Shorter Wavelengths, Pulses Power Laser Manufacturing

BY HANK HOGAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Recent laser advances are bringing benefits to manu- facturing applications involving drilling, cutting and welding. More powerful diode lasers could, in the future, do more of these jobs directly, instead of being used to pump another material. The use of steering mirrors promises to speed up welding and other applications. Such innovations look to enable systems to become more powerful, simpler, more robust and less costly.

Products from Trumpf are involved in drilling, cutting, welding and other manufacturing applications, said Tracey Ryba, product manager for OEM lasers at the company’s operations in Plymouth, Mich. Trumpf makes laser systems based on different technologies, ranging from 16-k W continuous-wave to 10-W pulsed lasers.

Years ago, metals processing would have been done using a 10-µm-wavelength CO2 laser. The advent of robust, high-power and low-operating-cost diode-pumped solid-state disk and fiber lasers shifted manufacturing to a micron wavelength, which such lasers could easily produce. The shorter wavelength does lead to more welding splatter, but that is fixed through processing and fixturing, according to Ryba.

Wavelengths are now being pushed a bit lower, down to the mid-900-nm range, he said. “These wavelengths react a little bit better with aluminum, copper and brass.” The ability to work with aluminum is particularly important in automobile manufacturing, where the material is being used more frequently to help automakers

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Choosing the Right Class
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