Nuburu has introduced a new laser, the BL-1000-F, which it claims is the first 1kW blue laser with high enough brightness to work effectively with high-speed 2D galvo scanning heads.
This makes it ideally suited for applications in the mass production of batteries, smartphones and other consumer electronics, which involve joining thin (<1mm) metals including copper, aluminium, and even dissimilar metal combinations.
The new laser can achieve high-speed, micron-scale conduction welding with the precision, quality and process stability required for mass production. For example, it can weld two 100µm-thick copper foils at speeds >350mm/s (21m/min) spatter-free and with little to no defects.
Having the beam delivered to the workpiece using a high-speed scanning system enables the rapid redirection of the laser beam as well as weld speeds not obtainable using gantry style systems. The flexibility of a scanner enables wobbling the blue laser beam to improve the weld quality when welding crack-susceptible materials, such the aluminium used in battery production.
Due to its all-semiconductor laser construction, the BL-1000 offers excellent reliability, which according to Nuburu eliminates the limited lifetime and stability issues of lasers that rely on non-linear processes for frequency conversion, for example to generate green output.
Compared to infrared lasers, Nuburu claims its new 1kW laser to offer copper weld efficiency gains of 8X when equipped with a scanner, due to the absorption advantages of blue compared to the near-infrared wavelength. By reducing the excess heat input by approximately 10x, the BL-1000 can eliminate typical production challenges of metal distortion, molten spatter, and weld gaps, increasing the yields in mass production and enabling exceptional mechanical and electrical performance.
Nuburu will be introducing the BL-1000-F, as well as a 500W version, the BL-500-F, at the Laser World of Photonics in Munich next week at booth A2 103 (Laser 2000).