With automakers introducing laser welds in the manufacturing environment over the last few years, many collision repairers are recognizing its potential use as an alternative to MIG and TIG welding.
Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), noted examples of laser welds being used on the 2021 Acura TLX and 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
As part of this year’s SCRS OEM Summit, held during the November 2024 SEMA Show, information was shared about laser welding opportunities in automotive and aerospace manufacturing.
Presenters included Dean Brennan, North American sales manager at IPG Photonics, the largest fiber laser manufacturer in the world; Rex Alexandre, president and principal engineer at the Handheld Laser Institute and a former senior welding engineer on SpaceX’s Starship program; and Jeff Poole, manager and subject matter expert at I-CAR.
Schulenburg said the objective of the OEM Summit has always been to fill the stage with individuals that collision repairers would not typically have access to and use their knowledge and expertise to look at the future of what might be next in the world of technology and collision repair.
“It’s not every day that we are able to interact and learn directly from former senior welding engineers for SpaceX about everything learned exploring, experimenting and ultimately putting the technology to use on the Starship,” he noted.
He said the speakers did an amazing job talking through the evolution of this welding technology, while making it clear to attendees how much work is still being done to better understand perceived future use cases in the repair environment.
“We recognize that utilizing laser welding in a repair environment is still yet to be proven or approved but saw an opportunity to learn directly from individuals who are pioneering the opportunities,” said Schulenburg.
Brennan has been marketing laser systems since their early adoption in the metal fabrication industry in 1990 and is now spearheading the North American launch of LightWELD, a handheld laser welding product.
During the laser welding presentation, Brennan shared information about fiber laser technology, the advantages of laser welding and its applications in automotive repair.
Brennan defined laser welding as the process of transferring a laser beam's photonic energy into heat to fuse or join parts. He said it’s like using a magnifying glass to capture the sun’s energy.
“This transferred heat melts the materials to form a molten weld pool that subsequently cools and fuses the targeted area together,” Brennan explained.
He said laser welding is a flexible process that can be performed with or without filler material and is used to create seams and joints that are narrow, wide, shallow or deep with a variety of materials including metals, dissimilar and reflective materials, and non-metals.
Although lasers create a relatively small spot on the parts to be welded, Brennan said weld pools that are significantly wider than the spot can be created by oscillating the beam in customizable patterns.
“For parts and materials that cannot handle excessive thermal input, lasers can be optimized to achieve rapid weld penetration and scanned along the joint to reach speeds as high as several meters per minute,” he noted.
Brennan said handheld laser welding has many advantages. These include high precision, speed and repeatedly, with a low heat input. In addition, minimal maintenance is required.
“Laser welding is an easily automated solution for creating excellent quality welds rapidly and reliably,” he said. “The power control of the laser is extremely consistent and predictable so it can be repeated over and over.”
Brennan explained that MIG and TIG welding use electrical resistance that can interfere with automotive electronics.
“Laser welding uses photons of light, not electricity,” he said. “This is why EV batteries are manufactured with laser welds.”
Brennan noted that laser welding does not compromise electronics and hand-held laser welding yields superior aesthetics.
He shared research conducted by IPG, which included preparing laser welding samples sent to Sturbridge Metallurgical Services Inc. (SMS) for third-party evaluation. Butt joints in plates of 0.036 in., 0.075 in., and 0.120 in. were produced and sections were prepared using ASTM standard methodology. A total of 26 cross sections were inspected at 50 times the magnification. In all cases, Brennan said there was no cracking, incomplete fusion, porosity, inclusions or other defects. The weld profiles passed all tests and no underfill was noted.
Jeff Poole shared some steel samples that were laser welded.
“Laser welding is an excellent choice for automotive repair, especially considering that many factory welds in vehicles are laser welds,” said Brennan.
Alexandre talked about the adoption of handheld laser welding in the industrial and aerospace industry, which he said is a growing technology. Schulenburg noted that Alexandre helps educate and empower businesses and industries with knowledge and resources to usher in a new era where handheld laser welding can be recognized as an industrially accepted process.
Alexandre has spent most of his career developing laser welding, cladding, cutting and additive manufacturing processes for the aerospace industry. His first introduction to handheld laser welding was in 2020 while working as a senior welding engineer on SpaceX’s Starship program.
That year, Alexandre began laser welding on a device ordered from Amazon that ran on 380 volts. In 2021, he began using IPG’s first light weld unit to laser tag parts. A year later, he purchased a wire feeder IPG released for the laser.
“To me, this was a game changer,” he recalls. “The wire feeder controls your travel speed and makes it really quite simple for almost anyone to make a high-quality weld.”
He was convinced that laser welding had future potential but was unsure how.
Eventually, Alexandre developed a wide range of unique welds for many applications and began laser welding structural joints.
“We’ve made thousands and thousands of handheld laser welds that have not only flown to space on Starship but also come back,” said Alexandre. “That speaks volumes about the capability of this technology when used appropriately.”
Alexandre said he has helped develop bespoke applications that have required considerable development. He also helped build a laser welding training program, standardized procedures and design guidelines for engineers.
“One of the things that can't be oversold with a handheld laser is how easy it is to pick up,” he said. “It does require some skill to do it on real-world hardware, but nowhere near the amount that it takes to be a good arc welder.”
Although there is growing interest in laser welding, Alexandre acknowledged some people have concerns over safety.
“Any industrial equipment is dangerous when not used properly,” he noted. “It [laser welding] is safe and strong and absolutely can be done to code.”
He currently teaches people across North America how to use handheld laser welding. Some of the early adopters are primarily focused on non-structural and aesthetic purposes.
“It started as a pet project and I didn't expect it to go anywhere,” said Alexandre. “I just thought it was something neat to do in my limited amount of free time. But before I left SpaceX, I would walk to the office, sit down at lunch and people would talk about using it like it was no big deal, like it was MIG or TIG welding.”
Poole sees the potential for using laser welding in the collision industry and encourages repairers to be open-minded.
“As I look at the prospect of being able to repair a vehicle and use the same processes that the vehicle manufacturer uses, it just blows my mind,” said Poole. “I’m excited about this technology.”
However, he forecasts it will be some time before laser welding is an accepted practice.
This is due in part to the huge investment. He also acknowledged that laser welding is a different process than repairers are used to, so there will be a learning curve for those doing MIG welding.
“There is a lot we need to research and learn about the process,” he said.
I-CAR is working with outside third-party organizations that perform testing and validation to better understand laser welding. The organization plans to share its research while working with the industry to identify future opportunities.
“We want to make sure that we do this right for the industry,” he noted.
He said gaining confidence to get OEM approval for the process will be paramount.
“When we repair a vehicle, we have to repair it to the OEM recommended or required procedures,” noted Poole. “I'm hopeful to see a day where we start to see this as an accepted process.”
Stacey Phillips Ronak