Laser focussed on the future

14 January 2026

A leader in precision metal fabrication in New Zealand, Dixon Manufacturing enjoys a reputation for innovation – now the go ahead company has added a state-of-the-art laser welder to its already broad manufacturing skill set

In the beginning

Weld i. t. Ltd has supplied Dixon Manufacturing with welding plant for over 15 years. Their partnership, based on mutual trust and respect, has grown as each company has expanded in its own right.

So, with this in mind, it is no surprise that Dixon was open to Weld i. t.’s suggestion of adding a laser welding set-up to their manufacturing options – as the General Manager of Dixon Manufacturing, Vikas Markanda, explains:

“We use Weld i.t. for all our welding supplies, machine maintenance and consumables so when they invited us to a demonstration of a 2 Kw Laser Welder, we were very open to its possibilities and, long story short, went ahead with the purchase of the Lambda R2000 laser welder.”

In a nutshell

Laser welding works by using a focussed beam of light to rapidly melt and fuse two or more pieces of metal/alloy together. The intense, concentrated heat from the laser melts the material at the seam, which then mixes and fuses as it cools to form a strong metallurgical bond.

Importantly, this process can be done at high speeds with low heat input, resulting in precise, narrow welds with minimal thermal distortion.

A hand-held laser weld is also stronger than traditional weld forms due to the deep penetration that can be achieved while the appearance is perfect and uniform – equal to that of a fully automatic process.

Clean and quick

“The clear advantages to us were speed, and so volume,” says Vikas. “The laser welder, about the size of a shopping trolley, is able to output a large volume of a fairly simple task, cleanly and quickly.

“A significant part of this is that the clean laser weld results in little or no splatter and so avoids post-weld grinding or cleanup which can otherwise be a hugely time consuming aspects of a production run.”

Consistency – keeping things cool

On traditional weld production runs surrounding heat build up can also lead to inconsistency and so costly delays.

“However, by the nature of the hand-held laser welding process, the machine itself pushes you on,” says Vikas. “The operator directs the weld but the machine dictates the consistent pace.

“With other forms of welding, the amount of heat input can make the joined metal want to bend and move – whereas the consistently moving laser keeps the heat localised, preventing bending and moving.”

Due to its precision and focus, a laser welder can weld very thin sheet metal or extrusions which other welding techniques would struggle with – burning holes in the metal rather than fusing it together.

Material riches

Metals/alloys being welded by Dixon Manufacturing with the laser welder include carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, and titanium – well, that’s so far.

Safety first and last

Along with the specialist environment comes specialist kit for the operator – he or she wears full head-to-toe PPE, including a special laser glass and helmet.

A room of its own

There is something of a futuristic aspect to hand-held laser welding.

The intensity of the process requires the laser to have an enclosed room of its own, lined with a non-flammable surface – aluminium sheeting with a light diffusing surface in the case of Dixon’s set-up.

Only fully protected (PPE) personnel can be in the room and there is even a shut-off switch which kicks in if someone else opens the door accidentally.

However, a thick green laser-rated window does provide a view of the welding action and when the specialist plant room was first installed at Dixon’s there were many curious eyes peering in.

Comprehensive training / rapid skill uptake

To say training for a laser welder is comprehensive is something of an understatement.

For management, twenty hours of on-line training from a United States based laser training organisation and an online short course for each operator, complete with sign-off, is followed up by two days of local in person guidance and training from qualified Weld i.t. representatives.

However, while the intensity of the process requires in-depth training this is off-set by the quick uptake by the welder.

When signed off against the above training, the operator is ready to work – in other more traditional weld practices the training lead-in time can be up to a year.

In the long run – the big advantages for Dixon

Vikas outlines the immediate advantages of introducing the new plant.

“Part of it is being able to output a large volume (in the thousands) of a fairly simple task, cleanly and quickly, over and over – as soon the product’s off the welding table, we know it’s good to go out,” he says.

Essentially, Dixon Manufacturing doesn’t have to waste time and money on secondary surface de-splattering clean-up operations to achieve the pristine finished product its exacting standards require.

“It wouldn’t have been competitive if we were doing these runs, such as the Aluminium Cable Trays we are currently producing, in any other traditional form of welding,” says Vikas. “The laser welder has opened up quite a lot of jobs that we couldn’t have taken on otherwise.

“To be competitive in today’s economic environment where everything’s going up, it’s a big tool for us – broadening options and keeping costs under control.”

Common applications for the high-tech laser welder

The Lambda R2000 is widely used in diverse industries for various joint configurations, including:

• Kitchen cabinets and stainless steel benches
• Staircase elevators and guardrails
• Automotive body repair and custom fabrications
• Pressure vessels, tanks, and pipes
• General fabrication of thin sheet metals (0.5mm to 6mm)

The broader picture for NZ

Director of Weld i.t. Jeff Meale outlines the Lambda R2000 laser welder’s advantages, from his perspective:

“Handheld laser welding offers many advantages for several industry sectors.

“Predominantly, it suits sheet metals and materials up to 10mm where small but strong welds are wanted – however, this can also apply to much thicker items in many situations.

“It is 3 to 10 times faster than traditional welding and there is virtually no post weld clean up or finishing work required in most situations.”

Weld i.t.’s delivery in the laser welder market is comprehensive.

“Our laser welder packages include a dual wire feeder, spare welding torch and all the drive rolls, conduits and nozzles for all common wire sizes for both single and dual wire welding,” says Jeff.

Plus, all the systems Weld i.t. has installed have resulted in clients conforming to NZ and other international safety and operating standards and achieving all the relevant qualifications required.

The company also supplies all the safety and equipment training by qualified and experienced laser welding operators.

Repeat orders – the most powerful accolade

“It is common to hear that a customer has doubled or even quadrupled their productivity with laser welding, when compared to their traditional processes,” Jeff says. “And many customers have gone on to purchase their second machine quite quickly after their first.”

It may come as no surprise, then, that Dixon Manufacturing is currently eyeing up its second Lambda R2000 laser welder from Weld i.t.