Mechanical and Metallurgical Characterisation of CO₂ Laser Beam Welding AISI 4130 and AISI 310 Sheets of Steel

Laser Beam Welding (LBW) is the fusion welding technique in which coalescence is produced by heating the work piece by impingement of concentrated beam of laser light. In this paper a full depth butt welding of alloy steel AISI 4130 and stainless steel AISI 310 of 2 mm thickness by using CO₂ Laser Beam Welding machine has been performed. Design of experiment is done by using Taguchi method L₂₅ i.e. level 5 by considering process parameters i.e. power, welding speed, beam angle, focal point position and focal length. The experimental output results that are measured for the mechanical properties of welds (Ultimate Tensile Strength and Hardness). The analysis was carried out to explain the influence of the LBW processing parameters values on the mechanical and microstructural aspects. The weld Joint is analysed by Optical Microstructure and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX) was carried out to determinate the chemical composition of the weld zone.