Pulse tailored laser welding of Inconel 718

Welds were made on one-eighth inch thick wrought Inconel 718 using a pulsed CO₂ laser in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the process and to observe the manner in which weld structure and weld microstructure were affected by varying the process parameters. It was determined that pulsed tailored laser welding is an effective means to eliminate nailhead microfissures, a common problem when welding this material. In addition, porosity was only found in welds produced at the lowest pulse duty cycles and/or the lowest pulse average powers within the matrix of conditions used. In addition, the heat affected zone widths were characterized.