Innovative Platform / Laser Welding for H-Beams Marks New Milestone in Steel Structure Technology

H-beams, which account for 40% to 50% of the structural steel market, have long relied on traditional submerged arc welding—a process that is labor-intensive, energy-consuming, and limited in capacity. This outdated method can no longer meet the modern demands of high efficiency, scalability, and low carbon emissions in construction.

To break through these technical and market constraints, Taiwan Mask Corporation (TMC) partnered with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a leader in laser technology. Together, they launched a groundbreaking initiative to revolutionize welding methods that have remained unchanged for 50 years. The result is the world’s first laser welding technology for H-beams—a process that dramatically increases production speed, reduces energy consumption, and cuts carbon emissions. This achievement also earned them the prestigious Silver Edison Award, writing a new chapter in Taiwan’s steel structure manufacturing.

According to Dr. Tsao Fang-Hai, Executive Director of ITRI’s Southern Region Campus, the fully automated laser welding system boosts production efficiency by five times and reduces manufacturing costs by at least one-third. Most notably, it cuts carbon emissions by 80% per ton of steel structure produced.

Behind this breakthrough lies years of cross-disciplinary and cross-industry collaboration. The initiative was sparked by a vision from former TMC CEO Wu Kuo-Ching. TMC, originally a manufacturer of semiconductor photomasks, encountered bottlenecks in steel supply during its own factory expansion. Facing extended construction timelines and rising costs, the company approached ITRI for a novel solution.

This posed a significant challenge for ITRI. While its prior laser welding expertise focused on thin battery modules with electrode thicknesses of 1.5 to 2 mm, H-beam steel plates range from 20 to 50 mm in thickness and can weigh over a ton—requiring a vastly different level of laser energy and processing complexity.

Dr. Tsao noted that the steel structure industry suffers from three long-standing issues: dependence on manual labor, high energy consumption, and significant post-processing costs. ITRI tackled these head-on by rethinking the process from the ground up.

First, to overcome regulatory requirements that mandate manual welding, ITRI and TMC jointly developed a fully automated laser welding workflow. From material feeding, welding, and unloading to transport, the entire process is automated. Laser welding allows for joining plates up to 30 mm thick without filler material, and its concentrated heat input minimizes deformation—reducing the use of consumables, slag, and waste.

In parallel, TMC and ITRI proactively assembled experts from government, industry, academia, and the Taiwan Welding Society to draft a new welding standard tailored to automation. This standard will be formally issued by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology, and Inspection (BSMI) in October 2024, making Taiwan the first country with a national standard for laser welding of steel structures.

Beyond hardware, software integration plays a crucial role. Traditional welding relies heavily on the intuition of experienced technicians, with parameter tuning taking weeks. ITRI introduced a digital twin model that rapidly simulates and generates optimal parameters. Combined with a real-time monitoring system, the model enables optimization of different product specifications within three days and achieves over 70% simulation accuracy, greatly shortening production setup and changeover times.

After four years of development, TMC has successfully mass-produced over 2,000 metric tons of H-beams using the new method. The products have been certified by SGS and Taiwan’s National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering. Through technological innovation, industrial integration, and the establishment of new standards, ITRI and its partners are accelerating the digital and low-carbon transformation of Taiwan’s steel structure industry.