Abstract
This study established data demonstrating the possible laser‐welded strengths of cast Ti and Ti‐6Al‐7Nb and compared them to those of two dental‐casting alloys. Cast plates of Ti, Ti‐6Al‐7Nb, gold, and Co–Cr alloy were prepared. After polishing the surfaces to be welded, two plates were abutted and welded using an Nd:YAG laser at a pulse duration of 10 ms, spot diameter of 1 mm, and voltage of 200 V. Five specimens were prepared for each metal by welding either three or five spots unilaterally or bilaterally. The fracture load and percent elongation were measured at a crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/min. The bilaterally welded specimens performed significantly greater than unilaterally welded specimens in both fracture load and elongation whether they were welded with three or five spots per side. The bilaterally welded Ti and Ti‐6Al‐7Nb specimens were nearly as strong as their corresponding control specimens, whereas the gold and Co–Cr specimens were approximately half as strong. When a large proportion of the cross‐sectional area of the joint is laser welded, the strength of the laser‐welded portion of the cast Ti and Ti‐6Al‐7Nb may approach or equal that of the nonwelded metal frameworks. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 71B: 46–51, 2004