Top Laser Welding Machine Manufacturers
Currently, the number of laser welding companies is growing. In China, major laser welding machine manufacturers include Hans's Laser, HGTECH, UWlaser, Hymson, HSG, Yifi Laser, TianHong Laser, Quick Laser, Chutian Laser and Penta Laser, among others.
Internationally, well-known laser welding companies include IPG, TRUMPF, Amada, Emag and Panasonic, among others.
1. IPG
IPG Photonics is a world leader in the production and development of high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers, serving a wide range of industries and applications.
Its low-, medium- and high-power lasers and amplifiers are widely used in materials processing, communication, entertainment, medical treatment, biotechnology, science and technology, as well as advanced applications.
Its products are replacing traditional lasers in many fields and leading the development of new laser technology applications. As a pioneer and leader in the fiber lasers and amplifiers market, the company has increased its market share due to its established brand and reputation.
Thanks to their exceptional performance and value, IPG lasers are continually replacing traditional laser equipment in many existing applications.
2. Trumpf
Founded in 1923, the Trumpf Group is a global technology and market leader in the industrial lasers and laser systems industry.
As one of the leading global manufacturing technology companies, Trumpf offers a comprehensive range of products and services, from machine tools for sheet metal and material processing to laser technology, electronics and medical technology.
Through continuous innovation, Trumpf is setting new technical standards and is committed to developing and improving products to satisfy the needs of its customers.
Its product portfolio covers sheet metal processing, including laser cutting, bending, punching and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) laser systems.
3. Beloved
Amada Weld Tech is a leading producer of a wide range of welding equipment and systems, including resistance welding, laser welding, laser marking, laser cutting, laser micromachining and hot press welding.
The company is committed to providing products to diverse industries such as medical equipment, batteries, electric vehicles, solar energy, global electronics, automobiles and general manufacturing.
4. Emag
Founded in 1867, Emag, a medium-sized company in Germany, has a successful strategy of anticipating customer needs and responding to them flexibly.
Emag Group mainly focuses on automobile manufacturing and support, machinery manufacturing, aerospace, renewable energy, electric power, petroleum and other industries.
Emag offers a range of products including lathes, gear hobbing machines, grinding machines, machine tools, laser welding machines, induction hardening equipment, automation systems, universal joint housings, three-way clutches, distributor flanges , brake discs, brake cylinders and gears. veins.
Emag Lasertec is known for its high-performance laser welding systems.
5. Panasonic
Panasonic started its welding business in 1957. Before that, manufacturers generally used resistance welding, which utilized resistance heat, or arc welding, which relied on the air discharge phenomenon, to manufacture automobile bodies.
Panasonic has developed a more complex and precise welding method called Lapress.
In 2015, Panasonic introduced the world to its first complete laser welding robot solution, the Lapress.
6. Han's Laser
Main business:
Laser Automation Equipment, PCB and Automation Equipment
Company Profile:
The company is a leading supplier of laser processing equipment in China, focusing on laser cutting and marking. Its laser welding equipment is mainly used in the automotive and battery industries.
According to 2020 data, the company generated total revenue of 12 billion yuan, with its high-power laser intelligent equipment business generating operating income of 2.018 billion yuan. This positions the company as a leader in scale and technology, holding many more patents than its competitors.
It was reported that Han's Laser won four bids from Ningde Times totaling 2.743 billion yuan.
In addition to an order worth 1 billion yuan this year, the company also won bids worth 353 million yuan and 193 million yuan in 2018 for liquid injection equipment and laser welding equipment, respectively.
In 2020, Han's Laser won a 1.194 billion yuan tender for lithium battery production equipment. All four winning bids were for new energy battery businesses, further expanding the company's presence in the sector.
7. HGTECH
Main business:
Laser processing equipment, photonic devices, sensitive components and laser holographic anti-counterfeiting.
Company Profile:
The company's line of laser processing equipment includes laser cutting systems, laser welding systems, laser marking series, laser heat treatment systems, laser drilling machines and more.
In 2020, the company's operating income reached 6.138 billion yuan, with the 4 kW and 6 kW high-power laser welding market revenue totaling 300 million yuan.
Huagong Technology is a leading company in the automotive industry's BIW welding market, with its laser equipment board maintaining a strong position. The company has also become a major player in the lithium battery industry.
Huagong Laser, a subsidiary of Huagong Technology, is making its mark in the field of new energy vehicle manufacturing.
The company broke the monopoly previously held by Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States by developing an all-aluminum body welding production line for new energy vehicles.
This line was created independently by Huagong Laser and successfully passed arrival acceptance, leading to its mass production and delivery to the customer.
8. UWlaser
Main business:
Laser and laser welding equipment
Company Profile:
Founded in 2005, United Winners Laser is a leader in the battery-powered laser welding industry and specializes in laser welding equipment and lasers. The company went public in June 2020.
United Winners Laser serves prominent companies in the power battery industry, including Ningde Times, GuoXuan High Tech, BYD, Gree Intelligence, Foxconn, Tyco Electronics, Changying Precision, Yiwei Lithium Energy, Panasonic, Samsung and AVIC Power.
In 2019, the company generated revenue of 1 billion yuan, which accounted for about 10% of the domestic laser welding market. Due to the impact of the pandemic in 2020, the company's revenue was 878 million yuan.
United Winners Laser received the power battery laser welding production line design from German Times New Energy Technology (Thuringia) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Ningde Times.
Some of the equipment has been delivered and the technical team is currently in Germany for installation and commissioning, and good progress is reported.
9. Anthem
Main business:
General Laser and Automation Equipment, Battery Power Laser and Automation Equipment.
Company Profile:
In 2018, the company generated revenue of 258 million RMB from its battery power laser and automation equipment, mainly offering laser filmmakers, automatic soft connection welding machines and automatic ultrasonic welding machines for aluminum square cells.
In 2020, the company's revenue was 1.321 billion RMB and it was listed on the Science and Innovation Council in September of that year.
Hymson has rich professional resources and process control in the lithium battery industry. By combining laser and automation technology, it has developed a comprehensive solution for laser and automation equipment.
Some of its products have a significant advantage in the industry. According to its financial report, the company secured new orders worth 2.5 billion RMB (including taxes) in 2020, with 673 million RMB coming from Ningde Times.
These orders mainly consist of high-speed laser film manufacturers, integrated pre-welding and full top cover welding machines, adapter welding machines, cell drying lines and other power battery excitation and automation equipment.
10. HSG
Main business:
laser cutting machine, laser welding machine
Company Profile:
Founded in 2006, HSG Laser is a leading large-scale manufacturing company specializing in laser cutting and industrial laser application solutions.
It is dedicated to the research and development, production and sales of equipment such as fully automatic metal laser welding machines, optical fiber laser cutting/tube cutting machines and more.
In 2018, the company sold more than 1,500 optical fiber cutting machines and generated sales revenue of 1.2 billion yuan.
The company's laser welding machine portfolio includes portable fiber optic laser welding machines, high-power seam tracking wire filler welding machines and galvanometer fiber optic laser welding machines.
Due to an increase in demand, the company's related manufactured products saw a significant increase in sales in 2020, with a sales volume of more than 3,000 sets and contract sales exceeding 2 billion yuan.
HSG Laser filed for IPO guidance in February 2021 and is a key player in the laser equipment industry in southern China.
11. Yifi Laser
Main business:
Laser precision welding machine, high speed laser marking machine, laser precision cutting machine, laser precision drilling machine, etc.
Company Profile:
Yifi Laser has been dedicated to the research and development of intelligent laser welding systems since 2005, and in 2007, it officially entered laser welding and related application fields for new vehicle power batteries.
The company has established automatic welding stations, automatic production lines and an intelligent workshop/factory, and created a comprehensive solution with laser welding at its core.
Yifi Laser was the first in China to solve the problem of sealing and welding of aluminum casings in power batteries, and also pioneered the solution to the problem of welding heterogeneous aluminum and copper materials in power battery modules using technology welding of heterogeneous materials.
Furthermore, it introduced multi-pole terminal welding technology, vertical welding technology and a flexible and efficient package intelligent manufacturing system.
12. TianHong Laser
Main business:
Laser cutting, laser welding, laser marking and laser micromachining systems.
Company Profile:
The company was founded in 2001 and went public on the New Third Board in 2014. Its main product, a laser welding machine, serves the new energy sector. In 2019, the company's revenue from sales of laser welding machines was 29.88 million yuan, a year-on-year reduction of 37.23%.
13. Fast laser
Main business:
Laser cutting machines, laser welding machines, laser tube cutting machines, laser micromachining equipment, new power welding lines, 3C and semiconductor testing equipment, etc.
Company Profile:
Founded in 2009, Quick Laser specializes in the research and development, production, sales and service of intelligent laser equipment, focusing on the industry's high-end market. Its product line includes laser cutting machines, laser welding machines, laser marking machines and automation equipment.
14. ChuTian Laser
Main business:
Laser cutting, welding, marking and power supply, etc.
Company Profile:
The company was founded in 1988 and was the first to develop a laser welding machine. This machine was mainly used in industries such as optical communication, sensors, hardware devices and solar energy.
In 2006, the company formed a joint venture with the Italian group Elen to manufacture high-power laser cutting machines.
15. PentaLaser
Main business:
laser cutting machine, laser welding machine
Company Profile:
The company, which is a joint venture between ChuTian Laser and the Italian Allen group, mainly focuses on laser cutting. Its product line also includes ultra-large format laser welding equipment and precision part welding systems.
What is laser welding?
The laser welding machine uses high-energy laser to locally heat the material in a small area. The laser radiation energy is diffused into the material by heat conduction, resulting in a specific molten pool after the material has been melted.
It is a new type of welding method, mainly used for welding thin-walled materials and precision parts.
It can carry out spot welding, butt welding, overlap welding and seal welding, with a high depth-to-width ratio, small welding width, minimum deformation, fast welding speed, smooth and beautiful welding seam, high welding quality , precise control, small focal spot, high positioning accuracy, easy automation and other advantages.
Main Features of Laser Welding
In the 1970s, laser welding was mainly used for welding thin-walled materials and low-speed welding. The welding process belongs to the heat conduction type, which means that the high-energy laser heats the surface of the workpiece and the heat from the surface is diffused to the interior through heat conduction.
The specific molten pool is formed by controlling the width, energy, peak power and repetition frequency of the laser pulses to melt the workpiece.
With its unique advantages, it has been successfully applied to the precision welding of micro and small parts.
The emergence of high-power CO2 and YAG lasers has opened up a new field of laser welding.
Deep penetration welding based on the small hole effect theory has been widely used in industrial areas such as machinery, automobiles and steel due to its advantages.
Benefits
Compared with other welding technologies, the main advantages of laser welding are:
- Fast speed, great depth and minimum deformation.
- It can be welded at room temperature or special conditions, and the welding equipment is simple. For example, the laser beam does not pass through the electromagnetic field. The laser can be welded in a vacuum, air or some gas environment, and can be welded through glass or materials transparent to the laser beam.
- It can weld difficult-to-melt materials such as titanium, quartz, and can be welded to heterogeneous materials with good effect.
- After the laser is focused, the power density is high. The depth-to-width ratio can reach 5:1, and the highest can reach 10:1 when welding high-power devices.
- Can perform micro-welding. The laser beam can obtain a small spot after focusing and can be positioned precisely, which can be applied to assembly welding of micro and small parts for mass production automation.
- It can weld hard-to-reach areas and carry out long-distance non-contact welding, which has great flexibility. In particular, in recent years, optical fiber transmission technology has been adopted into YAG laser processing technology, which has made laser welding technology more widely promoted and applied.
- The laser beam is easy to obtain temporal and spatial division, and multiple beams can be processed simultaneously and in multiple locations, providing conditions for more precise welding.
Disadvantages
However, laser welding also has certain limitations:
- High requirements for the assembly accuracy of the workpieces and the position of the beam on the workpiece cannot have a significant deviation. This is because the laser spot size is small after focusing and the welding seam is narrow, which makes it difficult to add metal filler materials. If the assembly accuracy or beam positioning accuracy of the workpiece does not meet the requirements, welding defects are likely to occur.
- The cost of the laser and its related systems is high and the one-time investment is large.
Laser welding machine sales
At present, China is the leader in laser welding technology in the global market, and its laser welding equipment production capacity is growing.
According to the 2021 China Laser Industry Development Report, laser welding is the second largest revenue share segment of the industrial laser market after laser cutting, accounting for 13% in 2020.
As of now, the volume of laser welding in China has increased from 1.56 billion yuan in 2013 to 11.05 billion yuan in 2020, a growth of 608%.
Laser welding versus traditional welding methods
Comparison between laser welding equipment and traditional welding methods
| Item | laser welding | Arc welding | Brazing | Resistance welding |
| Average welding speed (m/min) |
4 | 0.7 | 3-4 | 5 |
| Variable welding way | Small | More | Any less | Normal |
| Welding precision | High | Normal | Normal | Normal |
| Welding slag adhesion | Very little | Very little | Very little | Very little |
| Consumables consumption | Any less | More | Any less | More |
| Price | High | Normal | Low | Low |
