Coaxial hybrid CO2-MIG welding system and its application in welding of aluminum alloys

Hybrid laser-arc welding is becoming one of the most significant laser welding technologies in industry due to its higher welding efficiency, higher tolerance to gaps between plates, and adjustment of composition and microstructure of the weld metal. Comparing with common off axis hybrid laser-arc welding, coaxially combined laser beam and arc can provide a symmetrical circular thermal source on the workpiece surface, which is convenient for 3-D welding. This paper introduces a coaxial hybrid CO2 laser-pulsed MIG welding system and conducts experiments of welding Al-Mg alloy plates under different welding conditions. The basic physical phenomena during welding are observed and the weld bead shape (penetration depth, weld width) are measured. The results show that hybrid laser-MIG can stabilize the arc, remarkably increase the total welding efficiency and improve the quality of weld bead formation. In addition, process and control techniques for hybrid laser-MIG welding are also proposed.