New Laser Welding Machine: Unboxing | Setup | First Welds

[@leanmixture]

This is how TIG welding dies. I have a 2000W laser welder and I no longer touch my tig torch. It kind of makes me sad that my skill and my tig welder are no longer valuable but I'm quite happy with the ease of use and the practicality of the laser. Just wanted to add that there is a special wire feeding tube for laser welding aluminum its much shorter and it is graphite coated and its about $20 but it made a huge improvement in my aluminum welding experience. Thanks for posting.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Thanks for the tip about the graphite tube, I’ll try that! I’m in the same boat…years of honing my craft as a digital artist, now you can simply type into a text prompt and AI will spit out a better image in seconds.

[@Island.dweller]

Kind of makes me feel silly for thinking about buying a tig welder..

[@Skyfirelaser]

@@diyfiberlaser no no no, your design is the best 🙌

[@AndrewPrice2704]

*envy* that is amazing. Low fumes, no UV. Love it 🤩

[@Skyfirelaser]

Finally🎉 , great unboxing video

[@kazenostro]

Cool thing, I hope in the future many people will have such vimasters.

[@TheBiscuitsandGravy]

Man, you get all the cool toys :)

[@Spirit532]

They said MIG welding is a metal hot glue gun, but this really is a metal hot glue gun. Small tip: don't press down too hard and let the wire feeder push you backwards. That's the trick to getting those perfect-looking welds. Also, next side project: manual linear rail stabilizer holder doodad for long linear welds or cuts? :)

[@diyfiberlaser]

That would be useful assist gadget!

[@adrianscarlett]

I've been looking at these for a couple of years. Interested on seeing more, especially its cutting capability

[@ElectricBikeLaboratory]

Super stoked about this Electric Go Kart ! Would love to help in any way I can 😊

[@cantstopthefunk22]

Extremely fortuitous video. My 2000w laser welder will be arriving in 2 weeks! Couldn't be more excited Edit: I've been trying to figure this out on my own, but an amazing project I have no doubt you'd be able to tackle is converting this continuous wave (CW) laser into a pulse wave (PW) laser, which is better for cleaning surfaces without damaging the substrate. The biggest challenge is figuring out a way to collect the laser energy. Based on my research, implementing "q-switching" or "gain switching" is how typical systems work, but that's all I know about it as the technical knowledge is beyond me.

[@FilipAus]

What is the earth clamp used for given it's not using an arc to melt the metal?

[@diyfiberlaser]

Safety feature, so you don't accidentally laser across the room

[@sokofabco]

Next up, cnc welding arm.

[@brettb2516]

Congrats man. It’s really an amazing machine. Just a tip, rest the gun really lightly onto the tip of the filler wire. Pull the trigger and let the filler wire push you back. Don’t push against it. Let it push you while you just guide it. It basically just lays the filler wire down and then the laser comes along and fuses it to the base material. One thing with laser welding is you cannot add more filler wire to the weld pool to build up a larger fillet, for example. If you need to add more filler then have to go thicker on the filler wire. Or have dual filler wires. That’s why you see some laser welding machines with dual wire feeds.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Thanks, I did notice how the wire would push me along…I think I could go even lighter with my grip.

[@GHILLIESARCADEANDMORE]

Very coolI'll have to do some research on one of these

[@swp466]

Nice toy! I think there might be a problem with that settings chart at 12:29 -- the wire feeding speed seems absurdly fast. They range from 50-80 cm/s (19.7" - 31.5" per second). Edit: I see on the actual feeder display it's really cm/min.

[@abinsk-plasma]

Travis. You are clever. (This sounds as an exception🤔) Can you invent a way to make laser hand cleaner to cut on table with CNC?

[@diyfiberlaser]

I forget the KZbin channel name, but there is already a guy doing exactly that...maybe do a search for it

[@id104335409]

I saw that for laser cleaning you must always use compressed air to blow the smoke away from the gun because it all sticks to the lens and when you fire it again it burns straight on the lens. So with a blast of air you can keep it fresh and clean for a long time.

[@diyfiberlaser]

That makes sense, thanks for the tip!

[@jimward1197]

Travis, great video... I've contacted Sky Fire for info on the welding cart on your machine. I have a 1500w laser that I've been using for cleaning, it has rollers, but needs a way to secure a bottle and the wire feeder into a single cart.

[@stevewillbuildit]

Suggestion. You should use some teflon tape on those threads just in case you have a small leak. The fittings are brand new so you shouldn’t have any leaks but it’s always good practice.

[@JeremySchiefer]

6:39 - You sure you don't need to tape that barb fitting into the regulator? Doesn't look like a compression fitting

[@diyfiberlaser]

It was actually 2 fittings, that was what I could get on short notice…one was taped, the other was compression

[@damienmiller]

CNC laser welding robot next?

[@bobweiram6321]

It looks like an oversized Mac Pro.

[@diyfiberlaser]

I never really thought about it, but yeah kinda…haha

[@bickybickford]

Try a straight edge to run the side of the laser against for flat areas to keep a straight weld.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Thanks…will definitely do that next time!

[@srenjensen3817]

Can you use a welding glove? The way you hold it, you don't really have a steady hand, and that is very important for good penetration.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Yes, I also want to try using a straight edge guide …I definitely need to work on my pulling in a straight line skills 😀

[@mikeselectricstuff]

maybe you can hook it on to your plasma table to do laser cutting?

[@diyfiberlaser]

I don't have a plasma...that already IS a laser cutting machine : )

[@matthewchastain136]

Not all grades of aluminum can be fuse welded so you have to be careful with no filler.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Noted, thanks for the advice!

[@RichSobocinski]

If you can set this machine up you don't need an electrician to add a new circuit

[@diyfiberlaser]

Haha…he said that too! I like supporting his business and it takes something off my plate

[@adamconnell5965]

Your overall assessment is exactly what I was afraid it would be...

[@id104335409]

Makes you want to weld all the things in the house, doesn't it?

[@diyfiberlaser]

Haha yes! and I want to clean the rust off everything...so much fun to use!

[@Koto-Sama]

WOW That looks like hot glue for metal.

[@Toxicity1987]

I didn't knew that you need a ground clamp for laser welding.

[@laurent7150]

Same remark. Can someone give the reason ?

[@brettb2516]

It’s not really a ground. It’s for safety. The laser won’t fire until laser welding gun tip is touching the work piece. It needs the “ground” clamp to close the safety circuit. I love our laser welders except for the fact that our operators are holding 3kw laser beams in a hand held torch. It really scares me. If you point the gun at a piece of wood 20m away, with the safety override on, it catches alight instantaneously. Scary stuff. Laser welding enclosures are a must.

[@diyfiberlaser]

Like Brettb2516 said…it’s just a safety measure

[@ZombiePanda1776]

REQUEST: Can you do a weld joint on steel and aluminum and then cut though the joints to check porosity?

[@leanmixture]

I know you want to see it for yourself but just wanted to let you know that I've done that and the weld bead using laser is larger than TIG because it does achieve better penetration.

[@brettb2516]

We have our laser welding procedures qualified and the cut and etch tests came out superior to TIG in penetration and strength up to 6mm. We have 3kw machines.

[@diyfiberlaser]

I’ve seen other KZbin videos of people doing this and it appears quite good

[@zachbrown7272]

@@brettb2516 damn, that's extremely impressive. all carbon steel?