Laser welding definitions

Spot welding: In spot welding a single pulse or a short series of pulses is used to generate a single spot where two materials are joined together. This technique is generally used for tack welding which generally precedes seam welding.

Seam welding: Seam welding is primarily used for the sealing of housings and components, though it is also applied where spot welding will not provide enough mechanical strength. It is done using a combination of pulse frequency and traverse speed to allow for an overlapping of single spots to provide a continuous weld joint. The penetration and other mechanical properties of the weld are a product of pulse width, pulse frequency, pulse energy and traverse speed. Any one of these factors can influence the final weld characteristics.