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Laser Welding: State of the Art Review

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Summary

Since its initial development, the laser has been hailed as a potentially useful welding tool for a variety of applications. The scope for technical and commercial laser welding applications has increased greatly since the development of multikilowatt CW CO2 lasers around 1970. The laser’s capability of generating a power density greater than 106 watts/cm2 is a primary factor in establishing its potential for welding. Numerous experiments have shown that the laser permits high-quality precision weld joints rivaled only by electron beam. This article will present the state of the art of laser welding by reviewing recent work in the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois, 1206 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA

    J. Mazumder (Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering)

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  1. J. Mazumder
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Editor’s Note: This article appears in Lasers in Metallurgy, edited by Kali Mukherjee and J. Mazumder, The Metallurgical Society of AIME, Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Copyright 1982.

Dr. Mazumder received his bachelor degree in metallurgical engineering from Calcutta University (BE College), India in 1973 and his DIC and PhD in process metallurgy from Imperial College (London University) in 1978. His research interests are materials processing, laser surface modification, and mathematical modeling of the processes. Current research programs in his group include laser surface alloying, laser chemical vapor deposition, laser welding, and transport phenomena modeling of laser alloying and arc welding processes. He is a member of The Metallurgical Society of AIME.

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Mazumder, J. Laser Welding: State of the Art Review. JOM 34, 16–24 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03338045

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