Undercuts in Laser Arc Hybrid Welding

Undercuts are usually an imperfection in welding that either continuously or sporadically form, especially when welding at high speed. Efforts, usually lowering the welding speed or overfilling, are applied to avoid undercuts as they can significantly lower the fatigue properties of the welded workpiece. Undercut formation is complex and occurs by various means, mainly based on temperature and melt flow mechanisms. When having two power sources as in laser arc hybrid welding, the melt flow can be tailored to suppress undercut formation. This can be done e.g. by narrowing the width of the gouge or by optimum positioning of the power sources relative to each other. The present paper shows and explains the main reasons of various types of undercut formation. By following the herein generated guidelines, the critical welding speed during laser arc hybrid welding can be further increased, free of undercuts.