Joint strength of laser-welded titanium.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the joint strength of titanium laser-welding using several levels of laser output energy [current (A)]. METHODS Cast titanium plates (0.5 x 3.0 x 40 and 1.0 x 3.0 x 40 mm(3)) were prepared and perpendicularly cut at the center of the plate. After the cut halves were fixed in a jig, they were laser-welded using a Nd: YAG laser at several levels of output energy in increments of 30A from 180 to 300A. The penetration depths of laser to titanium were measured under various conditions for output energy, pulse duration, and spot diameter to determine the appropriate conditions for these parameters. Based on the correlation between the results obtained for penetration depth and the size of the specimens (thickness: 0.5 and 1.0 mm, width: 3.0 mm), the pulse duration and spot diameter employed in this study were 10 ms and 1.0 mm, respectively. Three laser pulses (spot diameter: 1.0 mm) were applied from one side to weld the entire joint width (3.0 mm) of the specimens. Uncut specimens served as the non-welded control specimens. Tensile testing was conducted at a crosshead speed of 2 mm/min and a gage length of 10 mm. The breaking force (N) was recorded, and the data (n=5) were statistically analyzed. RESULTS For the 0.5 mm thick specimens, the breaking force of the specimens laser-welded at currents of 240, 270, and 300A were not statistically (P>0.05) different from the non-welded control specimens. There were no significant differences in breaking force among the 1.0mm thick specimens laser-welded at currents of 270 and 300A, and the non-welded control specimens. SIGNIFICANCE Under appropriate conditions, joint strengths similar to the strength of the non-welded parent metal were achieved.