Checklist for Handheld Laser Welding Safety

A safety checklist for handheld laser welding covers training, personal protective equipment, laser enclosures, signage, fume extraction, and laser protective viewing windows.

Handheld laser welding safety requires compliance with laser, welding, and impact safety standards. The operator, being most at risk, should wear a tested/certified laser welding helmet with ANSI Z87+ impact tested laser safety eyewear underneath. For clarification, this is not due to protective shortcomings of the certified laser welding helmet. This compensates for the tendency to raise your welding hood during the process for "better visibility". Redundant protection helps eliminate risks associated with forgetfulness or old habits. Anyone inside the Laser Controlled Area is required to wear laser safety eyewear with the appropriate Optical Density (OD) for the wavelengths in use.

It is important to protect anyone outside of the immediate Laser Controlled Area from being exposed to laser hazards. Creating a work cell, which functions as a Laser Controlled Area, contains stray and diffuse laser radiation and eliminates the hazard for other employees in the vicinity. Kentek provides several laser curtain and barrier options which meet OSHA, ANSI, and international CE requirements.

The addition of an interlock system to your laser enclosure ensures that when someone enters the work cell without following the proper protocol, the handheld laser welding system shuts down, eliminating any potential hazard.

Concise precautionary warning statements that comply with mandatory OSHA and ANSI standards are key to the foundation of a secure workplace. Ensure that the appropriate signage is in place.

Your Kentek technical sales representative will guide you through this selection.

The laser welding process can create fumes that contain harmful particles, vapors, and gases that cause serious health concerns. Fume extraction systems offer a safe way to remove this hazard from your working environment, while maintaining compliance with local and international health safety requirements.

You may need to select a system with an articulating arm to facilitate positioning and movement as you weld.

An optional add-on to laser curtains and barriers is a laser protective viewing window, which enables safe viewing of the application within the Laser Controlled Area. Laser protective viewing windows may also be integrated into traditional framed construction of walls/rooms.

Ideally, interlocks for laser power are controlled at the entry to the Laser Controlled Area. At a minimum, standard operating procedures should require the laser operator to illuminate proper warning signs outside the welding cell after entryways are secured.

REMINDER: Only operators with the proper safety training and PPE should be allowed inside the Laser Controlled Area.