How To Choose The Power of Laser Welding Machine? Accurate Matching Based on Workpiece Thickness And Material

How to Choose the Right Laser-Welding Power  

Too much power = wasted energy and burn-through; too little = lack of penetration and low speed. Stop guessing—just lock onto two things: work-piece thickness and material behavior. Match them exactly and you get quality, speed and low running costs. Here is the plain-English recipe.

1. Start with thickness: the “power rule-of-thumb”  

Laser power sets weld depth—thicker metal needs more watts. Use stainless as the baseline and scale from there.

- Thin sheet (0.5–2 mm) → 500–1 000 W  

 1 mm stainless: 800 W gives a flat, clean bead at 3–5 mm s⁻¹—ideal for electronics, small hardware.

- Medium plate (2–5 mm) → 1 000–2 000 W  

 3 mm stainless: 1 500 W at 3–5 mm s⁻¹ gives full penetration without sluggish cycle times—perfect for auto parts, cookware.

- Thick plate (≥ 5 mm) → 2 000 W and up  

 8 mm mild steel: 3 000 W in multi-mode achieves deep, strong joints for structural frames or pipes.

Remember: at the same power, slower travel = deeper weld; faster = shallower. Fix the watts first, then tune speed—never crank power blindly.

2. Factor in the metal: each one has a “power appetite”  

Absorption and thermal conductivity change the game even at identical thickness.

 Stainless: absorbs well, medium conductivity—use the chart above straight.  

 Mild steel: absorbs a bit less, conducts more; go ~20 % higher. 5 mm mild steel → 2 000 W instead of 1 500 W.  

 Aluminum: highly reflective, super heat-sink. Needs more juice plus twin-pulse waveforms. 2 mm Al → 1 500 W minimum; 1 000 W gives porous, discontinuous beads.  

 Copper: extreme reflectivity + conductivity. Surface prep (blackening) and ≥2 500 W for 3 mm Cu are mandatory.

3. Two field tricks to avoid buyer’s remorse  

1. Always run a test coupon on scrap first. Check penetration, porosity, distortion—then fine-tune.  

2. Build in a small buffer. If your parts vary 1–2 mm, pick the mid-level power (e.g. 1 000 W) so one machine covers the spread without constant re-settings.

Pick the laser power that matches real thickness and real material, and your welder will deliver maximum value—no wasted kilowatts, no weak joints.

If you have welding machine requirements, please contact Ms. Zhao

E-Mail: pdkj@gd-pw.com

Phone: +86-13631765713