GASES FOR LASER CUTTING AND WELDING

INTRODUCTION :
Gases play a vital role in laser materials processing, and the gas purity is essential for the
laser process, demanding for the beam cavity purging and extremely valuable with
respect to the laser cutting and welding productivity.
6. Laser welding gases
Gases for laser welding have to meet several demands: shielding of the melt pool against
the atmosphare, control of the plasma, protection of the cocusing optics against fumes
and spatter, as well as root protection. These demands are the same for CO2 and Nd:YAG
laser welding, with the exception of the plasma control function.
During high laser power welding, a keyhole is formed allowing the laser beam to deeply
penetrate into the metal. This keyhole is filled with metal vapour, ionized atoms and
electrons representing a state of matter which in physics is called a plasma. The plasma is
supporting the energy transfer from the laser beam into the material. During high power
CO2 laser welding this plasma is likely to extend and absorb the laser beam above the
workpiece, thus impairing the welding process. This effect has not so far been observed
during Nd:YAG laser welding. Accordingly, different shielding gases are used for CO2
and Nd:YAG laser welding.
Helium and argon are inert gases that do not react with the weld metal. Helium, however,
has a better ability to reduce or suppress plasma formation because it has a very large
ionization energy and also a very small atomic weight and so is the best process gas to
control the plasma. Nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen, in contrast, are reactive gases
which cause metallurgical effects, comp. Table 1.
Table 1
Properties of different gases, relative to each other
Welding gas

Density

Reactivity

Argon
Helium
Nitrogen
Hydrogen
Oxygen

High
Very low
Medium
Very low
Medium

Inert
Inert
Inertreactive*
Reducing
Oxidizing

Ionisation
energy
Medium
Very high
Medium
Low
Low

(*) dependent on temperature and reaction time

Thermal
conductivity
Low
Very high
Medium
Very high
Medium

The choice of a proper assist gas depends on several factors, for example the type of
welding gas nozzle, the laser power and intensity, the material thickness and the quality
requirements.
Generally, helium is the only alternative for high power CO2 laser beam welding in
combination with large penetration depth or low welding speeds. If the laser power is
limited or the welding speed is high, argon can be admixed with helium, but the higher
the laser power, the higher is the required percentage of helium. Pure argon should not be
used with laser power over approx. 2 kW, because the extended plasma formation is
clearly reducing the process efficiency.
In addition to helium and helium-argon mixture, argon-hydrogen mixtures are beneficial
for welding of austenitic steels. Hydrogen is somewhat effecting in controlling the plasma
formation due to low atomic weight and high thermal conductivity. Table 1. moreover
hydrogen reduces surface oxides and affects the viscosity of the melt. Comparing various
welding gases, argon/hydrogen resulted in the highest welding speed in 2 mm stainless
steel as well as a shiny metallic weld surface compared to helium and argon-helium.
Hydrogen should not be used together with ferritic steel due to the risk of hydrogen
embrittlement.
The welding gases can be fed via a coaxial nozzle, somewhat similar to a laser cutting
arrangement, or via a so-called plasma jet, see Figure 5. Gases fed via co-axial nozzles
are directed towards the keyhole and may cause turbulence in the melt pool if not
properly set-up. The plasma jet, on the other hand, is a side tube providing a gas stream
almost parallel to the plate surface and the weld bead. Unfortunately, the plasma jet needs
an additional axis to keep the position relative to the weld gap during welding of contours
and a separate nozzle for optics protection.
The Plasma jet may point towards the open joint gap or towards the welded seam with
each position providing different options. A gas flow guided through the laser beam
towards the open gap preheats the material and supports evaporation of low melting
coatings. Pointing towards the welded seam allows better shielding of the weld metal and
provides some post heating which may be advantageous for degassing of the melt pool.
Anyhow, this position is much more sensitive to misalignment since the gas stream may
cause turbulence in the weld pool with small deviations in the pointing direction.
Plasma formation is not a limiting factor in Nd:YAG laser welding, due to the different
wave length compared to CO2 laser radiation. Therefore argon is often used assist gas for
Nd:YAG laser welding in industries fed via a co-axial nozzle. The assist gas flow is in the
range of 10 to 50 l/min. the purity of helium and argon should be at least 99.99%.
Therefore high purity regulators are recommended.