Laser welding and electron beam welding (EB welding) are two industrial welding processes that use high energy sources to melt and fuse metal parts.
Laser welding uses a laser beam to generate heat, and can be performed with high precision and speed. It is often used for thin metal parts and delicate materials that require minimal distortion or stress.
EB welding uses an electron beam to produce heat, and is typically used for thicker metal parts and materials that can withstand higher levels of stress and distortion. EB welding is often used in applications such as aerospace and nuclear power plants, where high-strength and high-quality welds are required.
Laser welding is a precise and fast process that is suitable for thin and delicate materials,
EB welding is a more heavy-duty process that is used for thick and strong materials.
Electron beam:
1、Energy Conversion Efficiency : it’s very high (80%~90%), and large-scale welding equipment with high power can be developed (in Japan, an ultra-high voltage electron beam welding machine with an accelerating voltage of 600kV and a power of 300kW has appeared).
2、Electron Beam Welding seam : it’s very thin, and the aspect ratio can easily reach 10:1, or even 20:1 (the latest report shows that when welding 200 mm thick stainless steel in Japan, the aspect ratio reaches 70:1);
3、Controllable and can even form curved apertures in the workpiece;
Electron beam welding makes it easier to weld dissimilar and special materials.
Laser Welding：
1、laser welding does not require a vacuum chamber, does not require demagnetization treatment, can be carried out in the atmosphere,
2、it will not cause X-ray resistance problems, so it can be operated online and can also weld various materials.
3、laser welding has much shorter cycle times (easily 30 seconds) than electron beam welding.
4、In fact, 20 years ago, laser welding gained the status of electron beam welding and became the mainstream of high energy beam welding technology development.
Laser Beam Welding：
1、Vacuum cavity is an important field of electron beam welding technology research. Vacuum cavity has a great influence on preventing electron scattering, and vacuum cavity is the development direction of electron beam welding technology.
2、Due to the existence of the vacuum chamber, vacuuming has become the main obstacle affecting the cycle time (the cycle time of a single electron beam welding equipment used for gear welding is difficult to be within 60 seconds).
3、Magnetic offset: Since electronic electrification will be affected by magnetic field offset, it is necessary for the electron beam welding workpiece to be magnetically treated before welding;
4、X-ray problems: X-rays are particularly strong under high pressure, requiring protection of workers
Laser Welding
However, limited by technological progress, laser welding has certain weaknesses compared to electron beam welding.
1、The energy conversion efficiency of laser is low, the energy conversion efficiency of RofinDC series CO_2 laser is lower than 20%, while that of IPG fiber laser is only above 30%;
2、Due to the low energy conversion efficiency, the application of high-power laser welding in the production line is not economical. The power of laser welding equipment is generally below 20KW, and its welding depth can reach below 10mm;
3、With the birth of a new generation of lasers, the service life of lasers can reach 50,000 hours, which greatly reduces the cost of using laser welding equipment. However, shielding gas is essential to obtain ideal welding quality, which also leads to increased processing costs.
4、The aspect ratio of the laser is smaller than that of electron beam welding, generally within 10:1 (in gear lasers, the depth of the weld is generally 4~6mm, so this aspect ratio is also more suitable), not suitable for welding large thickness workpieces ;
There are still technical difficulties in the welding of aluminum alloy materials and other high-reflectivity materials by laser welding, and the ideal welding effect must be achieved by auxiliary means such as filling
1、The development of electron beam welding technology has been quite mature, and high-power and high-power electron beam welding machines have developed rapidly and have high practical value. Due to technical obstacles such as low energy conversion rate, laser technology cannot greatly increase the power of laser welding. The actual laser power currently used cannot exceed 10KW. The cost of higher power lasers increases rapidly, but the actual use value is low.
2、In European and American countries, the price of electron beam welding equipment with the same power (3~5KW) is basically the same as that of laser welding equipment, but the efficiency, flexibility (not limited by the vacuum chamber) and characteristics of the production line of laser welding are easy to integrate. Laser welding equipment In the automotive industry, the assembly quality of the workpiece is strictly required, and the surface cleanliness of the workpiece is also high.
3、Due to the lag in China's research and development of high-power lasers, the actual use of laser welding equipment basically relies on imports. At the same time, China's small and medium power electron beam welding machines have approached or caught up with the advanced level of similar foreign products, and their prices are only about one-third of similar foreign products, and they have shown obvious cost-effective advantages. Therefore, the application of domestic electron beam welding equipment far exceeds that of laser welding equipment.
However, in automobile production, large-scale high efficiency has become the goal pursued by automobile manufacturers. However, domestic electron beam welding equipment usually does not have the capability of large-scale automated production. When the production capacity is increased, the production demand is usually met by increasing the number of electron beam welding equipment and manpower. Comprehensive comparison, its economy is also greatly reduced
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