laser welding

3 Articles

NASA Announces New Trials For In-Space Laser Welding

November 13, 2024 by 20 Comments

In-space manufacturing is a big challenge, even with many of the same manufacturing methods being available as on the ground. These methods include rivets, bolts, but also welding, the latter of which was first attempted fifty years ago by Soviet cosmonauts. In-space welding is the subject of a recently announced NASA collaboration. The main aspects to investigate are the effects of reduced gravity and varying amounts of atmosphere on welds.

The Soviets took the lead in space welding when they first performed the feat during the Soyuz-6 mission in 1969. NASA conducted their own welding experiments aboard Skylab in 1973, and in 1984, the first (and last) welds were made in open space during an EVA on the Salyut-7 mission. This time around, NASA wants to investigate fiber laser-based welding, as laid out in these presentation slides. The first set of tests during parabolic flight maneuvers were performed in August of 2024 already, with further testing in space to follow.

Back in 1996 NASA collaborated with the E.O. Paton Welding Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine, on in-space welding as part of the ISWE project which would have been tested on the Mir space station, but manifesting issues ended up killing this project. Most recently ESA has tested in-space welding using the same electron-beam welding (EBW) approach used by the 1969 Soyuz-6 experiment. Electron beam welding has the advantage of providing great control over the weld in a high-vacuum environment such as found in space.

So why use laser beam welding (LBW) rather than EBW? EBW obviously doesn’t work too well when there is some level of atmosphere, is more limited with materials and has as only major advantage that it uses less power than LBW. As these LBW trials move to space, they may offer new ways to create structure and habitats not only in space, but also on the lunar and Martian surface.

Featured image: comparing laser beam welding with electron beam welding in space. (Source: E. Choi et al., OSU, NASA)

The Strangest Way To Stick PLA To Glass? With A Laser And A Bit Of Foil

September 2, 2024 by 7 Comments

Ever needed a strong yet adhesive-free way to really stick PLA to glass? Neither have we, but nevertheless there’s a way to use aluminum foil and an IR fiber laser to get a solid bond with a little laser welding between the dissimilar materials.

A piece of sacrificial aluminum foil bonds the PLA to glass with a form of laser welding, with precise control and very little heat to dissipate.

It turns out that aluminum can be joined to glass by using a pulsed laser process, and PLA can be joined to aluminum with a continuous wave laser process. Researchers put them together, and managed to reliably do both at once with a single industrial laser.

By putting a sacrificial sheet of thin aluminum foil between 3D printed PLA and glass, then sending the laser through the glass into the aluminum, researchers were able to bond it all together in an adhesive-free manner with precise control, and very little heat to dissipate. No surface treatment of any kind required. The bond is at least as strong as any adhesive-based solution, so there’s no compromising on strength.

When it comes to fabrication, having to apply and manage adhesives is one of the least-preferable options for sticking two things together, so there’s value in the idea of something like this.

Still, it’s certainly a niche application and we’ll likely stick to good old superglue, but we honestly didn’t know laser welding could bond aluminum to glass or to PLA, let along both at once like this.

Laser Welding With A Tattoo Removal Gun

December 25, 2019 by 49 Comments

Dating as far back as the early 1960’s, researchers were zapping tattoo inks with laser light was an effective way to remove the markings from human skin. At the time it was prohibitively expensive. But the desire to have an undo-button for badge choices is strong, and thus the tattoo removal gun was born.

These days you can pick up one of these zappy, burn-y wonders for far less than a flagship cellphone put their high-power-output to alternative use. [Andrew] recently discovered that these devices can be readily repurposed into a laser welding tool with just a bit of work under the hood.

He first came across the technology via videos from [styropyro], whose work we’ve featured before. The tattoo removal gun features a YAG laser, which is pulsed to create a high power density. In initial testing, the pulses were too short and of too high intensity to effectively weld with; instead, the pulses simply cratered the metal.

After delving in further, [Andrew] discovered that by removing the Q-switch optical component, the pulses from the laser could be lengthened. This reduces the power density, and allows the tool to weld various materials even on its lower power settings. Success was found welding steel, titanium, and other materials, though attempts to weld copper and silver faced little success. Test pieces included razor blades and small screws, which could easily be welded with the tool. Results of the razor blade welding is spectacular, with a high-quality welding bead achieved by taping the laser to a CNC mill for precise movement.

It could prove to be a useful tool for those experimenting with complex projects involving bonding metals at very fine scales. If you’re pursuing something exotic yourself, we want to hear about it!