Handheld Laser Welder

Handheld laser welders are revolutionising manufacturing in Australia.

Hand held laser welders have demonstrated huge increases in productivity and weld quality.  Our customers bear witness to their massive benefits.  Laser-welder.com.au specialises in hand held laser welders and is the largest seller in Australia.  

Why use hand held laser welders?

– Very high return on investment and rapid payback.
– Hand held laser welders are more flexible than CNC or robotic types
– No need for expensive jigging. Less setup than robotic welding.
– Super fast! Very high output per worker.
– Typically 4 times faster than TIG. 4 time$ cheaper!!
– No need for highly skilled TIG welders. Less skilled labour can be used.
– Less HAZ, weld stain, and no rework or finishing in most cases.
– Less fire risk. Almost no sparks or spatter.
– Far less consumables and argon gas required, due to much faster welding.
– No need to remove galvanising before welding.

How much does a laser welder cost?

Hand held laser welders range from $12,900 for an air cooled 2000W model, up to $19,990 for our water cooled industrial model, G5-3000WC with output power up to 3000W and twin wire feeder included.  It is possible to pay several times this amount, as companies such as IPG and Theo sell less powerful air cooled models at several times this pricing.  IPG and Theo top out at 2000W with single wire feed. In 2026, 2000W to 3000W is now the sweet spot, with our 3000W model offering the best value water cooled laser welder on the market, in terms of Watts per dollar.   

Our new air cooled Lightwelder 2 is AU$12,900 which is the lowest priced on the market. You will not beat our prices, knowledge or service.

Small portable laser welders

Portable laser welders are air cooled to minimise the weight and size.  Although our lasers are much more efficient than the previous generation, cooling is the limiting factor for laser welder size and weight. The laser must be kept cool to avoid damaging the internals and reducing its life, and the cooling passages and fans must be large enough. Poorly designed laser welders get too hot in hot weather and have to be shut down, also known as running at a low duty cycle. This is the last thing you want in production!  Hence portable and air cooled laser welders are OK for low volume use, but we don’t recommend them for industrial use.

How an air cooled laser welder stays cool

Cooling is critical for air cooled laser welders.  Cooling determines the temperature of the laser pumps (diodes), the electronics and the head’s optics.

There are four main ways of keeping a laser welder cool:
1.  Reducing heat rejection by increasing efficiency.  In this way, less heat is generated, so less heat dissipation is required.
2.  Ensuring the air flow is adequate to minimise the temperature differential.  If air flow is halved, the temperature of the air must approximately double, and the device being cooled will run much hotter.  We have seen many cheap Chinese lasers with inadequate fan sizes and flow rates.
3.  Heat transfer paths must have low thermal resistance and high heat flow capacity.  The most important heat transfer path is for the light emitting diodes which feed into the fibre, because these diodes are degraded by excessive heat.  In particular, the heat sinks on the diodes must be properly designed, whether copper, aluminium, or heat pipe types.  Refrigerant cooled systems benefit from dropping the cold side temperature below ambient, but they are more expensive, complex, and still need adequate air flow to reject the heat at the condensing side.
4.  Run the welder in cool conditions, at low power, and/or for short periods only.  All of these mean an air cooled laser welder can be fine for a home workshop for example, but industrial customers really should select a water cooled model, or a high quality air cooled model.

Our new air cooled model, Lightwelder 2 features large fans and large surface areas for effective cooling with simplicity and low cost.