Good focusing point for laser welding

05/03/2023

Laser welding is a famous topic in most of the daily discussions nowadays of every fabricator. Either they want to weld faster or with a better finish. That’s quite a game-changer right? I am not talking about how easy to weld with it with the correct parameters.

When we talk about the parameters, most of them are on the controller. They are either power, welding width, scanning speed or pulse welding time intervals. But there is one thing which is not written on the control panel, it is the focusing point.

We always use the best-in-class equipment on our machines. Therefore this focusing trick should be easily adjustable so we have a scale on the focus adjustment tube. By moving this adjustment tube in and out we adjust the focus point.

Focusing-point-levels-SSLS
Focusing-point-levels-SSLS
Focusing-1-SSLS-1
Smallest focusing spot

As you can see in the sketch above, different focusing points have different spot sizes. This adjustment helps us to get the density we like on the weld. When we adjust the spot to its finest which is no 1, the spot size is minimum which helps you to focus the full adjusted power on the smallest possible area.

Near focus point
Further focus point

But sometimes you may want to have a slightly bigger focus spot which may help you melt a little bit more material and hence have more penetration. To achieve this you may want to move the tube inside or outside from the smallest focus. This will make the spot size bigger.

But don’t forget, excessive movement of the focusing point is not only going to make the spot bigger but you may lose the density as well. This you wouldn’t want because it will affect the weld negatively.

At the time of our laser welding training, the proper focus adjustment is one of our topics so we make sure that all welders have the knowledge. Keep in mind, the right focusing point comes with the right welding noise 😉 We are always after that.