In heavy industry and light industry, stainless steel has been widely used by its excellent performance. In the process of processing and manufacturing, laser welding is essential. However, stainless steel materials are divided into austenite, ferrite, martensite, austenite – ferrite double equal different classification.The nature of each type is not the same in the welding performance. So when welding different stainless steel materials by fiber laser welder, what different welding methods are needed using?

1. Austenitic stainless steel
Austenitic stainless steel contains more than 18% chromium and about 8% nickel, molybdenum, titanium, nitrogen and other elements. It has good comprehensive performance and is resistant to corrosion of various media.

When handheld fiber laser welder welding this kind of material, it is necessary to use laser to form welding spot after welding spot at the weld joints, through the welding point lap forming welding process.

Because the welding point is very small, it is mainly used for welding micro and precision components.

2.Ferritic stainless steel
The chromium content of ferritic stainless steel is between 12% and 30%. The toughness, corrosion resistance and weldability of this material are improved with the increase of chromium content. The corrosion resistance to chloride is better than other kinds of stainless steel materials.

Ferritic stainless steel welded joint toughness is low. It is easy to form brittle martensite at the weld.

When using fiber laser welding metal machine welding, it is necessary to control the heat input, so as to inhibit the excessive growth of ferrite grains in the welding zone. In the process, multi-layer and multi-channel fast welding and forced cooling weld can be adopted.

3.Martensitic stainless steel
Martensitic stainless steel has high strength. But its plasticity and toughness are poor. And brittle fracture is easy to occur.

Martensitic stainless steel welding points: control the heat input and cooling rate.

4.Austenitic ferrite duplex stainless steel

Austenitic ferrite duplex stainless steel has advantages of both austenitic and ferrite and high plasticity. It is also the most widely used stainless steel material and the easiest to weld.

In order to form a good weld, it is best to fix and assemble the weldment before welding. And it is best to clamp and position the weldment in an appropriate way.