LightWELD Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Not at all. LightWELD laser welding technology is easy to learn no matter your welding experience, laser or otherwise. All LightWELD systems come preloaded with more than 100 welding and cleaning parameters for the most common materials and thicknesses. You can also create your own custom recipes to match your travel speed and desired weld penetration.
The LightWELD Cobot System does not require operators to program with code (although that is an option, if preferred). Instead, LWCS is most commonly taught by manually guiding the robotic arm through a welding or cleaning job. The arm can remember hundreds of jobs and will perform the steps and motions for a specific job whenever needed.
No. Just the opposite, actually. Cobots are designed to work alongside humans to help with a variety of jobs and tasks. The LightWELD Cobot System requires a skilled welder to teach it how to perform various welding jobs. Cobots are like any other tool — they are intended to help creators and craftsmen be faster and more efficient and to enable the production of higher quality end products.
The LightWELD Cobot System is designed to help skilled welders be more productive. While the system is capable of a wide variety of welding and cleaning tasks, it is particularly well-suited for handling repetitive and unfulfilling welding jobs. Working more efficiently through this type of weld helps skilled welders spend their time on more challenging and interesting welds. As a bonus, the high repeatability and precision of LightWELD Cobot Systems reduces the amount of time welders must spend on rework and grinding.
Laser welding should be thought of as another tool in your welding toolbox and does not replace traditional welding methods in every application. However, laser welding offers a number of advantages over MIG & TIG welding:
- Up to 4X faster welding speeds
- Reduced heat-affected zone
- Higher precision and repeatability
- Minimal post-weld processing required
- Higher energy efficiency and reduced consumables
- Less experience required to create excellent welds
- Better results in vertical and upside down welds
All LightWELD products sold in the United States are manufactured in the United States.
LightWELD is a handheld laser welding and cleaning technology designed to maximize productivity and weld quality. LightWELD and handheld laser welding are established solutions for welders and fabricators around the world.
The same LightWELD technology powers the LightWELD Cobot System. If needed, the LightWELD handheld system can be toollessly disconnected from the cobot system for handheld use.
Laser welding requires some safety measures like any other welding method. Laser welding is safe provided operators and bystanders wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and the laser is operated in a laser safe enclosure.
Safety is the number one priority for all LightWELD systems, which ship with included laser safety glasses and laser safe welding helmets. LightWELD laser units include features like emergency stop buttons, safety interlocks, and easy integration with welding areas to shut down the laser if the door is opened unexpectedly.
Yes, you can easily weld dissimilar metals like copper to stainless steel or to aluminum, plus parts with different thicknesses across a variety of weld joint types.
You can run LightWELD at 100% duty cycle at maximum laser power.
LightWELD offers seven modes of operation to match your needs:
Wire Welding: standard MIG wire is fed into the laser weld to increase the size of the weld bead or overcome poor part fit-up
Fusion Welding: the laser produces a constant stream of light for maximum penetration and travel speed
Pulsed Welding: the laser produces pulses of light to lower travel speed and heat input, creating a "stacked dimes" appearance
Tack Weld: the laser delivers a controlled amount of energy to produce identical tack welds
Stitch Welding: used for creating multiple tack or overlap welds
High Peak Power Mode: short bursts of high power are used to weld reflective metals
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