We present a I-D heat transfer, melting, vaporization and resolidification model describing the interaction of a scanning continuous-wave laser with a metal surface wherein the beam power is constant. A physical model based on the Stefan problem is developed with appropriate boundary conditions. The effects of processing parameters on process variables are investigated numerically by varying beam diameters, scan speeds and substrate temperatures for Nickel. Relations are derived for the times to initiate melting, to initiate vaporization, to reach maximum melting depth, for melting-resolidification, and for maximum melting and vaporization depths. Surface temperatures are compared with approximate closed form solutions. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.