Abstract
Aluminum alloys were welded using 10 kW CO2 laser system. Combination of TIG or MIG arc welding with laser welding was tried in bead-on-plate welding experiments in which the molten pool formed by arc welding ran ahead of the laser beam. As the results of experiments, combination with MIG-DCEP arc welding was selected. A5083 and A6061 aluminum alloys were welded using A5356 filler wire in bead-on-plate welding in the flat position. It was concluded that combination of MIG arc welding seemed to be promising from the view point of bead formation and increase of absorption of the beam energy. But occurrence of large blow-holes or voids remained an important problem for further research.
