Laser welding
How thick can a handheld laser welder weld?
Quick answer
Most handheld fiber lasers weld steel comfortably to 4–6 mm in a single pass: 1,500 W handles ~4 mm well, 2,000 W pushes toward 5–6 mm, and 3,000 W machines reach ~8 mm with wire. Beyond that, multi-pass or a traditional arc process wins — lasers trade penetration for speed and low heat.
Practical thickness by power
| Laser power | Single-pass steel | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000–1,200 W | up to ~3 mm | sheet and light fab; wire feed helps gaps |
| 1,500 W | up to ~4 mm | the mainstream tier |
| 2,000 W | up to ~6 mm | air-cooled tier handles sustained duty |
| 3,000 W | up to ~8 mm | water-cooled industrial work |
Where lasers genuinely beat TIG and MIG
Speed (commonly quoted 3–5× TIG on straight seams), minimal distortion on thin stainless, and almost no post-weld cleanup. Where they lose: thick structural sections, dirty or heavily galvanised steel, and any job where you can't control eye-reflection safety. Many Australian shops run laser alongside their arc gear rather than instead of it.