A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

In hybrid laser arc welding process, the laser beam and the electric arc interact in a
common weld pool (Fig. 1) and their synergic effect is utilized to produce a deep and
narrow weld with increased production rate Laser welding has gained reputation due to its
ability to produce narrow and deep weld pool, as the laser beam can be focused on a very
small area. The tight focus of the beam allows higher welding speed, which in turn reduces
the heat input and the chances of thermal distortion in welded parts. However, laser welding
systems are costlier and electrical efficiency is very poor for most of the laser systems used
for welding. Laser welding has poor gap bridging ability, and thus it requires high
precession in workpiece fit-up and edge preparations. Laser welding is also very difficult
for highly reflective materials like aluminium, copper, gold, etc. Contrary to this, arc
welding processes have excellent gap bridging ability, high electrical efficiency and they
can efficiently weld the materials having high reflectivity. Arc welding systems are much
cheaper than the laser welding systems of equivalent capacity. However, low energy density
during arc welding makes the process slower, which induces high heat input at weld zone
and result in thermal distortion of welded part. Laser welding and arc welding, when
applied in the same weld pool, the hybridization effect compensates the drawbacks of both
the processes and compliments their advantages. [1]
There are two different approaches of using laser along with electric arc for welding.
The first approach is referred as laser assisted arc welding process, where the laser is used
only to preheat the metals, which are to be welded by the arc welding process. In this
process a low power laser source is commonly used to augment the arc welding process
and, therefore, improvements in weld penetration and the welding speed is not significant.
In second approach, a high power laser beam is used to perform a deep penetration welding.
This is a penetration mode welding process characterized by formation of key hole at the
joint. In this process, the synergic action of a laser beam having high energy density and an
electric arc having high energy efficiency is used for welding .This process is known as arc
augmented laser welding process, most commonly known as hybrid laser arc welding
process.
The dynamic interaction of laser irradiation, electric arc and the filler droplet govern
the formation of shape and size of the weld bead and the strength of the weld in Processes.

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Fig. 1.1 Schematic Diagram of Hybrid Laser Arc Welding Process

Hybrid weld beads have two distinctive fusion zones, namely upper zone (arc) and lower
zone (laser). The bead geometry of upper zone resembles a semi hemispherical ‘cup’ shape.
The lower zone looks like a ‘finger’, clearly illustrating the laser keyhole effect (Fig. 2). In
hybrid laser arc welding process, the laser beam is used as the primary heat source which
interacts in the same weld pool created by a secondary heat source, i.e., the arc, generated
during an electing arc welding process The use of secondary heat source compensates the
requirement of high power laser source, which drastically reduce the cost of the set-up.
The hybrid laser arc welding process is introduced in late 1970sby Prof. W. M. Steen
and co-researchers, and the process is termed as ‘‘arc-augmented laser welding”. The
results of their research showed the clear advantages of combining a laser beam and an
electric arc for welding.
The hybridization effect shows a remarkable increase of welding speed, penetration
depth and process stability. After the successful demonstration of this technique, further
research and development on laser arc hybrid welding experienced a slow growth due lack
of availability of high power, reliable laser source, required human skills, and incomplete
knowledge of the process . The development of reliable high power industrial lasers in late
1980s, catch the attention of the researchers from industry and academics, to engage in the
improvement of the process, to make it viable for industrial applications. Several
drawbacks of the individual welding processes are eliminated, including the problems like
gap bridging ability and reflectivity of the materials are no longer an issue for performing
successful welding. In 1990s, the hybrid laser arc welding seen greater developments due

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Fig. 1.2 (a) Patterns of formation of weld beads during arc welding, laser welding and
Hybrid laser arc welding, respectively, and (b) sectional view of a weld bead of a
Hybrid laser arc welded specimen.
To availability of high power CO2 laser. A number of studies on hybrid laser arc welding
processes were carried out focusing on the economic viability of the process, welding
position and preparation of edges, minimization of metallurgical defects, optimization of
process parameters, etc. However, after reporting of several process advantages, its very
limited industrial application was due to the high equipment cost and complexity of the
process because of large number of control parameters, and the unavailability of an
integrated commercial laser arc hybrid welding system. The first industrial laser arc hybrid
welding system was introduced in 2000 by Fraunhofer ILT, Germany, in an oil tank
manufacturing industry. This system has been installed in different industries including
automotive industry, ship building and tube manufacturing industries for welding of
metallic sheets. A number of laser arc hybrid welding systems are commercially available
now. The industrial applications of the laser arc hybrid welding have grown in this century
due to not only the development of commercially available integrated hybrid welding heads
(Fig. 3) , but also due to the availability of cheaper, reliable and efficient high power laser
systems with the advancement of the instrumentation, automation and control.
Hybrid laser arc welding process offers several process advantages over the laser
welding and arc weld processes, such as higher welding speed and penetration depth with
increased productivity, requirement of less number of welding passes, narrow weld seam
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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Fig. 1.3. Integrated hybrid laser arc welding head developed by Fronius.
with small heat affected zones (HAZ), better gap bridging ability , improved weld seam
stability and side wall fusion , lower capital cost , improved plug efficiency, etc. The use
of secondary heat source, as electric arc, compensates the requirement of high power laser
source, which drastically reduce the cost of the set-up Hybrid laser arc welding can weld
a wide variety of metals and alloys including highly reflective materials and reactive metals.
Although the hybrid laser arc welding process has numerous process advantages, the
process has certain limitations too, such as: higher initial investment, requirement of
accurate positioning and proper part fit-up, controlling large numbers of process
parameters, and requirement of additional safety measures.

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Chapter 2
HYBRID LASER ARC WELDING SYSTEMS

Fig. 2.1 Schematic Representation of Hybrid Laser Arc Welding System

A number of hybrid laser arc welding systems (Fig.4) have been developed based on
different combinations of laser and arc welding systems. CO2 lasers and Nd:YAG lasers
are the most commonly used lasers and GMAW (gas metal arc welding), GTAW (gas tungsten
arc welding) and PAW (plasma arc welding) are mostly used arc welding systems, employed
in laser arc hybrid welding processes [3]. Lasers are used as primary heat source in hybrid
laser arc welding. CO2 laser is the highest power continuous wave laser available till now.
The output power of a continuous wave CO2 laser can ranges from a few watts to 50
kilowatts or more, and in a pulse mode the peak power can reach to millions of watts.
Nd:YAG laser is the most widely used solid state laser for materials processing. The
maximum available power of a commercially available continuous wave Nd:YAG laser is
in the ranges of few kilowatts. In Q-switch mode the peak power of a Nd:YAG laser can
be achieved in the range of Gigawatts with a pulse duration in nanoseconds. The main
difference between the CO2 laser and Nd:YAG laser is their operating wavelengths.
Nd:YAG laser has shorter wavelength (1.064 mm) and also have better beam quality as
compared to CO2 laser (10.6 mm). Laser beam with shorter wavelength is used for welding
reflective metals like aluminium, stainless steel, copper, gold, etc. Because of the shorter
wavelength of Nd:YAG laser, the laser beam can be transported from the source to the

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workstation via optical fiber cables. The weld quality of Nd:YAG laser welding of
aluminium and magnesium alloys is found superior to CO2 laser welding, because the use
of Nd:YAG laser reduces the threshold irradiation required for keyhole welding which in
turn produces a more stable weld pool . The Nd:YAG laser has greater welding efficiency
than the CO2 laser . The electro-optical efficiency, commonly known as plug efficiency of
both, CO2 laser and Nd:YAG laser, is very poor, which is in the range of 2–20% only. Other
potential alternatives of CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers for hybrid laser arc welding are disk and
fiber lasers. The advantages of fiber and disk lasers are their high output power, high optical
quality, compact size, high peak power, higher plug efficiency (20–40%) and low cost per
kW as compared to CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers. Application of fiber lasers in hybrid laser arc
welding is gaining popularity in recent years with increasing output power and high beam
quality, able to weld aluminium alloys and titanium alloys which are difficult to weld with
CO2 lasers. Diode lasers can also be used for welding. The application of diode lasers in
hybrid laser arc welding is limited by its inability to form key hole because of its relatively
low output power and poor beam quality. However, the use of high power diode laser in
deep penetration welding has been reported in Ref. An electric arc of an arc welding system
is used as a secondary heat source during hybrid laser arc welding. The most commonly
used arc welding system during hybrid laser arc welding is GMAW. GTAW and PAW are also
extensively used in hybrid laser arc welding processes. Submerged arc welding (SAW)
process can also be used in hybrid laser arc welding processes [4].
2.1. HYBRID LASER GMAW PROCESS

Fig.2.2 Hybrid Laser GMAW Process

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

In hybrid laser GMAW process a CO2 laser, Nd:YAG laser or a fiber laser is used
as primary heat source and the electric arc produced during GMAW(Fig5) , commonly
known as MIG (metal inert gas) welding, is used as secondary heat source. In this process
the arc is generated between the consumable metal electrode and the workpiece. The
electrode is continuously fed from a spool. The laser generates a keyhole at weld pool which
ensures a deep penetration weld, whereas, the molten filler material produced during
GMAW helps to fill the root gap and permits welding of the parts with higher gaps and fit-
up issues. It is observed that the stability of GMAW arc improves when it combine with a
laser beam. The use of filler materials improves chemical composition of the weldment by
adding alloying elements in the weld pool and also improves the mechanical properties of
the weldment [5].The greater volume of melt pool produced during GMAW makes this
process more efficient for bridging the weld gap than GTAW and PAW. Shielding gases are
used to protect the molten weld pool from atmospheric contamination. Inert gases like
helium, argon or nitrogen or mixture of those gases in different proportions are generally
used during MIG (metal inert gas) welding, whereas, active gas like CO2, O2 or mixture of
CO2 with inert gases in different proportions are used during MAG (metal active gas)
welding, as shielding gases . A pulsed mode GMAW power supply is generally used in
hybrid laser GMAW which enables better control of arc length, formation of metal droplet
and its transfer mode, arc stability and spatter formation during welding. Due to the fast
cooling rate of hybrid laser arc welding process, the electrode wire composition used in
GMAW may not be acceptable for hybrid laser GMAW welding process. The weld pool
formed during hybrid laser GMAW welding has greater proportions of filler material at top
cap part and the base material at the bottom root part. A small joint gap up to 1 mm enables
the molten filler to reach to the root of the joint and thus improve the degree of homogeneity
by improving dilution in weld pool. Because of the use of multiple heat sources in hybrid
laser GMAW, the welding speed can be further increased than laser bean welding and
GMAW, without formation of undercuts.
2.2. HYBRID LASER GTAW PROCESS
In hybrid laser GTAW process, the electric arc produced during GTAW (Fig 6),
commonly known as TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding, I used as secondary heat source.
Because of the use of non-consumable tungsten electrode, additional filler materials may
be required during welding. The rate of metal deposition during hybrid laser GTAW is
much lesser than that of hybrid laser GMAW, because only a fraction of heat of the arc is

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Fig.2.3 Hybrid Laser GTAW Process

used to melt the filler wire during hybrid laser GTAW process. [6] As the filler wire is
separated from the electrical circuit of the hybrid laser GTAW set up, the welding current
and the metal deposition rate during welding can be determined independently. However,
the electrode contamination due to hot metal vapour, erosion of tungsten electrode tip due
to use of high frequency arc ignition, and high affinity of tungsten for oxygen are the
common problems associated with GTAW process. Shielding gas is used to protect the
weld pool and also to protect the electrode from atmospheric contamination or oxide
formation. The melting rate of base material for hybrid laser GTAW is nearly twice of the
sum of melting rate of laser welding and TIG welding, individually. It is reported that when
a TIG arc is used with a laser beam in a common interaction zone, the laser energy
absorption in the base material is improved due to the preheating of base material using
leading TIG arc. On the other hand, the use of laser at common weld pool stabilizes the
TIG arc. Because of the high power density of laser beam, a part of base material at weld
zone melts and vaporizes, which provides a conductive path for the arc. The TIG arc
follows the shortest conductive path between electrode and metal, thus roots to the laser
interaction zone. The rooting and narrowing of the arc to laser interaction zone increases
electrical conductivity along arc column and stabilizes the arc. GTAW is generally used for
welding hard-to-weld metals such as stainless steel, aluminium magnesium-alloys. The
hybrid laser TIG welding is found suitable for welding AISI304 stainless steel due to its
high welding speed and excellent mechanical properties. The hybrid laser GTAW process

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is generally used for welding thin gauge materials. The ability of hybrid laser GTAW for
butt welding of very thin austenitic stainless steel sheets has been demonstrated.
2.3. HYBRID LASER PAW PROCESS
In hybrid laser PAW process, a constricted plasma arc is used as secondary heat
source. The non-consumable tungsten electrode used in PAW(Fig 7) is recessed in the
welding torch. A water cooled constricting nozzle of small diameter is used inside the
welding torch to squeeze the arc which increases its intensity, and improves stability and
shape of the arc. The inert gas passed through the constricting nozzle, known as orifice gas,
is used to produce plasma. The shielding effect is further enhanced by using another
shielding gas, which is passed through the outer ring of the torch. In PAW, the arc is
established either between the electrode and the constricting nozzle (non-transfer arc) or
between the electrode and the workpiece material (transfer arc). As compared to TIG arc,
the plasma arc is more stable and pointed, and the plasma arc does not deflect easily at the
closest point of base metal because the jet action due to constriction of the arc plasma. The
hybridization effect of laser and plasma arc increases the welding speed and stabilized the
arc plasma. The penetration depth is more for hybrid laser PAW process [7] than that for
laser welding for the same energy input per unit length of the weld. As compared to the
results of hybrid laser GTAW, the heat input from the arc can be reduced up to 40% when
hybrid laser PAW is used.

Fig .2.3 Hybrid Laser PAW Process

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Chapter 3
PARAXIAL AND COAXIAL ARRANGEMENTS OF
HYBRID LASER ARC WELDING SYSTEMS
In hybrid laser arc welding, the laser beam is focused on the joint and the welding
torch is held at a suitable position in such a way that the arc is aimed at the same interaction
zone. The paraxial and coaxial arrangements are used in hybrid laser arc welding.

Fig.3.1 Paraxial Arrangement in welding

In paraxial arrangement (Fig 8), arc welding torch can be positioned in front of the
laser beam (arc leading) or just behind the laser beam (laser leading), in a way that they
follow the same weld line and interact at common weld zone. In coaxial arrangement the
laser beam is passed through a coaxially placed hollow arc welding electrode (non-
consumable). This enables the projection of laser beam on the electric arc, and both laser
beam and electric arc share a common central axis. In hybrid laser GMAW process, a
paraxial arrangement of laser beam and the electrode is always preferred because of the use
of consumable electrode. In coaxial hybrid laser GMAW, the laser beam is split into two
halves by mirrors and the electrode is located in the space given between the split half
beams.[8] This makes it possible to realize the coaxial arrangement of the electrode and
laser beam. In hybrid laser GTAW process paraxial and coaxial, both, the arrangements are
used. In paraxial arrangements, the laser beam and the TIG arc can be placed either on the
same side of the workpiece or on the opposite sides of the workpiece. An increase of 300%

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

in speed is reported when the laser beam and TIG arc are placed on the opposite sides of
workpiece. However, an increase of 100% in speed is obtained when the laser beam and
TIG arc are placed on the same side of workpiece for the same arc current setting, during
welding of 0.8 mm thick titanium and 2 mm thick mild steel.

Fig.3.2 Coaxial Arrangement in welding

In coaxial arrangement (Fig 9), the change in distribution of current density due to use of
hollow TIG electrode, makes the focus point of the laser further small. In this configuration
the absorption of laser energy by the arc plasma is more severe, especially for hybrid CO2
laser GTAW process. Thus a deep penetration welding of thick materials is not possible.
However, the use of laser having high beam quality beam like Nd:YAG laser improves the
penetration when same laser power is used. During comparative study between coaxial and
paraxial hybrid CO2 laser GTAW configurations, the effect of welding current on the weld
penetration and on hybrid arc is found consistent for coaxial hybrid laser GTAW. However,
the maximum weld penetration is achieved for the paraxial configuration, which is
approximately 20% more than that for coaxial configuration. In hybrid laser PAW process,
the laser beam is either directed perpendicular to the material surface or the laser beam is
tilted to a small angle from the perpendicular axis. The PAW torch is generally held at an
angle of 35– 45 from the laser beam axis in a paraxial arrangement. In a coaxial
arrangement, the laser beam is surrounded by the plasma arc.

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Chapter 4
HYBRID LASER ARC WELDING PARAMETERS
Hybridization of the welding processes is resulting in evolution of some new
parameters in addition to the control parameters of the individual processes. Thus, during
hybrid laser arc welding, a large number of process parameters are needed to control
simultaneously. The optimum process parameters of hybrid laser arc welding process
cannot be simply determined from the combination of optimum parameters of the
individual welding processes. The optimum value the parameters may change due to the
interaction effect of laser beam with the eclectic arc. For an example, the laser power
requirement for hybrid laser arc welding is lesser than that for autogenous laser welding
process, due to use of secondary heat source.

4.1 LASER POWER

The laser power is the main source of heat during hybrid laser arc welding, which
produces the keyhole and ensures the deep penetration welding. Because of using electric
arc with the laser at same weld pool, the laser absorption within the metal and the circulation
of molten metal at weld pool are increased The power density has the greatest effect on
welding during welding with laser. The weld penetration increases with laser power. It is
observed during hybrid laser MIG welding of AZ31 magnesium alloys that the weld
penetration increases 2–3 mm per kilowatt of laser power, as compared to the increase of
0.5 mm per kilowatt of arc power. The results of bead-on plate hybrid laser GMAW of
A5052 and SUS304 aluminium alloys with fiber laser using laser power ranging from 2 kW
to 10 kW, showed the increase of weld penetration with laser power for both the alloy. It is
observed during hybrid laser GMAW of copper alloy that the face width, root width and
root reinforcement height increase, and the face reinforcement height decrease with the
increase of laser power. It is also found that the laser absorption increases when keyhole is
formed at weld zone due to the application of high power density. Welds with higher joint
strength without obvious defects can be obtained at favourable laser power range.
4.2 WELDING SPEED
Higher welding speed is the characteristic feature of hybrid laser arc welding possess,
which increases the productivity. However, weld width and weld penetration are inversely
effected by the welding speed. To compensate this, more laser power is required to be
applied and the filler wire feed rate to be increased to maintain a constant volume of weld
pool. The welding speed to filler wire feeding ratio is an important factor for the stability

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of the keyhole and for the entire process. A too high welding speed may cause improper
fusion or lack of penetration of the weld, whereas, a too low welding speed may create a
larger weld pool with deep penetration till the limit of burn through the material and may
cause partial decomposition. The fast heating and cooling cycle due to higher welding speed
produce steep temperature gradient at weld zone, which may results in metallurgical defects
within weldment. However, an increase in welding speed can effectively reduce the thermal
residual stress concentration.

4.3 RELATIVE POSITIONING OF THE LASER BEAM AND THE

ELECTRODE
The laser beam is generally directed perpendicular to the welding direction to get
the maximum possible weld penetration. During arc leading process the torch is positioned
at a drag angle, and during laser leading process the welding torch is positioned at a push
angle. Laser leading setup produces larger width of arc zone, narrow width of laser zone,
larger reinforcement height, and higher penetration depth. The top view of the shape of
weld pool in arc leading process is observed as ‘gourd-shaped’ and in laser leading process
is like a ‘bullet’. The cross section morphology of the weld bead for arc leading and laser
leading processes are observed as ‘cone-shaped’ and ‘cocktail cup-shaped’, respectively.
Laser leading process is observed to produce more stable arc than arc leading process due
to higher stability of the keyhole. An improvement of 10% weld penetration is observed
when the MAG torch is placed behind the CO2 laser beam. Contrary to this, an improvement
of weld penetration is observed when using arc leading configuration during the welding
of type 304 stainless steel using laser TIG hybrid welding process with a 1.8 kW Nd:YAG
laser . Arc leading configuration during welding of high speed steel using hybrid Nd:YAG
laser MAG welding process results in improved tensile strength and lower impact energy
of weld joints than that of the laser leading process .

4.4 LASER TO ELECTRODE SEPARATION DISTANCE

The arc electrode must be in close proximity to the laser beam, to ensure their
synergic effect in the common weld pool. The distance between laser and arc significantly
affect the arc characteristic, droplet transfer mode and weld bead geometry. The laser to
electrode separation distance is typically kept from 0 mm (for co-axial arrangement) to 5
mm (for paraxial arrangements), depending on the types of laser parameters, arc welding
parameters, and materials used. Increasing the gap between laser beam and electrode may
result in loss of the hybridization effects. Co-axial arrangement or a very short gap may

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lead to a problem of absorption of laser energy by the arc plasma, which partially blocks
the laser beam resulting in lesser penetration. Using a hybrid Nd:YAG laser GTAW set up
with coaxial arrangement, a lower weld penetration is observed as compared to a 2 mm
laser and electrode gap . The laser to arc distance affects the morphological characteristics
of the weld pool. The weld pools appear more asymmetrical with the increase of lateral
displacement of the MIG torch from the fixed laser source. It is observed that increasing
the laser to arc distance, changes the weld bead geometry from ‘cocktail cup’ to ‘cone-
shaped’.

4.5 POSITIONING OF FOCAL POINT

The arc electrode must be in close proximity to the laser beam, to ensure their
synergic effect in the common weld pool. The distance between laser and arc significantly
affect the arc characteristic, droplet transfer mode and weld bead geometry. The laser to
electrode separation distance is typically kept from 0 mm (for co-axial arrangement) to 5
mm (for paraxial arrangements), depending on the types of laser parameters, arc welding
parameters, and materials used. Increasing the gap between laser beam and electrode may
result in loss of the hybridization effects. Co-axial arrangement or a very short gap may
lead to a problem of absorption of laser energy by the arc plasma, which partially blocks
the laser beam resulting in lesser penetration. Using a hybrid Nd:YAG laser GTAW set up
with coaxial arrangement, a lower weld penetration is observed as compared to a 2 mm
laser and electrode gap . The laser to arc distance affects the morphological characteristics
of the weld pool. The weld pools appear more asymmetrical with the increase of lateral
displacement of the MIG torch from the fixed laser source. It is observed that increasing
the laser to arc distance, changes the weld bead geometry from ‘cocktail cup’ to ‘cone-
shaped’.
4.6 ELECTRODE ANGLE
The arc electrode angle is provided in such a way that the shielding gas coming out
from the torch nozzle effectively deflects the laser induced plasma from the weld zone to
increase the laser penetration of the weld. The electrode angle is typically set around 45–65
degrees from the workpiece surface, which reduces the arc length. The laser beam is
generally directed normal to the workpiece surface to obtain better penetration. However,
the laser beam is tilted to an angle during the welding of highly reflective materials to avoid
any damage of the laser head due the reflected beam.

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4.7 WIRE FEED RATE

The selection of wire feed rate is critical to avoid lack of deposition or the supply of
extra material. The higher wire feed rate enables the operator to join a weld with higher part
gap and also helps to increase the welding speed. With a higher wire feed rate, the higher
current is required to increase the rate of deposition. During hybrid laser GMAW welding,
an increase of wire feeding rate causes an increase of current. The increase of wire diameter
also requires higher current to maintain the constant arc length. In a constant voltage
GMAW set up the wire feed rate is preset.

4.8 JOINT GAP

The laser beam can weld parts with a gap up to 0.2–0.25 mm only, without visible
defects like undercut or incomplete weld bead. However, a joint gap of 1 mm can easily be
welded with hybrid laser arc welding process. The laser to arc energy ratio, laser arc
distance, welding speed and wire feed rate are the critical parameters which determines the
rate of deposition of the filler materials to fill the joint gap. It is observed during the hybrid
CO2 laser MIG welding of high strength carbon steel that the wire feed rate is to be increased
with the joint gap. Welding speed can be increases during welding of parts having joint gap
up to 1 mm, because the small joint gap simplifies the penetration, as more filler material
reaches to the root of the joint. However, increasing the joint gap more than 1 mm requires
the welding speed to be reduced and also requires proper selection of process parameters.
A larger joint gap may require multiple weld passes and the use of backing plate.

4.9 JOINT CONFIGURATION AND EDGE PREPARATION

Butt, corner, edge, lap and tee joints are the basic joint configurations used in
welding. All these joint configurations are also used in hybrid laser arc welding process.
Due to the small spot diameter of the laser beam the square edges are used for welding,
whereas, grooves are made at joints when using arc welding, especially for thick sections.
The simultaneous action of joint filling by filler deposition using arc welding and deep
penetration by laser requires a different joint design for hybrid laser arc welding. Thin metal
sheets or metal plates having thickness less than 6–8 mm do not require edge preparation
for welding using hybrid laser arc welding. For material having thickness more than 6–8
mm requires preparation of edges. The V or Y groove used for laser arc hybrid welding
resembles the shape of a ‘wine glass’ or a ‘funnel’. The grooves used in parts for laser arc
hybrid welding generally have smaller include angle, narrow root opening and larger land
thickness as compared to the grooves used in arc welding . It is found that double Y groove

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can provide the optimum condition for the stability of arc and laser. For part having different
thickness, the groove is made in such a way that the land thickness of both the part should
be same at joint and the height difference to be compensated at the cap. The large weld pool
at the cap has better tolerance to geometrical mismatch.

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Chapter 5
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
Due to several process advantages of hybrid laser arc welding, such as: higher
productivity and better weld quality as compared to laser welding or arc welding, makes
it an attractive alternative for the different industries. The capital cost of the welding
system can be compensated by providing faster welding speed and deeper penetration
to reduce the cost per unit length of weld. The hybrid laser arc welding can be used to
weld a wide variety of metals from ferrous metals like steels, stainless steels to the non-
ferrous metals like aluminium, magnesium, nickel, titanium and their alloys, etc.[9]This
can weld thin sheet metals as well as thick metal plates. The high welding speed and
deep penetration allows the welding of thick plates using less number of weld passes,
which reduces the weld distortion[10].The hybrid laser arc welding also found its
application in aerospace industry, rolling stock and containers manufacturing industries,
the offshore industry to construction, pipeline production, heavy engineering, energy
sectors, etc. Different aspects like automation potential of laser arc hybrid welding,
reduction of cost per unit length of weld, weldability of materials are investigated by
several researchers for different industrial applications like in shipbuilding, pipeline,
offshore industries, etc.

Fig.5.1 Hybrid laser arc welding

The major applications of laser arc hybrid welding are found in automobile and ship
building industries where a large number of metallic components are welded to build light
or heavy vehicles and ship. The gap bridging capability with faster processing of hybrid
laser arc welding process makes it a competent alternative for automobile industry. The

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major automobile industries like Volkswagen and Audi have implemented hybrid laser arc
welding in their production lines. The hybrid welding technique is also used by Daimler for
axle production. The use of the hybrid welding by Daimler results in the increase of
productivity, by increasing the welding speed and wire efficiency, while maintaining good
penetration and improved metallurgical properties.

Fig.5.2 Hybrid laser arc welding in Aerospace Industry

The Meyer-Werft GmbH, a German shipyard company introduced hybrid laser GMAW
process in their production line to weld steel panels and stiffeners used for fabrication of
ships The Italian ship building company Fincantieri also implemented hybrid laser arc
welding using Nd:YAG laser and MAG welding technique, which makes them able to
resolve the issues like weld distortion and bridging the joint gap in effective way. [12].The
Aerospace industry uses the materials having high weight to strength ratio. The materials
like aluminium, magnesium, titanium and their alloys are used in aircraft manufacturing.
The aircraft structure is mainly tested for strength and fatigue resistance as they are crucial
performance characteristics. Welded using hybrid Nd:YAG laser MIG welding and fiber
laser MIG hybrid welding processes.

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Fig.5.3 Hybrid laser arc welding in Ship Building

Hybrid laser arc welding process is used in power industry to weld tight wall panels
and ribbed pipes of boilers. The hybrid laser MAG welding techniques has been adopted
by Energoinstal S. A. for fabrication of wall panels and ribbed pipes of boilers due process
stability, higher joint gap tolerance, deep penetration and higher efficiency of the hybrid
welding technique . The industrial application of hybrid CO2 laser GMAW system for
welding of telescopic lifter is reported in Ref. The prime reason of using this system in the
production unit was due to its ability to bridge the joint gaps effectively. AA6005-T5 alloy
is used in the car body of high speed railway vehicles.[11]

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

Chapter 6
CONCLUSION
This hybridization effect leads to a number of process benefits over laser welding
and arc welding such as higher welding speed, deeper penetration, increased productivity,
excellent gap bridging capability, better process stability, higher process efficiency, etc.
The desired benefits can only be achieved when the laser welding and arc welding processes
are suitably combined, and the parameters are optimized. The laser power is the primary
source of heat during laser arc hybrid welding, which produces the keyhole and ensures the
deep penetration welding. The laser to electrode separation distance significantly affects the
arc characteristic, droplet transfer mode and weld bead geometry. The welding speed to
filler wire feeding ratio is an important factor for the stability of the keyhole and for the
entire process. The use of shielding gases and their compositions also influence the arc
characteristics, formation of weld profile, and mode of metal transfer. A few millimetres
joint gap can be welded using hybrid laser arc welding, depending on the thickness of the
materials and selection of suitable settings of welding parameters, including laser to arc
energy ratio, laser to electrode separation distance, welding speed and wire feed rate. The
grooves used in thick metal plates for laser arc hybrid welding generally have smaller
include angle, narrow root opening and larger land thickness as compared to the grooves
used in arc welding. Hybrid laser arc welding is able to join a wide variety of metals
including highly reflective metals like aluminium, stainless steel, nickel etc. and reactive
metals like titanium. The hybrid laser arc welding process is 50–100% faster than the
autogenous laser welding. It is observed that a small joint gap is beneficial for hybrid
welding, and maximum welding speed of is achieved for a gap of 0.6–1 mm. The 25 mm
thick steel plates are successfully welded in a single pass, using a hybrid laser arc welding,
with a speed of 1 m/min. Plates with higher thicknesses can also be welded at favourable
welding conditions using multiple weld passes. The application hybrid laser arc welding
may reduce the cost up to 50% and increase the productivity up to 50%, and also minimize
the effort required for edge preparation and control of seam width. High welding speed,
better seam quality, requirement of less weld passes due to deep penetration also make this
process economical than autogenous laser welding. High quality welds with perfectly
acceptable mechanical properties and enhanced fatigue properties are obtained for laser arc
hybrid welding. The use of laser arc hybrid welding process results in considerable
reduction of pores, cracks and other defects in welds. The weld bead formed by using laser

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 A Review on Hybrid Laser Arc Welding.

arc hybrid techniques has better ductility than that formed by using laser welding. The
growing numbers of industrial applications proved the potential of this process for
commercial use. The major applications of laser arc hybrid welding are found in automobile
and ship building industries. The laser arc hybrid welding also found its application in
aerospace industry, rolling stock and containers manufacturing industries, the offshore
industry to construction, pipeline production, heavy engineering, energy sectors, etc.
Despite of the wide acceptance of hybrid laser arc welding in industries and
availability of a good number of research articles, there are numerous scopes of further
investigation to explore several aspects of this process which remain unanswered. Though
a number of different type of materials are used for study, materials like copper, which is
difficult to weld using CO2 laser welding may be a case of study of hybrid welding.
Similarly, the research work can be extended for other materials, alloys, etc. which are not
explored. Hybrid laser arc welding involves a large number of process parameter, and thus
there is huge scope of studying the influence of those parameters and their interactions,
which may raise number of topics for investigations.

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REFERENCES
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[2] A. Ascari, A. Fortunato, L. Orazi, G. Campana,” The influence of process parameters
on porosity formation in hybrid LASER-GMA welding of AA6082aluminum alloy”, Opt.
Laser Technol. 44 (2012) 1485–1490.
[3] M. Gao, S. Mei, Z. Wang, X. Li, X. Zeng, “Process and joint characterizations of laser–
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[4] M. Ono, Y. Shinbo, A. Yoshitake, M. Ohmura, “Development of laser-arc hybrid
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Welding”, NKK Tech. Rev. (2002) 70–74.
[6] P. Seyffarth, I.V. Krivtsun,” Laser-arc Processes and Their Applications in Welding
and Material Treatment”, Taylor & Francis, London, 2002
[7] C. Emmelmann, M. Kirchhoff, N. Petri, “Development of plasma-laser-hybrid welding
process”, Phys. Proc. 12 (2011) 194–200.
[8] M. Chen, J. Xu, L. Xin, Z. Zhao, F. Wu, S. Ma, Y. Zhang, “Effect of keyhole
characteristics on porosity formation during pulsed laser-GTA hybrid welding of AZ31B
magnesium alloy”, Opt. Lasers Eng. 93 (2017) 139–145.
[9] L. Liu, X. Hao, G. Song,”A new laser-arc hybrid welding technique based on energy
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[10] G. Casalino, M. Mortello, P. Leo, K.Y. Benyounis, A.G. Olabi, “Study on arc and
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[11] Y. Chen, J. Feng, L. Li, S. Chang, G. Ma,” Microstructure and mechanical properties
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[12] A. Unt, I. Poutiainen, A. Salminen, “Influence of filler wire feed rate in laser-arc
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