Photonics & AILU
Design for Laser Manufacture - Inspiring designers to 'think laser'

The Laser Advantage

This section lists a wide range of articles (including pictures with text) that illustrate the advantage of manufacturing using lasers over other processes; including economic advantages, the ability to process materials in a way not otherwise available, or where laser use offers advantages of speed, quality, flexibility, etc.

 

Review the displayed resources, check those that are of interest and then click "View Selected Resources".  Each individual resource item will be displayed in greater detail and allow you to scroll through those selected.


Resources

Video showing keyboard marking by a laser
This movie shows keyboard marking with a laser more...
Thick section ?keyhole? welds
The photograph shows the typical cross section of a laser keyhole weld produced in thick section CMn steel. At the top the weld has been made in a simple pass from one side of the material and in the lower photograph a two pass weld... more...
Laser welding with wire feed
CO2 laser welding in mild steel. The filler wire helps bridge gaps thereby reducing fit-up requirements which can be quite stringent for autogenous laser welding. more...
Cut/seal joint 0.1 mm thick in plastic
This cross section of a cut/seal joint in 0.1mm thick polypropylene was made at a speed of about 100m/min when using a CO2 laser. The wavelength of light from this laser is readily absorbed by this material. A unique ?diffractive? optic ... more...
CO2 laser welding of Aluminium
?T? joint Aluminium keyhole weld The photograph shows a joint typical of those which might be found in a ?space frame? vehicle architecture sometimes used for production of car bodies from aluminium alloy. more...
Close up of laser weld after forming
Close up of the weld produced in Ref. ID 24 showing how the weld (made when the panel was flat) has maintained its integrity even after forming to the complex shape shown. See also ?Ref. ID 24? & ?Ref. ID 35?. more...
101231 It has to be LASER - CO2 lasers enable high speed package perforation
Perforation of food packaging is often required for ease of removal. In this particular application, filled ice cream cones were packaged in a material that is made of 70-80 micron thick paper, coated with an approximately 20 micon thick layer of aluminium; and to facilitate opening of the package, the cone manufacturer needed to perforate through the paper layer while leaving the aluminium layer totally untouched. more...
080116 Article about medical device manufacture using lasers
This article is from Trump?s Laser Community magazine. It describes the advantages that can be found using lasers in manufacturing areas. This article entitled ?Laser technology sets the pace? is focused on the uses in medical device manufacture. more...
070815 Rapid prototyping and tool repair through laser precision cladding
This document provides a review of the laser precision cladding capabilities of the Fraunhofer IWS and includes a good selection of photos of repaired and manufactured parts. ... more...
070815 Internal sculpturing of glass by subsurface laser engraving
The document describes this amazing technique of internal 2-D and 3-D sub-surface engraving of lead crystal. .. more...
070815 Induction assisted laser materials processing
This document expounds the benefits of using industrion heating where use of the laser alone is regarded as uneconomic or where the high temperature gradients produced by laser processing can give rise to cracking. The document includes a good selection of application photos. more...