Combining the Power of Handheld Laser Welding with Collaborative Robots

Article content provided by IPG Photonics.

Although laser welding has been in use for decades, the process has traditionally been reserved for automated and advanced applications. It is only relatively recently that the power of laser welding has been widely available as a practical handheld solution.

Today, handheld laser welders like LightWELD continue to be adopted by everyone from artists to fabrication shops and from small operations to global manufacturing companies.

Laser welding offers a number of advantages over traditional processes, including higher quality results, higher welding speeds, and reduced part distortion. Despite its advantages, handheld laser welding is still a manual process, meaning that human error and fatigue are factors even for skilled welders. Even more concerning, a shortage of skilled welders means that at many shops, welders must take on increasing workloads.

Enter collaborative robots, or “cobots” for short. Designed specifically to work with and alongside humans, cobots have experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, particularly in applications like welding. The basic components of a welding cobot system are a welding power source, a work surface, a robotic arm that holds the welding torch, and software.

But how does a welding cobot differ from a traditional welding robot? Traditional welding robots are expensive and require complex programming. By comparison, welding cobots are compact, cost-effective, and require no experience with programming or robotics to use. Human welders “teach” the arm which moves to make and set the welding parameters with a combination of software and manual guidance.

Manual guidance allows welders to drag the robotic arm through the weld path and save the job once they are satisfied. The whole teaching process can be completed in minutes, which makes automating a wide variety of welding tasks very practical regardless of the volume of parts. As an added benefit, welders can use the cobot to handle repeat welding tasks while they focus their efforts on more complex welds.

Although many of the benefits of cobot welding apply to both arc and laser welding methods, automation and precision pair particularly well with laser welding. High-speed, high-accuracy robotic motion takes full advantage of the speed and precision of laser welding, helping welders increase their productivity and consistency.

In the case of the LightWELD Cobot System, the system can even be used for laser pre-cleaning and post-cleaning, eliminating the need for time-consuming traditional cleaning methods. The end result is a fast and flexible system that helps introduce the benefits of laser welding automation to an operation with virtually none of the challenges or drawbacks.

Click here to learn more about the LightWELD Cobot System.

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IPG Photonics is the inventor and world’s leading producer of high-power fiber lasers, which enable greater precision, higher speed processing, more flexible production methods and enhanced productivity. IPG Photonics offers products ranging from fiber laser sources to turnkey laser processing systems and their products and process technology can be found in numerous applications and industries across the globe, including commercial HVAC and sheet metal fabrication.