Lassen Methods for Plaatwerk: TIG, MIG & Spot Lassen Guide

Kernpunten

• TIG lassen produces the cleanest, strongest welds on thin Plaatwerk — the go-to choice for Roestvrij Staal, aluminum, and cosmetic welds where appearance matters. Langzamer than MIG but far more precise.
• MIG-lassen is the fastest for steel and Productie volumes — continuous wire feed means no stopping to change electrodes. Best voor mild steel above 1.0 mm thickness in Productie environments.
• Puntlassen is the cheapest per-joint for overlapping Plaatwerk Assemblages — no filler material, sub-second cycle times, ideal for enclosures, cabinets, and brackets where continuous seams are not required.
• Distortion is the #1 Lassen problem in Plaatwerk — heat input causes the metal to expand and contract unevenly. Stitch Lassen, back-stepping, and proper fixturing control it.
• Laser Lassen offers the highest speed for thin Plaatwerk in Productie — 2–5× faster than TIG with a narrow heat-affected zone and minimal distortion. Ideal for enclosures and battery trays at volumes above 2,000 units.
• Materiaal thickness below 0.8 mm is Uitdagend for fusion Lassen — burn-through risk is high. Consider spot Lassen, Klinken, or adhesive bonding for very thin gauges.

Waarom lassen belangrijk is bij plaatwerk fabricage

Lassen is how individual Plaatwerk parts become a single assembly. A metal enclosure, a machine frame, a bracket assembly — they all depend on welded joints for structural integrity. Unlike mechanical fasteners which add parts and assembly steps, a weld fuses the base metals into one continuous piece, creating a joint that can be as strong as the base material itself.

But Lassen Plaatwerk is fundamentally different from Lassen thick plate or structural steel. Thin materials (0.8–3.0 mm) have low thermal mass — they heat up fast and cool down fast. This makes them prone to burn-through (too much heat), lack of fusion (not enough heat), and distortion (uneven heating and cooling). Choosing the right Lassen process for your material and thickness is the single most important decision in any Plaatwerk Lassen project.

TIG-lassen (GTAW): precisie voor dunne en cosmetische lassen

Tungsten Inert Gas Lassen uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode and a separate hand-fed filler rod. The arc is shielded by argon gas, producing a clean, oxide-free weld pool. Because the heat input is controlled independently of filler addition, TIG gives the welder precise control over penetration — essential for thin Plaatwerk where a fraction of a second too much heat means a hole.

TIG is the preferred process for Roestvrij Staal food-grade equipment, Aluminium behuizingen where weld appearance matters, and any joint that will be visible in the final product. The welds are smooth, uniform, and typically require little to no post-weld Slijpen. The trade-off is speed: a skilled TIG welder can deposit about 0.5–1.5 kg of filler per hour, compared to 2–4 kg/h for MIG.

Best voor: Roestvrij Staal (304/316), aluminum (5052/6061), Materiaaldikte 0.8–3.0 mm, cosmetic welds, food/medical equipment.
Avoid when: Productie volumes above 500 units where MIG’s higher deposition rate cuts Lassen time by 60%+.

MIG-lassen (GMAW): snelheid voor productielassen van staal

Metal Inert Gas Lassen uses a continuously fed wire electrode that serves as both the arc source and the filler material. The wire feeds through the Lassen gun automatically — the welder just pulls the trigger and moves along the joint. This makes MIG significantly faster than TIG for long continuous welds and Productie environments.

MIG is the workhorse of plaatmetaalbewerking shops for mild steel Assemblages: machine frames, large enclosures, structuraL-beugels, and any part where Lassen speed matters more than cosmetic finish. With short-circuit transfer mode (low voltage, thin wire), MIG can weld steel as thin as 0.8 mm. For Roestvrij Staal, MIG works but produces a rougher weld appearance than TIG and requires more post-weld cleanup.

Best voor: Mild steel (SPCC, Q235), thickness 1.0–3.0 mm, Productie volumes, long seams, structural joints.
Avoid when: Aluminium thinner than 2.0 mm — MIG aluminum needs higher heat input which risks burn-through on thin gauge. Use TIG instead.

Puntlassen (RSW): goedkope verbinding voor overlappend plaatwerk

Resistance spot Lassen passes a high current through two copper electrodes that clamp overlapping sheets together. The resistance at the sheet-to-sheet interface generates enough heat to melt a small nugget of metal, fusing the two sheets at that point — all in a fraction of a second, with no filler material and no shielding gas. It is the fastest and cheapest per-joint Lassen method for Plaatwerk.

Puntlassen is ubiquitous in enclosure manufacturing (tacking corners and mounting brackets), automotive body assembly, and appliance housings. The limitation is joint geometry: the electrodes must access both sides of the workpiece, which restricts spot Lassen to lap joints in open areas.

Best voor: Staal enclosures, overlapping sheet joints, mass Productie (automotive, appliance), thickness 0.5–3.0 mm per sheet.
Avoid when: Water-tight or gas-tight seals — spot welds are not continuous. Use TIG seam Lassen or continuous MIG for sealed joints.

Laserlassen: hogesnelheidsprecie voor dunne materialen

Laser Lassen uses a focused high-power laser beam to melt and fuse metal along a joint. The laser energy is delivered through a fiber optic cable to a Lassen head, which can be mounted on a robotic arm or CNC gantry for automated, programmable weld paths. Because the heat-affected zone is extremely narrow — typically 0.5–2.0 mm wide — laserlassen produces minimal distortion and a clean, aesthetic weld bead with almost no spatter.

Laser Lassen excels on thin Plaatwerk (0.5–2.0 mm) where traditional arc Lassen would cause burn-through or heavy distortion. The process is 2–5× faster than TIG for long straight seams and can weld dissimilar thicknesses — for example, joining a 0.8 mm cover panel to a 2.0 mm structural frame. It is increasingly replacing TIG in enclosure manufacturing, battery tray Lassen, and kitchen equipment where cosmetic appearance and speed both matter.

The main limitation of laserlassen is joint fit-up: the laser spot is typically 0.2–0.6 mm in diameter, so gaps between the parts must be less than 0.1–0.15 mm — about 10% of Materiaaldikte. Parts that fit together loosely need TIG or MIG, which can bridge gaps with filler material. Laser Lassen also has a higher equipment cost, making it economical primarily at Productie volumes above 2,000–5,000 units where the speed advantage offsets the capital cost.

Best voor: Roestvrij Staal enclosures, thin aluminum (<1.5 mm), long straight seams, high-volume Productie, cosmetic welds where TIG is too slow.
Avoid when: Parts with loose fit-up (gaps >0.15 mm), thick materials (>3 mm without multi-pass), low-volume prototyping (TIG is more flexible and has zero tooling cost).

Selectiegids voor lasprocessen

Lasvervorming bij plaatwerk beheersen

Distortion — warping, buckling, or twisting after Lassen — is caused by localized heating and cooling. The heated area expands against the surrounding cold metal, gets compressed while hot and soft, then contracts as it cools, pulling the surrounding metal with it. In Plaatwerk, where stiffness is low relative to plate or structural sections, distortion control is a major part of the welder’s skill set:

• Stitch Lassen (intermittent welds) — instead of one continuous seam, weld 25 mm, skip 50 mm, weld 25 mm. This reduces total heat input by 40–60% and lets each segment cool before the next one starts.
• Back-step technique — weld each segment in the opposite direction of overall joint progression. The contraction of each segment counteracts the contraction of the previous one.
• Tack Lassen before full Lassen — place small tack welds every 50–75 mm along the joint to lock the parts in position. The tacks resist movement when the full weld is applied.
• Clamping and fixturing — rigid fixtures with copper or aluminum backing bars act as heat sinks, drawing heat away from the weld zone and restricting movement. Koper backing also prevents burn-through on thin materials by supporting the molten weld pool.

Lastoleranties en inspectie

Lassen adds variability to dimensions. After a part is welded, expect:

For critical welds, specify the Inspectie method on the drawing: Visuele inspectie (VT) is standard for general fabrication; dye penetrant (PT) for surface crack detection on stainless and aluminum; pressure/leak testing for water-tight enclosures.

Conclusie

The right Lassen process depends on three factors: material, thickness, and what the joint needs to do. TIG for precision and appearance, MIG for speed and Productie, spot Lassen for lowest cost on overlapping sheet Assemblages. A full-service Plaatwerk fabricator with all three processes can recommend the best method for each joint in your assembly — often using different processes on different joints of the same part to optimize for both quality and cost.