The advances in beam quality are especially significant for joining applications related to electrical conductor technology
Editor's picks
Blue diode lasers can be used to weld copper hair pins in e-mobility production. (Image: Laserline)
Lightweight materials and parts for hybrid and electric planes will be developed within the five projects. (Image: Rolls Royce)
Five projects will develop technology to make production lines quicker, more efficient, and more cost-effective
Ultra-thin glass is now being used in the flexible displays of foldable smartphones.
Ultra-thin glass offers exciting opportunities but poses exceptional manufacturing challenges, Matthew Dale finds
News
Carbon Robotics' autonomous weed elimination robot combines AI and laser technology to identify, target and eliminate weeds. (Image: Carbon Robotics)
25 April 2021
The technology will reduce the need for harmful herbicides and mechanical weed removal
The magnets are being developed using a one-of-a-kind 3D printer, according to the researchers. (Image: UrFU / Oksana Meleschuk)
23 April 2021
The magnets will be useful in almost any field from medicine to space
(Lower left) A laser makes a hole in a material. (Upper left) The fluence of the laser is measured. (Lower right) Measurements of the fluence and the hole depth are superimposed. (Upper right) The relationship between these measurements is then determined so that hole depth can be calculated based solely on the fluence. (Image: Sakurai et al.)
19 April 2021
The method was developed using a laser microscope and a Raspberry Pi Camera
15 April 2021
The acquisition will enable the two firms to combine their expertise in order to deliver ‘next-generation AM solutions’
The size of the AM-optimised part is 455 x 295 x 805mm. (Image: SLM Solutions)
09 April 2021
The part was redesigned for metal AM, enabling a weight reduction of 15 per cent
II-VI and Coherent already collaborate in the development of turnkey automotive welding solutions. (Image: II-VI)
25 March 2021
Coherent has accepted II-VI's $7.01bn acquisition offer and will now be required to pay a $217.6 million termination fee to Lumentum
23 March 2021
Coherent is currently evaluating Lumentum's latest bid
Analysis & opinion
24 February 2021
Tim Lantzsch and his colleagues investigate the feasibility of diode lasers for the laser powder bed fusion of stainless steel
24 February 2021
Manyalibo Matthews shares how a deeper understanding of laser powder bed fusion will lead to material innovations and new applications in additive manufacturing
25 January 2021
Frederik Maiwald and Stefan Hierl determine the optimal parameters for welding transparent polymers used in optical and medical devices
11 December 2020
Chao Wei and Lin Li discuss how different material properties could be integrated into single parts using additive manufacturing
11 December 2020
Nicholas Goffin investigates where energy savings can be made in laser processing
Figure 1: Complex two-phase copper vapour chambers, for high-power space applications, built using laser-powder bed fusion.
11 December 2020
Brett Diehl, of the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, puts neural networks to work in identifying voids in additive manufacturing
25 November 2020
Dr Stefan Janssen discusses the scanner-based laser processing technique developed within the Carbolase project
Features
Ultra-thin glass is now being used in the flexible displays of foldable smartphones.
02 March 2021
Ultra-thin glass offers exciting opportunities but poses exceptional manufacturing challenges, Matthew Dale finds
23 February 2021
Greg Blackman asks experts how fibre lasers developed between 2010 to 2020, as well as what advancements the future may hold for the technology
Amada Weld Tech uses fibre lasers and femtosecond lasers in the manufacture of stents. (Image: Amada Weld Tech)
22 February 2021
Keely Portway explores the use of lasers in medical device manufacturing, including how they have played their part since the start of the pandemic
Lasers can be used to cut vehicle doorings, ABC pillars and any other structural part in a car body made out of press-hardened steel.
11 December 2020
LSE speaks with Martin Kuhnhen, head of Jenoptik’s Light & Production division, about the usage of laser technology on automotive production lines
A laser enclosure containing a robot designed to build propellers.
11 December 2020
Lasermet’s David Lawton opens Matthew Dale’s eyes on the latest issues faced in ensuring laser safety for materials processing
Application focus
Experimenting with circular, square and triangular oscillation patterns for laser surface treatment.
Handika Sandra Dewi explores the effects of circular, square and triangular oscillation strategies when treating microalloyed steel
Figure 5: successful validation of the process and the developed optics at a 4m depth under water
Jan Leschke and his colleagues have developed a new process for the safe dismantlement of nuclear equipment
Figure 1: Common views of the ROV. (1) Vertical thrusters, (2) buoyancy, (3) laser cleaning module, (4) horizontal thrusters, (5) wheels with built-in magnets, (6) rear video camera, (7) LED lamp, (8) front video camera, (9) thruster control units, (10) main control unit, (11) nozzle of the laser cleaning module.
Researchers are developing laser systems capable of cleaning ship hulls underwater
Ben Fielding, of Weldwide, explores the benefits of laser welding and how the technology compares to other well-established joining methods
Florent Husson, of Alphanov, describes how large parts can be polished using robotics and high-power lasers
Press Releases
DOMO Chemicals has developed a new product family PA66 based black plastics suitable for laser welding
Solukon has fine-tuned a sensor concept and launched an interface management concept in order to fit its depowdering systems into a holistic AM process chain
Offering among the highest output power (15W to 50W), this laser has a wide repetition rate for <20kHz to >500kHz and better beam pointing stability at <25μrad
Thorlabs has announced the release of a new passively Q-switched laser producing 500ps pulses centered at 1,030nm
The Dart 8 picosecond laser is configured for OEMs in the micromachining field
Bystronic is committed to increasing its focus on the growing demand for automation and digital processes in the sheet metal processing sector
Intuitive AI technology makes the GX-F ADVANCED Series easy to use for operators of all skill levels – especially valuable because of the ongoing shortage of skilled manufacturing workers
White papers
24 March 2021
Semiconductors need to be inspected during every part of the manufacturing process for defects. Accurate and precise results are critical to prevent unnecessary product wastage and cost. Within industrial, in-line applications, there are numerous challenges faced by customers and this paper looks at solutions to these challenges.
02 March 2021
This article describes the possibilities of laser technology based on applications for OLED-based lighting and glass components in the display area
08 September 2020
This article details why a laser’s performance is important for industrial laser materials processing, and will serve as a guide for the right and wrong ways to apply, ascertain, evaluate, and take action on the laser performance data gathered.
