weld hard to reach areas.
While laser welding is a lot easier to used. It has a sharp, focused light beam for rapid melting and cooling of similar and dissimilar alloys. Because you will be using a laser welding process is a lot quicker and does not leave any scar or blemishes. You can also adjust the diameter of the laser beams, you can also achieved a smooth and near polished finish. You also don’t need any electrodes because laser welding offers precise welding of complex and difficult to reach jewelry pieces.
The weld resulting from a laser operation is considerable stronger than a traditional soldering joint.
Aside from that, laser welding will not leave any markings after the cleaning process. It will reconfigure the molecular structure of similar or dissimilar alloys for it to become one. After you clean it you need to filed, polished or treated with finishing techniques to remove any markings.
Because of the capabilities that a laser welding has lots of jewelry manufacturers are currently using the said tools. They are very amazed of what the laser welding can do and because it can also produce a higher quality product in less period of time with fewer materials needed. Laser can also be used to re-tip prong settings, repair bezel settings, resize a ring, repair bracelets, and many more. And lasers are indispensable in today’s popular stone-in-place casting methods, permitting castings to be rapidly assembled and porosity to be filled while posing very little hazard to the stones.
How the laser system works?
The key element that a laser welding have that are applicable in jewelry making was the development if the free moving concept. Free-moving concept is the laser that generates stationary infra-red light pulse which is a targeted through the microscope’s cross-hair. You can easily control the laser welding size and intensity. Because the heat generated remains localized, operators can handle jewelry items with their fingers, welding small areas with pin-point accuracy without causing any harm to the operator’s fingers or hands. This “free-moving” concept enables users to eliminate costly fix Turing devises and increase the range of assembly and repair applications.
Using a laser welding can be learned in a few hours, although to become fully proficient and benefit from the machine’s potential, users must have a good understanding of the metallurgical properties of the alloys being welded. An experienced jewelry technician can normally make the transition to manipulating the jewelry item in the laser welding machine within 10 to 15 minutes.
Into the Future
During the last few years, the price of many laser welding systems has decreased, making them more affordable to jewelrymal1ufacturers, small design studios, repair shops, and retail jewelers. Prices of laser welding systems have stabilized over the last 12 to 18 months, and many lasers are now very competitively priced while offering” more features and flexibility for the user. Frequently, those who have purchased the laser systems find that time, labor, and material savings they realized far outweigh the original purchase price. “Laser welders have made our work so much easier that I could not imagine working without one” is a comment often heard from jewelry manufacturers.
When evaluating a laser system’s payback timetable, most manufacturers need to consider the following questions:
- How is the laser going to improve production output?
- By what percentage will the laser reduce scrapped parts or salvage bad castings?
- Can the laser allow for more efficient use of labor?
- How often will the laser help repair damaged or defective jewelry pieces?
- How much money can be saved by reducing the amount of purchased solder material?
- Will the laser help in the assembly of complex, difficult to solder jewelry pieces?
- Will the laser provide a competitive advantage over the competition?
These and many more issues are all important considerations when evaluating the capital investment of a laser welding system .Most manufacturers consider lasers a good investment not only for the short term benefits, but also for its future potential. Many jewelry manufacturers like the idea of having state-of-the-art technology in their facilities. Laser welding systems will not only enhance the manufacturer’s image in the eyes of their clients, but also provide them with the tools and technology required for the future.
