Laser welding of INCONEL 600

In this work, a nickel base alloy INCONEL 600 has been welded by means of a 2 kW CO 2 cw laser. In order to evaluate the influence of the basic welding parameters on heat affected zone, weld structure and weld geometry, an accurate analysis has been carried out. The experimental results show a strict correlation between the power beam and the welding speed vs. the weld bead geometry. As the speed increases, so penetration decays. Microhardness tests, micro and macrograph examinations did not reveal, in the range of experimental parameters, any significant alteration in weld bead structure nor the presence of a HAZ. In order to assess process efficiency, the experimental data were processed using the Line Source Model (LSM) which permits to calculate the Melting Ratio (MR) and Energy Transfer Efficiency (ETE)