Nonconventional Technologies Review – no.

3 / 2007

HYBRID WELDING PROCESSES – A POSSIBILITY

TO INCREASE THE WELDING PROCESS EFFICIENCY

Dorin DEHELEAN1

ABSTRACT
Welding is today a key manufacturing process, present practically in all industrial sectors. One
of the principal directions for the progress of the welding is the development of hybrid welding
processes. These are created by combination of two conventional welding processes and
through synergic effects of the interaction offer specific advantages with respect to each
individual welding process, first of all an increase of the process stability and efficiency. After a
synthetic presentation of the evolution of hybrid welding process the principal hybrid welding
processes are described. Technological and efficiency aspects as well as data about the
industrial present and expected future application are discussed.

KEYWORDS: Hybrid welding process, Welding efficiency, Plasma – MIG welding, Laser – arc
welding

1. WELDING – TODAY automobile the laser welding, brazing and

Welding is present, nowadays, in all industrial
sectors as an indispensable technological
process. The application volume of welding
knew a spectacular ascendant evolution; over
80 welding processes are used in industry. In
the EU welding is applied in over 190,000
firms, 5,5 millions of working places are
connected with welding, of which 730,000 are
represented by welders, [1]. The value of the
European production for the joining
technologies field was of 11 billions Euro in
2003, while the value added by production
and application of welding in Germany, in the
same year reached 27 billions of Euro. At the
world level the value of production for the
joining technologies in 2003 was estimated at
33 billions Euro [2].
In its maturity the field of welding is, at
present, subjected to spectacular challenges
as regards the evolution of efficiency and
quality indicators. In welding development
innovation is the main driving factor. In this
sense the most important trends in research,
at the world level, refers to the improvement
of new welding processes, combining several
welding processes, respectively in order to
create hybrid welding processes. As an
example it is to be mentioned a remarkable
achievement, at the world level, in the
welding innovation process in the automobile
sector. In the fabrication of the VW Golf V
cutting is applied, more than 250 laser units
are used. The fabrication capacity is 3,000
cars where the total laser welding, for a
length of laser welding for a 70 m is 210
km/day. In comparison the MAG welding is
present with a length of only 7 m/car while the
length of adhesive bonding is 30m [3].
2. HYBRID WELDING PROCEEDES
Hybrid welding processes combines two
welding processes that interacts and by
synergic process assures the specific
advantages, mainly the spectacular
increasing of joining process efficiency.
The first hybrid welding process was the
plasma – MIG welding which represents a
combination between plasma welding
and shielded gas welding with fusible
electrode (MIG welding).
At present over 20 hybrids welding processes
are known, the most important of them being:
- laser - arc hybrid welding which
combines the laser welding with a TIG
or MIG shielded gas electric arc
welding process;
- MIG welding combined with
submerged arc welding;
- resistance spot welding combined
with brazing;
- laser activated friction stir welding;

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 Nonconventional Technologies Review – no. 3 / 2007
- A-TIG welding (chemically activated
TIG welding;
- ultrasonically activated TIG welding.
As hybrid welding processes are also
considered welding processes which overlap
two identical welding sources, but used in
different scopes. They are named, in the
technical literature as tandem welding
processes. In this category enters, for
example, tandem
electron beam welding, a process made by
combining two electron beams, the
first of which is to melt the material in order to
create the welded joint, and the second is to
re-melt the welding zone in order to modify
some of its characteristics.
3. PLASMA – MIG HYBRID WELDING
The plasma – MIG welding process is a
combination between the plasma welding and
the MIG welding.
The electric arc produced between a fusible
electrode (wire) and the component is
situated in the hot ionized gas current of a
plasma arc. Practically “an arc in an arc” is
obtained. The process principle is illustrated
in figure 1. Usually, the plasma arc is
supplied in direct current direct polarity and
the MIG arc in direct current reversed
polarity.
The MIG arc ignites in the interior of the
plasma stream which assures a constriction
effect.
Two operating modes are possible. In the
case of a MIG current having a reduced value
the electric arc is narrow, this technological
version can be used for thin plates high
speed welding or when welding thick plates
at reduced welding speed. The second
version uses a high intensity MIG current. In
this case the wire melting rate increases
Figure 1. Principle of plasma – MIG hybrid
welding (1- MIG, 2 -Plasma)
16
There appears a rotation effect of the plasma
arc which has as effect a rotation of the MAG
arc and a deposition of the melted metal with
small drops on a higher radius action. The
result is a greater width of the weld and
reduced penetration, recommended for the
application of hardfacing by welding, [4].
The plasma – MIG welding is evinced by high
efficiency, the deposition rate exceeds that
corresponding to the two original processes
(up to 25kg/h). This process can lead to very
good quality welded joints, too. The process
is applied in fillet and butt welding of relatively
thick plates and in hardfacing by welding.
A new welding version is realized by
combining the plasma welding and TIG
welding, resulting in this way, plasma – TIG
welding. The welding root is deposted by
plasma welding and the filling is performed by
cold wire TIG welding.
4. LASER – ELECTRIC ARC HYBRID
WELDING
The laser – electric arc hybrid welding is
based on the overlapping, in a single melted
pool, of a laser radiation action (CO2 or
YAG:Nd) and an electric arc (TIG or
MIG/MAG). The process principle is
illustrated in figure 2.
Fig. 2. Laser – electric arc hybrid welding
The new process combines, in a synergic
effect, the advantages of the two welding
processes, namely productivity by energy
concentration, high welding speed, deep
penetration and reduced heat influence on
the material and as an effect the reduced
level of deformation by welding – specific
characteristics of laser welding, with the
robustness application by using a filler
material, the possibility to weld with greater
 Nonconventional Technologies Review – no. 3 / 2007
tolerances regarding the groove preparation,
and metallurgical characteristics easy to
influence – specific characteristics for the
electric arc welding.
So, the hybrid welding is applicable mostly for
the series production welding of thicker
materials considering greater tolerances to
prepare components for the welding
operation.
The hybrid process eliminates the
metallurgical problems specific to laser
welding caused by the too high speed cooling
of welding. As compared with the laser
welding the hybrid process assures an
improvement of the “surface absorbability” of
the laser radiation following the pre-heating
effect produced by the TIG arc.
As compared with the TIG welding, the hybrid
laser – TIG welding assures:
- increase of the anodic spot magnitude
and stability of the electric arc under
the effect of the laser;
- possibility to weld with a longer
electric arc ;
- ignition without pulses of high voltage;
- higher welding speed;
- increase the weldable material
thickness without groove preparation.
The linear energy, as well as the ratio
penetration/width weld has intermediary
values between those specific to the TIG and
laser welding, respectively.
There are two welding technological variants
depending on the distribution of the two heat
sources against the welding direction, the
laser - TIG welding, case where the laser
source is followed by the electric arc, the TIG
– laser welding, respectively where the
situation is inversed.
In the case of hybrid laser – TIG welding the
weld penetration increases about 100% as
compared with that specific to TIG welding
with a 100A current [6].
Fig. 3. Weld penetration in TIG, laser and
hybrid welding
17
The melted metal volume in the case of
hybrid laser – arc welding of aluminium is up
to 80% higher than the sum of melted metal
volumes obtained from the two welding
processes considered separately,[5].
A comparison between the variation of weld
penetration as a function of welding speed in
laser welding, the TIG welding and the hybrid
laser - TIG welding is presented in figure 3
using a YAG:Nd laser of 1.7kW and a TIG
welding current of 100 A, and argon as
shielding gas, [6].
A similar behaviour is noticed in the case of
laser – MIG hybrid welding, too. As an
example, it is mentioned, for this
process, that when using a laser of 5kW
(CO2) similar penetration can be
obtained with those specific for laser welding
of 20-25kW, keeping a reduced shape
coefficient and reduced level of deformation
specific to laser welding, [5].
The main industrial applications of the hybrid
laser – electric arc welding are: naval
industry, automobile industry, as well the
fabrication of special steel pipelines having a
difficult welding behaviour (ex.
supermartensitic steels). As an example of
efficient use of the hybrid laser – MIG welding
it is mentioned that within the Pappendorf
shipyard (Germany) about 50% of the
welding lengths made are performed with this
process. In this scope 4 hybrid welding lines
are used equipped with 4 CO2 lasers of
12kW to join naval boards with reinforcement
of 20x20m,[4].
In order to improve welding efficiency the
tandem laser-MAG welding process was
developed, a version which uses two MAG
welding wires which melt simultaneously in
the high intensity electric arc, [7]. This version
can be applied to weld pressure vessels and
pipelines, evincing by the reduced melted
metal volume and as a consequence, the
more reduced level of deformation by
welding.
The hybrid laser – plasma welding is
possible, too, a version which is used in rapid
prototyping processes.
5. CONCLUSIONS
One of the nowadays development trends in
welding consists in developing new welding
processes by combining two classical
processes. The hybrid processes, achieved in
 Nonconventional Technologies Review – no. 3 / 2007
this way, assure, by the synergic interaction
of the component processes, a series of
technical and especially economic
advantages. It is expected that this
development trend of the welding will
continue in the future.
REFERENCES
[1] Quintino L - International education,
qualification and certification systems in
welding, IIW Congress, Timisoara, May 2006
[2] Middeldorf K., Lehmann M. – Innovation for
Companies Research Strategy of the DVS
Research Organisation, IIW Annual Assembly,
WG Regional activities, Quebec, august 2006
[3] Pekkari, B- The welding world is changing, IIW
Congress, Timisoara, May 2006
18
[4] Messler R W – What’s new for hybrid
welding?, Welding Journal, March 2004, 30
[5] Bîrdeanu V, Savu S - Laser-arc hybrid welding
process – State of the art and developing
tendencies, ASR International Congress,
Brasov, September 2006
[6] Naito, Y.; Miztani, M.; ş.a.: Observation of
keyhole behavior and melt flows during the
laser-arc hybrid welding (1005) –
http://www.jwri.osaka-u.ac.jp/~naito/ICALEO-
2003(naito).pdf
[7] NN - Wissenstransfer in Dreilaendereck,
Schweissen und Schneiden, 2006, 12, 681
AUTHOR
1. Prof.Dr.Ing. Dorin DEHELEAN, ISIM Timisoara,
Romania, ddehelean@isim.ro, +40 256 491835