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20 MoldMaking Technology May 2015 Case Study / Repair An Indispensable Welding Process By Matthew Danford "I realized that no matter how good I got with micro-TIG welding, it'd never be laser." That's how Pete Mourouzis, founder and presi- dent of Wicked Welding, describes the first time he ever saw a laser welder in action. Although it took a while for the company to purchase its first laser sys- tem, this technology is now nothing less than essen- tial to serving its mostly mold-industry customers, Mourouzis says. The shop's experience provides a window into not only why laser welding has become so important, but also the advantages of different equipment configurations and where the technol- ogy fits with other processes. Growth by Referral Occupying a 4,000-square-foot facility in Dayton, Ohio, Wicked Welding got its start in 2002 when Mourouzis, then a welder at a struggling mold shop, decided to strike out on his own. Since then, the business has grown to employ three other welders and a part-time secretary. The company has done very little to market itself over the years, Mourouzis says. Referrals have proven more than sufficient to attract enough work, about 70 percent of which hails from the mold industry in any given year. Although the company's reputation deserves much of the credit, this growth also evi- dences the importance of welding for any manufacturer or user of mold tooling. "I'm actually glad we couldn't afford a bigger system for our frst purchase, because we'd have really missed out on some important benefts of having this smaller model." Compared to motorized-table confgurations, LaserStar's 7700 Series Universal Jig is less limited by Z-axis height. The adjustable green worktable adds comfort and fexibility by enabling operators like shop manager Nick Garmin, shown here, to move the table rather than the laser head. Also notable is the rotary fxture, which eases operation for cylindrical parts like the one shown here, and the purple camera visible above the microscope. Projecting a 2D image of the weld area to a monitor on the wall is useful for both training purposes and explaining work to customers. Laser equipment is nothing less than essential to performing repairs and engineering changes for this company's mold-industry customers. Wicked Welding often uses the precision of laser to fll in engravings without marring features like the hole in the part shown here. Images courtesy of Aliwholihan Photography.