Air cooling and water cooling are two distinct cooling methods for laser handheld welding machines. The core difference lies in the design and principle of the cooling system, which leads to significant variations in power, structure, application scenarios, and maintenance costs.
I. Heat Dissipation Principle and System Composition
Air-cooled Laser Handheld Welding Machine
Heat dissipation principle: By relying on the built-in high-speed fan, forced air flows over the heat-generating components of the laser (such as the laser module), and through the air convection, the heat is removed and discharged to the outside of the machine. Its essence is to utilize air as the cooling medium.
System composition: The main heat dissipation components are fans and heat dissipation fins. The system is integrated into the handheld gun body or the main chassis of the equipment, and the structure is relatively simple.
Water-cooled laser handheld welding machine
Heat dissipation principle: Through the circulation of coolant (usually deionized water or dedicated coolant) flowing in a closed pipeline, it passes through the heating components of the laser and absorbs their heat. The heated coolant is then pumped to an external heat exchanger (usually containing fans and pumps), where the heat is finally dissipated into the air by the heat exchanger. Essentially, it utilizes the high specific heat capacity of the liquid to achieve efficient heat exchange.
System composition: It mainly includes the built-in waterway board/cooling head, water pump, external water tank/refrigeration unit, heat exchanger and connection pipelines. The system is relatively complex.
II.Core difference comparison:
III. Selection of Application Scenarios
Situation where air-cooled equipment is chosen:
The welding tasks are not continuous; they are mostly temporary and small-scale repairs or processing.
The working environment requires frequent movement, and thus has extremely high demands for the portability of the equipment.
The main material to be welded is thin plates, and the required laser power is relatively low (usually within 2000W).
The budget is limited, and the requirement for the ultimate stability of the welding effect is not high.
The situation of choosing water-cooling equipment:
Long-term and large-scale industrialized continuous production is required.
The welding material is relatively thick, or a medium to high power (around 3000 watts) is required to complete the operation.
There are extremely high requirements for the consistency, smoothness and welding quality of the welding process.
The workplace is fixed, with stable power supply, and there is no need to frequently move the equipment.
The choice between air-cooled and water-cooled handheld laser welding machines is a technical decision based on heat dissipation requirements. The air-cooling technology sacrifices some heat dissipation performance and continuous working ability in exchange for extremely high portability and low cost. The water-cooling technology, through a more complex system, provides powerful heat dissipation capabilities, ensuring the long-term stable operation of the equipment under high power, and is the standard configuration for industrial production. Users should make a reasonable choice based on their own power requirements, working mode, budget, and requirements for welding quality.