Laser Welding
A Cosmetic Weld
Cosmetic welding has many applications like metal furniture, shelving and cabinets, industrial and
commercial appliances like ovens, refrigerator doors or washing machines, counter tops, trays, tubes and
ducts, medical enclosures, and even turbine parts. But what’s the difference between a nice looking weld
and a cosmetic weld? How do you know if your part needs a cosmetic weld? If a cosmetic weld is required,
then what design considerations do you need to evaluate before it’s too late to make changes? And most
importantly, how much is this all going to cost? This piece seeks to answer all these questions and defines
true cosmetic welding, explains when it’s needed, how to implement it, and explores the costs involved.
Defining Cosmetic Welding
Enhancing the Appearance of the Part
Welding is a combination of knowledge, hand-eye coordination, and artistic ability – all incorporated to
manually create an aesthetically-pleasing weld. It can be said that it is the goal of every welder to present
their finished weld as a work of art, making every weld as smooth as stacked dimes and inclusion-free as
possible. When someone sees a good weld, a typical response would be “that’s a nice looking weld.”
However, cosmetic welding is defined as welding that does more than artfully connect two items - while
accomplishing that basic task, cosmetic welding must also enhance the appearance of the part. When we
discuss cosmetic welding in the realm of laser welding, we are not only referring to the visual evaluation of
the weld point by the customer, but rather the weld
as it blends and enhances the general aesthetics
around it. Essentially, in cosmetic welding, the weld
becomes an integral part of the cosmetic appeal on
the finished product. It could simply be a corner
weld on a cabinet that does not require post-weld
finishing, or it could be a seam weld on stainless
that flawlessly blends in with the product in such a
manner that one can barely detect the product as
even being welded. When someone sees a good
cosmetic laser weld, a typical response would be
“that part is welded???”
Evaluating the Need for Cosmetic
Welding
Do you need a customer-facing weld?
Understanding the product’s use is critical when evaluating part construction and the need for cosmetic
welding. Based on the end use, the product may not require an aesthetically pleasing customer-facing
cosmetic weld. If no customer-facing weld is deemed necessary, then other laser welding options can be
considered like laser keyhole welding, which runs at 150 inches per minute compared to 70 inches per
minute on a cosmetic laser fillet weld.
Laser Keyhole Welding Laser Fillet Welding
How to Accomplish Cosmetic
Welding
After determining that a cosmetic weld is necessary to complete the part, you must then construct the
part to overcome the shortcomings of the autogenous weld process. Autogenous is defined as
“produced independently of external influence or aid” or explained more specifically as it applies to the
laser welding process - no filler metal is added to help build or fill the contour of the weld. The lack of
filler material causes the same issues in laser welding as it does with a common TIG fuse weld – the
lack of added material will hinder the flow of the molten puddle between two parts due to surface
tension.
In the laser welding process, you must get additional material from somewhere, and this is where joint
development comes into play. The most common joint construction for outside corner welding is the “V”
joint, which is where the inside points of the metal surfaces touch. Standard welding processes will then fill
in the “V.” Unfortunately, the “V” joint construction will cause the laser weld contour to flatten or even
become concave as it pulls material from each side of the joint. To overcome this issue, the joint must be
designed to overlap one side of the material past the normal center point of the “V” joint onto the other side
of the joint. The amount of overlap is adjusted depending on the amount of contour required. However,
extending the overlap all the way to the outside edge will actually provide too much filler and require excess
heat to be added to burn it down into the weld puddle.
Another design alternative to consider is one that is counterintuitive to normal part design, however
advantageous due to the laser’s speed – breaking down a one-piece part into an assembly. It is actually
possible to weld more parts with the laser welder and still provide faster thru-put when compared with
slower conventional welding methods. One example of this application comes from an internal case study
where a formed four-sided machine cover required corner welds and cosmetic finishing after welding. The
standard manual process required post weld removal of weld buildup through DA (dual action) sanding and
then brushing the welded area to match the remaining #3 polished surface. For the laser weld application,
the part was redesigned into a three piece assembly, which actually increased the weld amount. However,
the reason this was done, was to engineer the ends and corner to keep the appearance smooth at the
transition across the top to the side. Instead of just welding the four corners, the entire end was welded with
a smooth transition from top to side, which followed the formed radius of the panel. The laser is able to weld
at much faster speeds than what is capable through manually welding techniques, and it also provides a thin,
nearly colorless weld. The customer was pleased with the thin silver weld line, and the part no longer
required additional post weld brushing to match the
surfaces.
One-piece part broken down into an assembly
Cost of Cosmetic Welding
Cosmetic welding accomplished through the 3D laser welding process essentially incurs no additional
costs. Many customers are misled into thinking that laser welding is out of their price range. However,
despite its superior results and use of advanced technology, laser welding is actually highly affordable, with
prices comparable to—or lower than—manual welding when compared to the total process cost. Laser
welding is a fast, clean process, and there is little to no post-weld finishing required, and faster processing
speeds are important to both reducing project lead-times and decreasing overall production costs.
Why Choose 3D Laser Welding for
Cosmetic Welding?
Laser welding is an excellent choice for customer-facing cosmetic welding because no further weld
conditioning is required. In many applications, the thin silver line of the laser weld blends in remarkably
well with no perceived edge to the weld. Laser welding has become a differentiating service at Estes
that offers cost savings and improved weld quality to customers. Not only does laser welding provide
cost savings and improved quality, but it also creates extremely durable and attractive welds. Due to
these benefits, among others, the laser welding process is suitable for use in a wide range of welding
projects. Contact Estes today to get started on your next 3D laser welding project.
About the Author
Jay Reddick has been with Estes since the beginning. In 2009, when Estes
decided to invest in leading-edge technology in the laser welding market, Jay
was integral in the R & D effort, experimenting on corner welds in cold rolled
steel. Estes developed much of the team’s expertise with laser welding in-
house and is still one of the few job shops in the country with laser welding
capabilities. Jay has 46 years of experience with MIG, TIG, and laser welding in
a production environment. He served as a board president of Blue River Career
Programs of Shelbyville, Indiana and as an advisor to the welding program at
Central Nine Career Center in Greenwood, Indiana. Jay has also presented at
ALAW (Advanced Laser Applications Workshop) on laser welding challenges
within a job shop environment.
470 S. Mitthoeffer Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46229
317.613.3582 email:
[email protected] www.estesdm.com
