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Flexibility and Precision in the Palm of Your Hand: The LIGHTWELD™ 1500 Handheld Laser Welding System

Apr 19, 2022

With the continuous development and improvement of welding technology, there are many welding methods for people to choose from. One of those is the use of laser welders, which can have some distinct advantages over other welding techniques. Laser welding systems offer a limited heat affected zone and precise, high strength welds, while also allowing operators to weld thick, thin, reflective and dissimilar metals (with or without wire) that are typically difficult or impossible to weld with traditional methods.

Portable handheld laser welders are a relatively new product that supersede the conventional model by replacing its fixed optical path with a handheld configuration, making welding more flexible and convenient even with a long welding distance. The flexibility of the handheld laser welding machine enables the workpiece to be welded at any angle, making it useful for complex and irregular welding processes. It has many advantages such as simple operation, good looking welding seams, fast welding speed and no consumables. 

Introducing the LIGHTWELD™ 1500 System 

Linde lightweld

The LIGHTWELD™ 1500 handheld laser welding system enables dramatically faster welding than MIG or TIG welding and is easy to learn and operate. The system provides higher-quality, consistent results across a wider range of materials and thicknesses than traditional MIG or TIG welding, with minimal distortion, undercut or burn-through. The heat affected zone is dramatically minimized, as is the need for traditional post-weld processing, like grinding or polishing, increasing productivity, and reducing scrap and cost-per-part. 

Unlike traditional methods, welding fixtures are simpler or not needed with LIGHTWELD. Metals do not need to be pre-brushed or ground completely clean, and even novices can reliably weld materials with dissimilar thicknesses and different electrical conductivity. The handheld laser welding gun is compact, and ergonomic.

Laser power, up to 1500 watts, is easily adjusted with intuitive controls to help dial in optimum weld settings for various materials and thicknesses. Select stored modes provide up to 2500 watts of peak power for even greater welding capability.

Process Automation and Programmability

With simple controls, including user-defined process parameters, the LIGHTWELD system allows novice welders to be trained and welding in a matter of hours, reducing labor costs while increasing quality, consistency and productivity. Additional programming features include:

  • Predefined welding parameters for high-quality, consistent welds
  • Simple controls for selection of 74 stored modes and saving of user-defined process parameters
    • Customized parameters for laser power, wobble width and frequency are saved to user-modes and recalled as needed
    • Simple mode selection allows rapid switching between different material-thickness combinations
    • Novice welders use stored parameters to achieve the same high-quality, consistent welds as seasoned operators

Built-in Wobble Welding for Increased Productivity

The LIGHTWELD 1500 handheld laser welding system provides a built-in wobble functionality that enables operators to safely produce consistent, high-quality welds with its 2-step trigger. Features include:

  • Simple on-the-fly control of up to 5 mm of additional weld width, with selectable frequencies
  • Creates highly aesthetic seams and welding of parts with poor fit-up
  • Wobble parameters are preprogrammed
    • Can be saved by the operator
    • Can be recalled immediately

Linde Knows Welding

At Linde, we are a trusted provider of industrial gases, applications, products and services that support welding, cutting and other processes. Our PROSTAR® product line includes welding supplies, cutting machines and automation from a large variety of manufacturers, and our strategically distributed plants and hubs allow us to efficiently supply our customers with our full range of industrial and process gases. But our service goes beyond providing high-quality products. We are an overall solutions provider and through our exclusive STARSOLVER® Productivity Enhancement Program, we work with you to reduce manufacturing costs, increase productivity and improve quality. We also have five R&D centers dedicated to developing new technologies that help you do just that. Contact your local Linde representative for a demo and for more information.