FAQ

Ten questions buyers actually ask us about a jewelry laser welder — welding silver, stones and heat, power and stabilizers, xenon lamps, and what happens after you pay. Short, straight answers, including the honest boundaries. If your question isn’t here, ask us directly; we answer within hours, not days.

Welding silver and other metals

Can a jewelry laser welder weld silver?

Yes — with the right machine. Silver reflects most of the laser’s energy back until it actually melts, which is why weak welders “skate” on the surface instead of biting in. What gets through is peak power and pulse energy, not the wattage label: our 200W machine delivers 130 joules per pulse, enough to punch into silver cleanly. One honest boundary: for very thin silver sheet or fine silver wire, a torch is often the cleaner choice — we’ll tell you when that’s the case rather than sell you a laser for everything.

Do I need filler wire?

Usually no. Most jewelry welding is autogenous — the metal fuses to itself, so the joint stays the same alloy instead of a softer solder. That’s why a laser seam holds better than a soldered one. You reach for filler only when there’s an actual gap to fill.

Is argon gas necessary?

Nice to have for yellow gold — you can usually get away without it. For white gold, platinum and titanium it’s the difference between a clean weld and a discolored one: run 2–5 litres a minute through the nozzle. Titanium in particular goes blue the instant it sees oxygen, so there the gas isn’t optional — it’s the whole trick. Don’t crank the flow too high, though; too much gas blows the molten pool around.

How deep can it weld in one shot?

On jewelry-scale work, a fraction of a millimetre per pulse — it depends on the spot size and energy. Deeper work isn’t one big blast; you stack pulses. If you send us a sample of your alloy, we’ll tell you exactly what to expect on your material rather than quote you a number that may not apply.

Stones and heat

Is it safe to weld near gemstones?

Diamonds take the heat — you can work right up to one. The stones to respect are emeralds, opals and pearls: they’re soft or water-bearing, and heat can cloud or crack them. Rules of thumb: keep the weld a couple of millimetres off the stone, use short pulses, and let the piece cool between shots. If a stone is already cracked or heavily included — or it’s organic (pearl, amber, coral) — pull it first. Anyone who tells you there’s zero risk with every stone is not being straight with you.

Running your jewelry laser welder day to day

How often do I replace the xenon lamp?

For a normal shop, somewhere between one and three years depending on how hard you run it. The machine counts shots, so you’ll know before it goes — it’s a wearing part, not a breakdown. When it finally ages, the swap takes about half an hour, needs no optics re-alignment, and we send the walkthrough video with the machine. We throw a spare lamp in the box so you start covered.

Can it run all day?

Yes — a full bench day is exactly what it’s built for, as long as the cooling is happy. The machine carries a built-in chiller (10-litre, 27°C setpoint) and is rated for 45°C ambient, so it’s specced for Gulf summers, not just air-conditioned shops. The habits that keep it running: check the water level weekly, don’t set the temperature lower than recommended in humid heat, and keep the lens clean. Voltage stability matters too — dirty mains cause more “breakdowns” than the machine ever will.

What power supply do I need?

Single-phase 220V, 50 or 60 Hz — we build to whatever your country uses, and 110V/100V is available for the US and Japan. The machine draws about 5 kW, so a normal workshop circuit handles it; no three-phase needed. One thing we insist on: run it through a voltage stabilizer rated at ≥12 kW — twice the machine’s draw — on a dedicated 32A breaker. Not a power strip. That single piece of advice prevents most of the “it’s broken” calls we get.

Support and learning

What’s the warranty and after-sales support?

Two years on the machine, parts and electrical. Consumables (lamp, lenses, filters) and glass parts (screen, microscope) aren’t covered — we send the exclusion list with your quote so nobody’s surprised later. The part buyers value most: you don’t ship anything back. Send a video and the serial number; we diagnose within 24 hours, ship the part and a swap video within 72, freight on us, and it’s on your bench within a week. Written service terms: 6-hour response, 24-hour diagnosis, 72-hour dispatch, one direct contact.

Do I need an experienced welder to operate it?

If your staff can hold a steady hand, they can learn it — most new operators are producing clean welds the same afternoon. Every machine ships with a setup video and a card of starting settings for six metals, and we do a remote session where you fire your first weld while we watch. You can save your own settings in the machine memory, so you’re not writing numbers on a sticky note. One honest note: complex jobs — fine chains, thin walls — still need practice, and if you’ve never done torch work we’ll add a remote session to get you started properly.

Go deeper

• Xenon lamp life: when to replace it
• Laser welder keeps tripping the breaker? Read this first
• Condensation on the laser lens is not a fault
• Joules vs watts: which number actually sizes the machine
• Welding 21K and 22K gold without losing colour
• Why titanium turns blue when you weld it
• Welding near gemstones: what stays safe
• What a 2-year warranty actually covers