Paid back after welding just 1 km
Investment and payback time
Save €2,000 per 100 meters of welding!
If 100 meters of TIG welding can be replaced by manual laser welding, a significant amount of time can be saved. Because laser welding is 5 to 6 times faster, nearly 40 hours of labor time are saved over a welding length of 100 meters. In the calculation below, we compare the labor time between the TIG welding process and laser welding. In practice, we also see that these types of savings are actually achieved.
Labour time TIG welding:
-
Weld length: 100 meters
-
Welding speed: 12.5 cm/min
-
Arc time: 800 min
-
Duty cycle: 20%
-
Total labor time: 66.6 hours
Labour time laser welding:
-
Weld length: 100 meters
-
Welding speed: 60 cm/min
-
Arc time: 166 min
-
Duty cycle: 20%
-
Total labor time: 13.5 hours
Investment and operational costs
To get started with handheld laser welding, several components are required. Below is an overview of the necessary equipment and consumables:
- Laser welding machine
- Shielded workspace
- Personal protective equipment
- Welding gun consumables
- Power consumption
- Gas consumption
- Maintenance & repairs
- Knowledge & expertise
Laser welding equipment
The laser welding equipment is typically the largest part of the investment. A LAZRZ laser welding system includes:
- FWS laser welding machine
- Wire feeder unit
- Two laser safety glasses
- Safety instruction
- Hands-on machine training
- Consumables for approximately two weeks of welding work.
Welding booth
If there is no suitable space available in the building for laser welding, we recommend creating a welding booth in the workshop. The investment required for such a booth depends heavily on its size and the equipment included. Examples of optional features include:
- Lighting
- Electrical control cabinet and additional electrical installations
- Welding fume extraction
- Laser safety glass
Laser welding consumables
In handheld laser welding, consumable usage is generally low. The nozzles wear over time during welding, and contamination may accumulate on the protective lens inside the welding gun. When that happens, the lens must be replaced.
Interested in laser welding?
Schedule your free telephone consultation with our laser welding specialist Arjen here.