LIATODAY THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE LASER INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
Volume: 22 21 No: 21 MARCH/APRIL JAN/FEB 2013 2014
HIGH-EFFICIENCY LASER PROCESSING OF CFRP
LAM 2014 HIGHLIGHTS WEALTH OF SUCCESS ILSCA 2013: EXPERIENCE THE STORIES FROM AM WORLD’S LEADING LASER INDUSTRY EXPERTS SAFETY CONFERENCE
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PLASTICS ADDITIVES ALLOW INKLESS MARKING
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EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF MEDICAL LASER APPLICATIONS IN THE U.S. PG 8
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MEET THE NEW PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Plastics Medical Applications
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Photo Source: Solid Concepts Inc.
Laser Institute of America, America isthe the international society dedicated to fostering lasers, laser applications and laser safety worldwide.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
LIATODAY
FEATURES High-Efficiency Laser Processing of CFRP
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Plastics Additives Allow Inkless Marking
10
LAM 2014 Highlights a Wealth of Success Stories from AM Industry Experts
12
Corporate Member Profile: Ophir Photonics, LLC
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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE LASER INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
2014 LIA OFFICERS
DEPARTMENTS Calendar of Events
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Executive Director’s Message
5
President’s Message
5
Members in Motion
20
Member Innovations
20
New Corporate Members
20
ASC Z136 Update
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BLS Update
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Laser Insights
24
JLA Editor’s Pick
25
LIA Announces
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ADVERTISERS
Jun. 24-26, 2014
St. Louis, MO
President-Elect – Robert Thomas USAF Research Laboratory
Dec. 2-4, 2014
Orlando, FL
Past President – Klaus Löffler TRUMPF Laser & Systems GmbH
Laser Safety Officer with Hazard Analysis*
Secretary – Lin Li The University of Manchester
Jun. 2-6, 2014
Boston, MA
Sept. 8-12, 2014
Washington, DC
Oct. 20-24, 2014
San Diego, CA
Nov. 3-7, 2014
Dallas, TX
Treasurer – Stephen Capp Laserage Technology Corporation
EDITORIAL STAFF
Orlando, FL
Managing Editor – Michelle Williams
Aug. 12-14, 2014
Orlando, FL
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Contributing Editor – Geoff Giordano
ANSI Z136.2
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ANSI Z136.9
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ICALEO 2014
25
IPG Photonics Corporation
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Kentek Corporation
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Laservision USA
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LASYS
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LIA’s Medical Laser Safety Awareness Online Training
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LIA's Laser U
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LME 2014
17
PhotoMachining, Inc.
16
Photonics Media
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TRUMPF, Inc.
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FOCUS: PLASTICS
Medical Laser Safety Officer Training* Jun. 7-8, 2014
Boston, MA
Sept. 6-7, 2014
Washington, DC
Oct. 18-19, 2014
San Diego, CA
Publisher – Jim Naugle
Nov. 1-2, 2014
Dallas, TX
Advertising Sales – Andrew Morrison
*Certified Medical Laser Safety Officer exam offered after the course.
BUSINESS STAFF If you are interested in advertising space in this newsletter or a subscription, call +1.407.380.1553/1.800.34.LASER or email advertising@lia.org.
ABOUTLIA
Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety. Our mission is to foster lasers, laser applications and laser safety worldwide. We believe in the importance of sharing new ideas about lasers. In fact, laser pioneers such as Dr. Arthur Schawlow and Dr. Theodore H. Maiman were among LIA’s original founders who set the stage for our enduring mission to promote laser applications and their safe use through education, training and symposia. LIA was formed in 1968 by people who represented the heart of the profession – a group of academic scientists, developers and engineers who were truly passionate about taking an emerging new laser technology and turning it into a viable industry. Whether you are new to the world of lasers or an experienced laser professional, LIA is for you. We offer a wide array of products, services, education and events to enhance your laser knowledge and expertise. As an individual or corporate member, you will qualify for significant discounts on LIA materials, training courses and the industry’s most popular LIA conferences and workshops. We invite you to become part of the LIA experience – cultivating innovation, ingenuity and inspiration.
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Laser Safety Officer Training for R&D May 7-9, 2014
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*Certified Laser Safety Officer exam offered after the course.
Editor-in-Chief – Peter Baker Copy Editor – Barbara Sams
CMLSOs' Best Practices in Medical Laser Safety
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Laser Safety Officer Training
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The editors of LIA TODAY welcome input from readers. Please submit news-related releases, articles of general interest and letters to the editor. Mail us at LIA TODAY, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Suite 128, Orlando, FL 32826, fax +1.407.380.5588, or send material by email to lia@lia.org.
President – Yongfeng Lu University of Nebraska – Lincoln
ABB, Inc.
Board of Laser Safety
LIA TODAY is published bimonthly to educate and inform laser professionals in laser safety and new trends related to laser technology. LIA members receive a free subscription to LIA TODAY and the Journal of Laser Applications® in addition to discounts on all LIA products and services.
MARCH/APRIL 2014
Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) Sept. 23-24, 2014
Schaumburg, IL
International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) Oct. 19-23, 2014
San Diego, CA
International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®) Mar. 23-26, 2015
Albuquerque, NM
Visit www.lia.org for all course and event listings.
President’s Message
Dear LIA members and LIA TODAY readers, The famous words “…of the people, by the people, for the people…” by Abraham Lincoln have inspired generations to pursue a better form of government and society. LIA, as a society dedicated to serving our laser communities, has the same conviction and commitment to our members. In the first Executive Committee meeting held in San Francisco on Feb. 2, 2014, we discussed how to serve our members better, through conferences, exhibits, short courses and publications. The laser communities will likely feel the tailwind of continuous economic expansion but at different rates in different areas. LIA is committed to providing venues and platforms for our members to gain more information and knowledge about new laser technologies to address the dynamic needs of the market. LIA is blessed by the rich experience of our board members, strong leadership of our Executive Committee members, and committed LIA staff. At the same time, we are eager to hear more from our members about their needs and interests. In particular, we look forward to more leadership from our younger members. I am glad that we could focus this issue on plastics, an important category of materials which deserves more of our attention. Two featured articles, High-Efficiency Laser Processing of CFRP (Rudolf Weber) and Plastics Additives Allow Inkless Marking (Matthew Gailey), provide us with information on two of the leading applications in this area. This issue also provides a wrap-up of LAM® 2014, which is a workshop series dedicated to laser-based additive manufacturing. Seeing into the future is difficult. However, one thing I am sure of is that LIA will continue to be strong and viable with your support and the commitment of the LIA staff under the leadership of Peter Baker. LIA has been successful in organizing conferences and events in the USA, such as LAM, ILSC®, LME® and ICALEO®. Meanwhile, LIA is also making more contributions internationally, including LPC China (world-of-photonics.net/en/laser-china/start) and OPIC Japan (opicon.jp/index.html).
Executive Director’s Message
I am constantly impressed by the growing and positive impact of lasers in manufacturing. One area which has achieved widespread recognition (after only 30 years or so!) is Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) and 3D printing. The latest advances in this field are covered in the wrap up of our sixth LAM® Workshop held on Mar. 12-13 (see page 12). Each of the Manufacturing Institutes being announced by President Obama will depend on lasers to a greater or lesser extent. Obviously the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) is a prime example but the institute on composite materials will benefit from the use of lasers. The article on High Efficiency Laser Processing of CFRP (see page 6) illustrates some aspects of this. A less obvious application is in laser marking of plastics for traceability purposes. The article on Plastic Additives Allow Inkless Marking on page 10 illustrates a method for marking transparent plastics. These are just a few examples showing how vital lasers are in today’s manufacturing. We will bring you even more examples in our Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) issue later in the year.
Peter Baker, Executive Director Laser Institute of America
I hope that you had a good start to the new year and that your research and business is gaining momentum this spring. I always feel that our overcommitted colleagues and friends should have a few days off during the summer. See you soon at the conferences.
Yongfeng Lu, President Laser Institute of America
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FEATURED ARTICLE FEATURED ARTICLE
High-Efficiency
Laser Processing of CFRP
BY RUDOLF WEBER AND VOLKHER ONUSEIT
The benefit of CFRP for lightweight construction in automotive and airplane industries is widely accepted. Impressive pictures of high-performance cars and airplanes with numerous hightech looking carbon fiber parts are familiar to everybody. However, industrial large-volume application of CFRP requires efficient and high-quality processing. And of course, the laser is a very promising tool. Its advantages and disadvantages have been discussed in numerous papers in the last few years. There are two main issues which limit the use of lasers for cutting, drilling and surface structuring today: On the one hand carbon has no fluid phase at ambient pressures below about 100 bars. Therefore, material can only be removed when it is evaporated. This means that the very large volume specific enthalpy of about 85 J/mm3 is necessary for laser processing of carbon. This value allows an easy calculation of the average laser power necessary to remove a certain volume in a given time (the time is usually given by the bookkeepers). As an example, cutting of 2 mm thick material with a kerf width of 0.2 mm with industry-typical 100 mm/sec requires several kilowatts of average power.
On the other hand, the high evaporation temperature of carbon of about 3600 K together with the low damage temperature of about 800 K of the matrix often results in a large thermal damage. During the laser interaction the heat flows along the fibers and destroys the surrounding matrix. Model calculations to determine the minimum possible thermal damage were done at the Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW) of the University of Stuttgart. The blue and red line in Figure 1 show the calculated minimum possible extent of the matrix damage and matrix evaporation, respectively, as a function of the intensity. The comparison with the experimental data points collected from various literature proves the validity of the model. It is also seen that it seems to be easy to create more damage than necessary. However, in addition, the calculations give an optimum intensity range for laser processing of CFRP, shown as green area. The lower boundary of this optimum range of about 108 W/cm2 implies using short-pulse lasers which are usually run at high repetition rates in order to achieve high average powers. Unfortunately, the repetitive pulsing can cause heat accumulation effects if the beam does not move fast enough over the workpiece. This will be even accentuated in the next few years when the average power of commercial short-pulse lasers will reach the required Kilowatt level at repetition rates of several Megahertz. At the IFSW an example of large volume application was drilling of several hundred of 1 mm diameter blind holes in 4 mm thick CFRP which were used for structure integrity diagnostic in stringers of airplanes. A small amount of damage of the surrounding material could be accepted in this case. The main issue was to reach the correct depth of slightly less than 4 mm (into the lowest fiber layer). And, of course, a drilling time of less than 10 s had to be achieved with a low-invest laser system. The IFSW approach was to use a 7 W, 515 nm wavelength marker system in combination with a new and highly efficient “enhanced helical drilling” method.
Figure 1. Thermal damage as a function of the intensity: IFSW model calculations (lines) and various experimental results collected from literature.
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The Trumpf TruMark 3000 laser marker system that was used is shown in Figure 2. For processing of CFRP it is highly recommended to modify commercial systems. An adapted exhaust system (seen on the top, sealed with the yellow sticky tape) prevents carbon dust to enter into the laser case.
Furthermore the marker system was mounted in a small closedhousing processing station with an efficient exhaust system with an activated coal filter: The health hazard risk of the pollution from the laser process is not yet clarified.
walls are almost parallel. However, increased quality – and shorter drilling times – are expected when further optimizing the process as will be discussed in the end of this article.
Figure 2. Modified TruMark system used for efficient drilling of blind holes.
Figure 4. Drilling progress using the enhanced helical drilling technique with the number of passes and the respective hole depth (left). Sketch of the focus position adaptation (right).
The “enhanced helical drilling” method takes benefit of the thermal damage, and of the fact that the volume specific enthalpy for evaporating the matrix material, is about a factor of forty lower than that of the carbon fibers. The principle is shown in Figure 3. First, an outer circle groove with a diameter of 1 mm is created in one single turn in order to thermally detach the surrounding from the material which has to be removed. Subsequently the inner circle groove with a diameter of 0.6 mm is created. The strong heat accumulation in the area inside the inner circle causes evaporation of the matrix material. The evaporation pressure removes the remaining fiber fragments. Finally, the material between the outer and the inner groove is removed in a helical beam path (solid line with arrow) with a beam displacement of 10 µm between the turns. One such compete ablation procedure is referred to as “1 pass.” Figure 3 shows the drilling progress for an increasing number of passes. The focus position was adapted for each pass as sketched in Figure 4. The required 3.9 mm of drilling depth was reached after 11.5 s. This is already very close to the requirement. Up to a factor of seven, higher efficiency was measured in the beginning of the process when compared to pure evaporation drilling. The quality of the surrounding of the holes and the hole walls was within the required tolerance. The cross-sections show that the quality of the walls of the holes is independent of the hole depth. The
Apart from the significantly increased efficiency the use of heat conduction for processing has another advantage: The poor conductivity perpendicular to the fibers yields very good quality of the bottom of the hole and with it, a very good control of the hole depth. This was important for the current task as the drilling should reach the lowest fiber layer without creating through holes. In conclusion, the method “enhanced helical drilling” used at the IFSW allows increasing the productivity, up to a factor of seven, together with reasonable hole quality. The next step is further optimization of the process. Focus will be on adapting the local feed rate, i.e., increasing it for the outer circle to reduce thermal damage in the surrounding material and decreasing it for both the inner circle and helical beam path, in order to enhance the heat accumulation effect in the material which has to be removed. This might also allow to completely omit the inner circle which would further reduce the drilling time. In addition, it is planned to transfer the enhanced helical drilling process to a multi-10 W ps-laser system and a kW-ps system which was recently demonstrated at the IFSW. Furthermore, this processing scheme will be applied to other processes such as surface structuring and cutting. Dr. Rudolf Weber is head of the materials processing department of the IFSW of the University of Stuttgart and Dipl.-Ing. Volkher Onuseit is head of the precision manufacturing group in the material processing department of the IFSW of the University of Stuttgart.
Figure 3. Sketch of the “enhanced helical drilling” strategy (left) and view onto the CFRP surface after the process steps outer circle, inner circle and helical path.
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NEW!
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PROTECT YOUR GROWTH AND PROFITS!
The NEW standard for manufacturing can help ensure that your customers and employees stay safe.
The Z136.9 Safe Use of Lasers in Manufacturing Environments standard is the latest in the line of laser safety guidelines stemming from the parent Z136.1 standard. This standard provides reasonable and adequate guidance for the safe use of lasers and laser systems that operate at wavelengths between 180 nm and 1 mm. Intended to protect individuals with the potential for laser exposure when lasers are used in manufacturing environments, this standard includes policies and procedures to ensure laser safety where lasers are used in manufacturing, both public and private industries, as well as product development along with testing settings. The new standard comes at a critical time, as lasers continue to populate more processing lines in the aerospace, automotive, energy, defense and health care industries. Pre-order your copy today and receive FREE ground shipping to anywhere in the continental US!
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FEATURED ARTICLE FEATURED ARTICLE
Plastics Additives Allow Inkless Marking
BY MATTHEW GAILEY
Thanks to lasers, manufacturers can write characters and images on any plastic parts you can think of, no matter what shape or surface structure they have. Expiration dates on bottle closures, serial numbers on technical parts, or marking items with an ID number or even indestructible barcodes – it’s all possible with materials advances and lasers. The NIR laser is gaining importance and preference when it comes to the marking and coding of plastics. Eco-friendliness, durability, indelibility and flexibility are just a few aspects that give priority to laser marking and coding over other marking techniques. In fact, laser marking is generally accepted to be the best way to permanently mark thermoplastics in some industries such as animal identification (cattle tags) and security straps. However, most plastics cannot be marked economically and with adequate results without the use of laser-sensitive additives. By using the correct additive package, a wide variety of polymers in almost any color can be made laser markable, and the expectations of high-quality, high-performance polymer will be fulfilled. Various laser types are available with different active media, setups and optics. All of this will influence the quality of the laser beam and hence the variation in the possible settings. Many commercially available types of solid-state lasers (SSLs) are employed in laser marking, each with their own specific characteristics (lamp- vs. diode-pumped, side- vs. end-pumped, etc.). It is not possible to classify a certain laser as “the best.” You should select the type of laser by taking into account the laser mark requirements of your specific application such as contrast, speed and definition. Finding the right additive for your application means that you have to be clear about your requirements. What preconditions do you have? What do you want to achieve? The polymer has an influence on the color of the mark, while a laser additive enhances the marking result. The laser additive can be seen as a catalyst for marking, so there is a minimum threshold concentration for starting a mark, going up to an optimum concentration. An amount over the optimum does not help to enhance the marking.
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The most suitable laser additive and its concentration must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the additive used and polymer formulation, loadings for these additives can be as low as 0.1 percent by weight in the final part, while more standard loadings, in most cases, is 0.3-0.5 percent. The presence of other additives in the formulation – colorants, antioxidants, stabilizers, flame retardants or fillers – can adversely affect the marking results, although the plastics remain markable in most cases. As much as the polymer and the laser marking additive may have an influence, the laser and its optimized settings also determine a good marking result. In a single NIR-laser-marked line we can find a combination of unchanged polymer, carbonized particles and gas bubbles. The composition of the final material is vitally important in order to attain optimum results. Additives for NIR lasers transform the energy of laser light and thus attain a visible color change. We will discuss the two most commonly used types of NIR additive types here: traditional wavelength absorbers and matrixindependent carbonization.
Figure 1. A typical traditional wavelength absorbing additive consists of a platelet-shaped mica substrate with a conductive metal oxide covering.
Traditional wavelength absorbers are additives incorporated into the plastic matrix during processing that absorb that particular laser wavelength and transform laser light into heat. This heat induces a color-change reaction in the polymer itself, and these pigments are very effective in particular polymers. The advantages of these additives are their high temperature stability and transparency. This type of additive is most commonly found as a powder. Depending on the type of polymer and laser settings, the mark will appear either light or dark.
Figure 2. Traditional wavelength absorbing additives transform laser light into heat, which then induces a color change reaction in the polymer. Depending on the type of polymer, the mark will appear either light or dark.
These additives are easy to incorporate into existing formulations; they give well-defined and high-contrast markings even with low laser intensities. It is essential that the additives are processed into a master batch or compound prior to being added to the final production step to ensure optimal mixing. They demonstrate versatility by being neutral in color or even transparent, and are cost effective due to their low addition rate. Matrix-independent carbonization is a granular additive that consists of micron-sized particles, each of which contains both a laser absorber and a color former. These particles are incorporated into a “universal” resin carrier, usually polyethylene (PE), and sold as non-dusting plastic concentrate. With this combination, the particles turn dark when exposed to a laser beam. As such, the laser marking performance no longer relies on the color-forming ability of the base polymer in the customer’s formulation. A high-quality, consistent mark is achieved regardless of the polymer base. The advantages of these granules are their versatility and suitability for a wide variety of polymers.
Figure 4. Granules consist of a laser absorber and a color former, the two most important components for laser marking. All active ingredients are encapsulated in the polymer matrix at just the right amount for an optimum laser marking performance. The encapsulation also minimizes the exposure of the ingredients to operators in production and makes it convenient to handle.
As mentioned, these granules consist of a laser absorber and a color former, the two most important components for laser marking. All active ingredients are encapsulated in the polymer matrix at just the right amount for an optimum laser marking performance. The encapsulation also minimizes the exposure of the ingredients to operators in production and makes it convenient to handle. These granules are suitable for a wide range of applications, including animal identification systems such as ear tags, in which the markings must meet the strict animal husbandry requirements. Cables and wires can be a challenge to mark; it has been found that these granules achieve a high print consistency with virtually no rejects. Caps and closures are widely used as information carriers, but call for robust and fine line/high-resolution markings; these additives fill that need. Seals and straps offer improved security and ease of tracking for applications, but require UV stability, weather and solvent resistance; these granules meet these requirements too. The need for track and trace is unavoidable in today’s global market, and requirements for forgery-proof, durable marking are becoming increasingly demanding. These requirements include, for example, the level of information that must be transferred and the quality of the mark: Miniature codes must be precise and free from defects, and must remain readable under any circumstances.
Figure 3. In the case of difficult to mark plastics, the carbonization is limited to the nylon bead in the MICAB formulation, eliminating the influence of the surrounding plastic matrix on the quality of the laser mark.
The granules enhance the “dark on light” laser marking performance of most thermoplastics. These additives either can be incorporated into master batches together with other additives and colors, or they can be added during the final production step of the product. The second option offers flexibility, but the existing carrier system (the PE) must not interfere with the final application. If you require laser marking for many different polymers, this intrinsically marking material offers you the greatest flexibility in your production.
The advantages of laser marks can be exploited to their full extent only if the polymer, color and additive composition and laser settings are optimally coordinated. As such, although developments with laser manufacturers have made these lasers more readily available and cost effective for today’s production lines and additive suppliers have made it easier than ever to get contrasting permanent marks on plastics, the goal of a “customer acceptable mark” is still a cooperation between the laser manufacturer, the additive supplier and the final customer working hand in hand to achieve that goal. Matthew Gailey is with EMD CHEMICALS, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
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LAM 2014 Highlights a Wealth of Success
Stories from AM Industry Experts BY GEOFF GIORDANO
Record attendance and spirited discussion from beginning to end marked the most successful Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) Workshop to date. LIA’s sixth annual LAM spotlighted a multitude of promising developments in AM research, materials and processes, and previewed progress on the horizon. Organized into two educational tracks, showcasing powder-bed processes March 12 and powder-fed technology March 13, LAM 2014 brimmed with case studies and highlights from around the world. More than 200 attendees traveled to Houston from more than a dozen countries, drawn not only by a wide-ranging slate of presentations but also the opportunity to talk directly with suppliers of AM solutions. Attendees got a nuts-and-bolts look at all angles of additive manufacturing performed with machines by Concept Laser, EOS, Phenix, ReaLizer, Renishaw and SLM Solutions with materials like Inconel 625 and 718, titanium TiAl6V4, aluminum AlSi10Mg, stainless steel 316, maraging steel, cobalt chrome and more. A 90 minute panel discussion on powder-bed processes at the end of day one provided an opportunity to quiz 10 experts, who were then available to resume those discussions during the 90 minute exhibitor reception that followed. “It’s a broad industry, and you can see that everybody in the world is getting into it,” said first-time attendee Nick Vassiliou of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. “We’re going to start getting into it with our repair business. We’re exploring possibilities and trying to add our knowledge to the industry when we get up and running.” Among the recurring themes of LAM 2014 were that: Key players worldwide are not shy about investing significant time and money toward expanding AM capabilities in the automotive, aerospace, energy, medical and even consumer-goods sectors. A primary quest is for machines with larger build chambers to produce larger parts. There remains no “cookbook” for how to engage in additive manufacturing. But novel practices like crowdsourcing
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design ideas for AM parts, or “printing” parts from customers’ CAD data and shipping the results, demonstrate the evolving business practices AM is fostering. Process monitoring and control are vital to ensure that hours of production time aren’t for naught because an error early in the layer-by-layer manufacturing process went undetected. Data — either too much or too little — remains a core challenge. On the one hand, generating gigabytes of AM process data can impede the ability to zero in on vital manufacturing parameters. On the other hand, AM users struggle without relevant databases — for instance, those that define the properties of metal powders or ensure repeatable parts and products. Industry Highlights Chaired by Jim Sears of GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY, the program for LAM 2014 featured about two dozen speakers who offered a wealth of AM success stories and spurred intense Q&A sessions. International perspectives ranged from repair and manufacturing initiatives in the US and Europe to South America and Australia. Notable global developments included: Day one keynote speaker Todd Rockstroh noted 1,000 pound weight reductions in external engine components at GE Aviation, but cautioned that in some cases post-production inspection can account for 25 percent of AM costs. He also updated his audience on GE’s Leap engine fuel-nozzle project, which combines 20 parts into one additively manufactured component with five times the working life and 25 percent less weight. GE expects to produce more than 40,000 per year by 2018. Frederick Claus of California-based Solid Concepts showed how the company additively manufactured a 1911-model handgun in 36 hours, cutting hand-finishing time from 500 hours on the first attempt to 50 with subsequent efforts. Built out of stainless steel 17-4PH with CAD data obtained from the Internet, the weapon has since been used to fire more than 3,500 rounds. However, Claus noted the weapon costs $11,900: “We didn’t do this to make it lighter or cheaper or faster but to prove the technology.”
South Africa’s Aerosud, which makes parts for Boeing, Airbus and others, envisions that its Aeroswift project will grow titanium aerospace parts measuring 2 meters by .6 meters by .6 meters, about 6.5 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. Australia’s RMIT University opened a $25 million AM precinct in 2011, said the school’s Milan Brandt. The research and teaching facility is geared to supporting local companies transitioning to new manufacturing technologies. “For Australia, we have to look at niche markets; we can’t compete globally with the US or Europe,” Brandt said. Among RMIT’s projects are efforts to repair Australia’s aging US-made aircraft, as well as assessing the laser direct manufacture of small-scale, highvalue components for a joint-strike fighter plane. While working on aircraft parts like landing wheels, engine mounts and rudder anti-rotation brackets, RMIT has also partnered with an orthopedic surgeon who performs surgery on cancerous bones and provides just-in-time bone-specific implants. France’s IREPA LASER, a technical center for industrial laser applications, demonstrated how it spurred technology transfer to a spinoff business after building its CLAD five-axis AM machine with two clad heads (1 mm and 2.2 mm). The CLAD machine, which features Precitec process monitoring with four photodiodes, can achieve deposition rates up to five meters per minute and has been used for repairing knife edges on sealing rings for a Pratt & Whitney turbofan engine. After validating the two-hour-per part process with metallurgical examination and fluorescent penetration inspection, the technology was transferred to a company called BeAM, and more than 600 parts have repaired with the process. “The biggest challenge is getting our designers and engineers to think away from conventional, classical machining,” Rockstroh urged. Ingomar Kelbassa of RWTH Aachen University echoed the theme: “We need a new generation of engineers who can think additively.” Kelbassa and others also called attention to a pressing need for AM-specific powders tailored to the demands of contemporary 3D printing. When asked what the next big application might be besides aerospace, Rockstroh pointed to medicine: “I think they are
going to stay ahead as the FDA starts certifying use of those implants in the States. That’s the nice thing about cobalt chrome: it works in our fuel nozzle, and the medical industry keeps the (powder) price relatively low. I don’t see, at least on the metals side, anybody taking over the volume of the medical industry; that’s going to be the next mushroom.” Applications and Materials Examples of strides toward a new paradigm in manufacturing for the 21st century were exhibited by, among others, Germany’s Fruth Innovative Technology (FIT), Michigan’s Linear Mold and Engineering and the Quad City Manufacturing Laboratory on the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, IL. FIT, which is reducing data file sizes by focusing on 2.5D imaging vs. 3D, can deliver custom implants to patients in Europe in three days — for example, for a motorcyclist with a fractured jaw. Presenter David Schafer said targeted handling of production information has helped the company tailor data points to specific AM technologies, cutting file sizes up to 80 percent for its 20 AM machines (13 for plastics and seven for metals). Meanwhile, Linear, founded in 2003, claims to own the most AM machines of any service provider in North America and runs 11 materials on those machines, according to Bruce Colter, director of new business development. “We just recently cracked the code on how to do production in the metals business,” Colter noted, turning out 20 to 50 parts a month. “That’s kind of the holy grail everybody’s looking to get to. A lot of people make parts; our focus in 2014 and going forward is that we are going to try to take this from being cool technology … and we are going to try to start making money for our clients.” Using additively produced conformal cooling and heating inserts, Linear improves profitability by reducing cycle times and sometimes eliminating a machine or two for a given process. “We use SLM machines to grow inserts that chase hot spots in mold and tooling applications,” Colter explained. “It’s one of our most requested pieces of business.” The company, with three facilities in Livonia, has been fielding 15 to 20 calls per month about the technology, Colter said. A major success for (Continued on page 16)
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PAST PRESIDENT BILL SHINER (LEFT) AND LIA’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PETER BAKER (RIGHT)
THE LAM WORKSHOP CAPTIVATES THE AUDIENCE
COMPANIES DISPLAY THEIR LATEST TECHNOLOGY AT THE LAM EXHIBITION
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LIATODAY
FOCUS: PLASTICS
PLENARY SPEAKER TODD ROCKSTROH
MARCH/APRIL 2014
LAM GENERAL CHAIR JIM SEARS (LEFT) AND LIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PETER BAKER (RIGHT)
LAM PROGRAM COMMITTEE MEMBER MILAN BRANDT
LAM IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ATTENDEES TO NETWORK
TOM MENKE OF POWDER ALLOY CORPORATION DISPLAYS THE LATEST IN AM TECHNOLOGY
PLATINUM SPONSOR ALABAMA LASER
SPEAKER MAXIMILIAN SCHNIEDENHARN ADDRESSES THE AUDIENCE
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15
Linear was using its conformal inserts to improve the molding of a customer’s speaker grills — significantly reducing scrap and dramatically extending production time. With a goal of 350,000 parts per year, the manufacturer had only been able to run 12 shots at a time before parts started warping; Linear extended production time to 11 hours. Meanwhile, Linear has also grown, welded and shipped a Cadillac ELR sun-roof surround in seven days and produced a carbon fiber and titanium drive shaft for Formula-student race cars that was 73 percent lighter than a steel drive shaft. For those interested in more traditional cladding for repair, case studies were abundant. Kenneth Meinert, of Penn State’s Applied Research Lab and facilities manager at the Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP3D), detailed several AM successes: repairing torpedo systems used in repeated training exercises; tripling the life of aircraft carrier trough covers from 10 years to 30; restoring high-value machinery shafts; and cladding steel struts for earth-moving equipment. CIMP-3D Director Richard Martukanitz discussed the facility’s success with repairing high-value Department of Defense components featuring carburized or chromium-plated surfaces. Nick Wald, general manager of RPM Innovations in Rapid City, SD, detailed how the business — spun off Jan. 1, 2013, to fully separate laser-based operations from mining-focused RPM & Associates — does about 70 percent of its work in aerospace and defense. RPM is pursuing certification for more aerospace production and has built parts about 4 feet tall and 60 to 80 inches long on custom-made equipment running lasers of 1 to 4 kilowatts. However, Wald noted that RPM equipment has travel capability of 5 feet (X axis) by 5 feet (Y) by 7 feet (Z). Meanwhile, of the variety of shafts RPM repairs, Wald noted a power plant atomizer shaft that spins at 8,800 rpm. RPM’s customer was repairing the shafts — which reside in large housings and require days to extract and fix — every seven or eight months. RPM began repairing the shafts about seven years ago with 420 stainless steel; the shafts now last five to six years. And Jelmer Brugman of Hornet Laser Cladding in the Netherlands said steam turbine casings it fixed onsite for Stork showed no sign of wear two years after repair of severe erosion. Be it powder-bed or powder-fed processing, residual stress reduction remains a key hurdle, said David Keicher of Sandia National Laboratories in his day two keynote address. Keicher, who invented Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) technology and commercialized it at Optomec, emphasized that powder-fed processes allow a more unique mix of materials and alloys with properties approaching forged/wrought. LAM 2014 concluded with a trio of presentations on powders, two of which detailed efforts to compile comprehensive performance data for Inconel 625 and 718. Ben Ferrar of LPW Technology in the UK closed the proceedings with an eyeopening look at one supplier’s broad array of available powders — 15 to 20 versions of stainless steel 316L alone, tweaked for different machines and processes.
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MARCH/APRIL 2014
The Final Word For first-time and repeat attendees alike, LAM 2014 delivered high-quality content and excellent opportunities to connect with customers. It was the second time at LAM for Kegan Luick of Caterpillar. “I do remanufacturing applications, and I’m looking to learn what other people are doing in that space,” he said. “We see everything from Inconel to cast iron to titanium. Everything (LAM presenters) talked about so far has been quite good.” Another returning participant, Kyle Taylor of Wolf Robotics in Fort Collins, CO, saw “a lot more industry here this time. Some of our key customers were coming, so it’s a good idea to come out and make sure we get the same information (and) we’re able to share with them.” Martin Konkel, head of production for optical components for TRUMPF in Cranbury, NJ, ventured to LAM for the first time “as a potential customer. I’m looking into the options of SLM for manufacturing parts in-house — potentially for heat-sink components. But (my work) is in an early stage; for me it’s something new, technology-wise. My colleague said I should definitely be going to see what’s out there and what the market is doing.” To view some of the presentations given at LAM 2014, visit www.lia.org/lam.
Everything LASER. All Manufacturing. 3D Printing • Additive Manufacturing • Cutting • Welding • Drilling • Marking
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· Beam and non-beam hazards The The course course administrator administrator is is able able · Factors that determine laser-tissueto interaction to keep keep track track of of all all records records and and certificates certificates upon upon completion. completion. · Importance of safety audits · Includes inspection checklist, laser inventory sheet, laser Presented Presented by: by: procedure record and laser safety audit forms · Includes Medical Laser Safety Education Training Module on CD ROM
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FEATURED ARTICLE
Corporate Member Profile Ophir Photonics, LLC
Ophir Optronics is a multinational resource for emerging applications in laser measuring photonic instrumentation and infrared and CO2 laser optics. The company’s development capabilities and continuous product growth have proven useful to industries in both public and private markets. With a wide manufacturing range and the opportunity to market their products across the globe, Ophir serves the needs of a variety of customers with specialized technologies and innovative laser solutions.
and targeting systems. As such, the lenses and other optical elements are put to use by customers in Defense and Homeland Security markets as well as commercial industries. Together, the Photonics and Optics divisions make Ophir Optronics a “One Stop Shop.” A member of LIA since 2000, Ophir is a valued contributor to the continued growth and transformation of the laser community worldwide. For more information, visit www.ophiropt.com/photonics.
Founded in 1976, Ophir’s headquarters are located in Jerusalem, Israel. The company has two subsidiaries, located in Massachusetts and Utah, with sales and service offices elsewhere in the United States, Germany, Romania and Japan. The company’s spacious facilities allow them to do their manufacturing in-house, and their global subsidiaries and departments offer dedicated assistance to markets around the world. Additionally, Ophir has been a part of the Newport Corporation of Irvine, CA, since 2011. Established in 1969, Newport is a global leader in photonics and optical components, making Ophir a perfect fit for the corporation. Ophir’s main product lines are split into two groups: the Photonics group and the Optics group. The Photonics group specializes in laser measurement through a complete line of instrumentation including power and energy meters, beam profilers, spectrum analyzers and goniometric radiometers. Dedicated to continuous innovation in laser measurement, the company holds a number of patents, including the award-winning BeamTrack power/ position/size meters and Spiricon’s Ultracal™, the baseline correction algorithm that helped establish the ISO 11146-3 standard for beam measurement accuracy. The Photon family of products includes NanoScan scanning-slit technology, which is capable of measuring beam size and position to sub-micron resolution. The company is ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited for calibration of laser measurement instruments. Their modular, customizable solutions serve manufacturing, medical, military and research industries throughout the world. The Optics group designs and manufactures top of the line products aimed at applications from Thermography to UAV
18
LIATODAY
FOCUS: PLASTICS
MARCH/APRIL 2014
NEW! Safe Use of Optical Fiber Communication Systems Utilizing Laser Diode and LED Sources
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19
Member Innovations
Members In Motion
Breakthrough in Detector Technology Delivers High Speed Laser Measurement A dramatic technological advancement in laser power sensing from Coherent Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) (Nasdaq: COHR) has yielded a completely new type of detector that combines the broad wavelength sensitivity, dynamic range and laser damage resistance of a thermopile with the response speed of a semiconductor photodiode. The detector relies on a novel, thin-film technology to create a device which rapidly senses thermal changes due to incident laser energy. Unlike traditional thermopile detectors, in these new PowerMax-Pro sensors (Patent Pending), heat flows vertically through a film which is only microns thick, rather than radially to the edge of the device over a distance of several centimeters. The result is a measurement response time below 10 µs, as compared to over 1 second for traditional thermopiles. Plus, these detectors can operate over a spectral range as broad as 300 nm to 11 µm, and incorporate a large 30 mm x 30 mm active area. For more information, visit www.coherent.com.
Photonics Industries Expands in China PHOTONICS INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL Inc. announces the expansion of its Suzhou, China based sales and service branch office in order to address our growing market presence and global demand for our diode pumped solid state laser products.
Nufern Launches Educational Components Nufern, a leading US manufacturer of specialty optical fibers, fiber lasers and amplifiers and fiber optic gyro coils, announced today it is making its family of patented fiber handling tools and components, used to make bench top lasers and amplifiers, available to educators and experimenters of all types. Over the years, our team of scientists and engineers has created a number of rugged specialized tools useful for quick, safe and convenient handling of both SM & LMA fibers in laser and amplifier configurations. These tools, coupled with key components such as Bragg reflectors, n+1 couplers, and pump light strippers (all now available from Nufern), work very well together so that an experimenter reaches the desired solution promptly. When combined with Nufern matched or matched+ fibers these components are useful in research and educational labs worldwide, helping as fiber lasers become part of the regular physics curriculum. For more information, visit www.nufern.com.
WELCOME NEW
CORPORATE MEMBERS Dermapiderme Montreal, Quebec
For a complete list of corporate members, visit our corporate directory at www.lia.org/membership.
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MARCH/APRIL 2014
To support the recent growth we have been experiencing in the industrial and scientific laser markets in Asia through our subsidiaries in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China, as well as our global distribution network, Photonics Industries China (PIC) has recently completed the build out of a 2500 m2 building in Suzhou, China. For more information, visit www.photonix.com. ROFIN and IMRA America Announce License Agreement ROFIN-SINAR Technologies Inc. (ROFIN), one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of laser sources and laserbased solutions and IMRA America, Inc., (IMRA) world leader in the research, development, manufacturing and application of ultrafast fiber lasers announce that they have entered into a license agreement for the use of IMRA’s patent rights for the patent family including US patents RE37,585 and 5,656,186, “Method for controlling configuration of laser induced breakdown and ablation.” This patent family was invented by Gerard Mourou and colleagues while at the University of Michigan and is licensed to IMRA from the University of Michigan. The invention is fundamental in taking advantage of ultrafast lasers for micromachining. The inventors recognized that ultrashort pulses are shorter than the time needed for most energy transfer processes within the material. Therefore deterministic, ultra-precise material processing could be realized. This method is sometimes referred to as “cold” or “athermal.” For more information, visit www.rofin.com. Vice President, General Manager Named for Cambridge Technology Inc Cambridge Technology has strengthened its operation by appointing Chris Tecca as Vice President, General Manager. “In this role, Chris will have full operating responsibility for our scanning business” remarked John Roush, CEO of GSI Group. “He will partner with the Cambridge Technology leadership team and the GSI executive leadership to define and execute on our strategic vision to take the business to the next level of leadership within its served markets.” Mr. Tecca brings to CTI over 20 years of leadership experience with several prominent technology companies. He most recently served as Vice President of the Sapphire Equipment business at GT Advanced Technologies. He also held leadership roles at A123 Systems and Geesink Norba Group. For more information, visit www.camtech.com.
Read the industry’s
LEADING
magazines
NEW for 2014!
Photonics news from your industry and your part of the world. To subscribe, visit photonics.com/subscribe. Available in print and digital formats. To contribute to Photonics Media publications, submit a 100-word abstract to Managing Editor Laura Marshall at laura.marshall@photonics.com for consideration.
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ASC Z136
Update
The annual meeting of Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) Z136 for Safe Use of Lasers was held Friday, Feb. 21, 2014 in San Antonio, TX. This meeting, sandwiched between ancillary subcommittee meetings on Thursday and Saturday, was graciously hosted by Dr. Edward Early and TASC, Inc. Laser Institute of America (LIA), Secretariat to ASC Z136, hosted a dinner on Thursday evening prior to the annual meeting at La Fogata, the iconic San Antonio Mexican restaurant just minutes away from TASC. The ambience created by the beautiful courtyards, tiled tabletops and tropical foliage combined with the authentic Mexican cuisine, not to mention the award-winning margaritas, made the evening a most enjoyable networking experience for all. Highlights from the meeting included the announcements of a new committee secretary, Jeffrey Pfoutz and a new chair to standards subcommittee 1 (SSC-1), Sheldon Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman will be taking the reins from Dr. Benjamin Rockwell, whose leadership drove the most recent version of the ANSI Z136.1-2014 American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers. Fort Hays University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory joined ASC Z136 as new organizational members with C.D. Clark III and Michael Woods, respectively, representing their interests. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory appointed Greta Toncheva as its representative, predicating the move of Ken Barat to Health Physics Society’s representative. Prem Batra, Darrell Seeley and Robert Weiner were inducted as Members Emeriti. Following the ADCOM report, Dr. David Sliney presented Vertical and Horizontal Standards, revisiting the recommendations of the 2005 Ad Hoc Committee to reduce the size (complexity) of the Z136.1 horizontal standard by creating new vertical standards to alleviate the potential problem of lost information or missing
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MARCH/APRIL 2014
guidance. To date, two of the three vertical standards have been published, the Z136.8 Safe Use of Lasers in Research, Development, or Testing and the Z136.9 Safe Use of Lasers in Manufacturing Environments. Each subcommittee chair gave an overview of the activities of his/her subcommittee for the past year. Notably, Dr. Rockwell displayed a mock copy of the Z136.1 advising the group that the document had been approved and should be available to the public by mid-March. The afternoon brought presentations on Risk Assessment & High Power Laser Systems, Updates to Standards, Proposed New Laser Hazard Classifications, Laser Safety Facts Label (for consumer products) and a briefing that touched on digital rights management (DRM). The final presentation of the day was a quick look ahead to the next International Laser Safety Conference (ILSCÂŽ), which will take place in Albuquerque, NM the week of Mar. 23-26, 2015. ASC Z136 will hold its annual meeting the preceding Sunday, Mar. 22. Mark your calendars now!
BLS
Update
Best practice dictates use of the revised ANSI Z136.1-2014 Safe Use of Lasers standard in developing a robust laser safety program. Another “Best Practice” to consider for your company or organization is for your laser safety officer to attain certification. For many advanced laser operations, ensuring the safety of people in the area of the laser requires an equally advanced knowledge of the arcane principles involved. The complexity of the hazards associated with many laser systems, and the unique skill set needed to effectively evaluate and implement control measures for those hazards, have created the need to clearly identify those individuals with the proficiency necessary to manage such advanced laser safety issues. To meet this need, the Board of Laser Safety (BLS®) developed the Certified Laser Safety Officer (CLSO®) and the Certified Medical Laser Safety Officer (CMLSO®) professional certification programs. Individuals who have earned these designations have demonstrated a sound working knowledge of laser safety fundamentals. The CLSO and CMLSO programs have produced several benefits for certified individuals, institutions and society as a whole. Certified individuals gain a competitive advantage for hiring and career advancement, recognition of their professionalism and dedication, an objective measure of individual mastery of a
highly technical subject, a community of colleagues with similar professional interests, and the enhanced credibility of their laser safety recommendations. Institutions employing or using the services of CLSOs or CMLSOs can demonstrate due diligence and expertise to staff, help ensure the legitimacy and adequacy of their laser safety programs, and show their organizational commitment to laser safety. Society gains more competent laser safety experts – another piece of infrastructure (in addition to industry consensus standards and regulations) for the support of safety as laser applications continue to emerge and evolve for societal benefit. Finally, the growing number of certified individuals inevitably increases the pool of talented and knowledgeable people who can help advance the field of laser safety. The CLSO designation is the only professional laser safety certification available in the United States; there is no other program to fill this otherwise unmet need. While several medical laser safety “certifications” have come and gone over the years in the US, none have attained the credibility or recognition of the CMLSO designation. For more information regarding laser safety officer certification, please visit the BLS website at www.lasersafety.org or contact us by email, bls@lasersafety.org or phone, +1.407.985.3810.
Certification for Medical Laser Safety Officers Providing Professionals a Means for Improvement in the Practice of Laser Safety
Gain a Competitive Advantage by Becoming Certified Today! Elevate your status as an MLSO Stay up-to-date with industry changes Increase both confidence and credibility Demonstrate your commitment to the job Validate your employer’s dedication to a safe working environment
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23
Laser Insights
Featured Abstracts
Laser Insights is a feature to give insight into the very latest developments in laser safety and the possible applications of laser materials processing. These overviews are designed to give you insight into the content and applications of the papers presented at our conferences and workshops. Visit www.lia.org/laserinsights to begin your search. View complete articles of the abstracts below online under the Featured Category.
Direct Metal Deposition of Functional Graded Material BY J. M. AMADO, J. N. MONTERO, M. J. TOBAR AND A. YAĂ‘EZ
Functionally graded materials (FGM’s) are usually described as composite materials in which composition and structure varies gradually from one point to another. Traditional composites are based on homogeneous mixtures where the properties of the respective components are averaged according to their relative proportion. Therefore a compromise must be made between the desired properties of each constituent. In contrast, the need for a compromise is eliminated in FGM: the graded design ensures that the full performance of each component is obtained at some point of the composite material. A wide range of processing methods is available today for the fabrication of graded structures with almost any material combination. Most of them rely on well established processing routes as powder metallurgy or melt processing. Direct metal deposition (laser cladding), for example, can be adopted for the production of FGM by feeding with mixed alloy powders with controlled compositions.
Laser Cleaning of Carbonaceous Deposits on Combustion Engine Components BY YINGCHUN GUAN, CHIH-HSING LIU, GNIAN CHER LIM, HONG YU ZHENG AND MING HUI HONG
Carbonaceous deposits covering the surfaces of combustion engine components are known to cause abrasive wear, leading to increased oil consumption and reduce engine durability as well as performance. Remanufacturing is the process acting on end-oflife products to recover manufacturing standards and specifications. Dr. Yingchun Guan from Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and her co-workers have shown how laser technique may be used to remove stubborn carbonaceous deposits without degradation to substrate component. Laser processing under normal atmospheric conditions may be considered as an environmentally friendly process where no chemicals were used. It has been demonstrated that micron to sub-micron sized surface particulates, corrosion spots as well as thin contamination layer may be cleanly removed without severe damage to the parent substrate.
Convenient Training For All Laser Personnel Learn basic physics, biological Get a complete overview of the effects, measures forin safe safe use control of lasers, especially the laser environments, and beam and operating room and surgical centers. non-beam hazards. Learn about specific hazards, how to Understand the ANSI Z136 standards identify and prevent possible hazards, and regulations that apply to your even where active lasers are involved. unique laser environment. Access the course anywhere and work at your own pace. The The course course administrator administrator is is able able to to keep keep track track of of all all records records and and certificates certificates upon upon completion. completion. Presented Presented by: by:
Medical Laser Safety Awareness ONLINE TRAINING
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MARCH/APRIL 2014
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JLA
Editor’s Pick
The Laser Institute of America’s official refereed publication, the Journal of Laser Applications® (JLA), an online-only journal, is complete with new features for a broader audience. JLA is hosted on AIP Publishing’s robust Scitation online platform, providing the journal with great functionality and the ability to leverage a wide range of valuable discoverability features. JLA features nine topic sections, a faster peer-review process and a more functional website (jla.aip.org) that makes content easier to access and more interactive. Readers will find full-text HTML rendering featuring inline reference links and the ability to enlarge tables and figures by clicking on them. Among the new features are enhanced search functions with more options and better controls to explore returned content in more useful ways.
Performance Enhancement of Aluminum Infrared Laser Welding by Preconditioning with Nanosecond Laser Pulses
Subscription Information
BY PHILIPP VON WITZENDORFF, ANAS MOALEM, UWE STUTE AND LUDGER OVERMEYER
We condition the welding zone of the aluminum surface with nanosecond laser pulses prior to welding with infrared laser radiation to increase the process efficiency and weld quality. The high reflectivity of aluminum for infrared laser radiation (95% at 1064 nm) leads to poor process efficiency of aluminum laser welding processes. To increase the workpiece’s absorptivity, the welding zone is conditioned with nanosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 532 nm. The samples are nonalloy, 0.5 mm thick aluminum, and 1.5 mm thick Al5356 alloy. Welding is performed with a continuous Nd: yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser with an output power of 2 kW, a pulsed Nd:YAG laser with an average power of up to 90 W, and a pulsed Nd:YAG laser with an average power of up to 20 W. Through preconditioning with nanosecond laser pulses, full penetration welding is achieved with an increased welding speed.
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LIA
Announces
33rd
Announcing ICALEO 2014 Call for Papers Mark your calendar for LIA’s International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®), which will take place in San Diego, CA, Oct. 19-23, 2014. ICALEO has a 32 year history as the conference where researchers and end-users meet to review the state-of-the-art in laser materials processing, laser microprocessing and nanomanufacturing as well as predict where the future will lead. From its inception, ICALEO has been devoted to the field of laser materials processing at macro, micro and nanoscales and is viewed as the premier source of technical information in the field. Each year ICALEO features areas of topical interest. This year’s featured sessions include diode lasers for processing and pumping, laser process monitoring and control, laser processing of biological materials, lasers in nanotechnology and environmental technology, laser hybrid processing, laser manufacturing for alternative energy sources and laser business development. New for ICALEO 2014 -- Peer Reviewed Papers! Submitters can select the option to have their technical paper reviewed by a blind peer review process. Now is the time to submit your abstract for this year’s Congress! The deadline to submit all abstracts has been extended to Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2014. For more information on ICALEO, or how to submit your abstract online, visit www.icaleo.org or call +1.407.380.1553.
Sign up to Sponsor or Exhibit at LME 2014 Today! LIA’s fourth annual Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) will take place on Sept. 23-24, 2014 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL. LME provides a one-stop event for companies interested in integrating laser technology into their production. The industries that will be represented at LME are Aerospace, Alternative Energy (Solar & Fuel Cells), Construction & Agriculture Equipment, Electronics (semi-conductors), Medical, Oil & Gas, Optics, Photovoltaic, Scanners, Software, Tool & Die Manufacturers and Transportation. Come and showcase your company to buyers that are coming to LME where they can learn more about lasers, inquire about using lasers in their manufacturing process, and find out how lasers can help them.
Save the Date for ILSC 2015 The biennial International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®) is scheduled to take place on Mar. 23-26, 2015 in Albuquerque, NM. ILSC is a comprehensive four-day conference covering all aspects of laser safety practice and hazard control. Scientific sessions will address developments in regulatory, mandatory and voluntary safety standards for laser products and for laser use. The Practical Applications Seminars (PAS) complement the Scientific Sessions by exploring everyday scenarios that the LSO and MLSO may encounter. Professionals in all fields and applications will find ILSC a tremendous source for information and networking opportunities. The ILSC Call for Papers is now available! For more information, please visit www.lia.org/ilsc or call +1.407.380.1553. Not sure if ILSC is right for you? If you have not had the chance to participate in a previous ILSC for yourself, now you can virtually attend select presentations from ILSC 2013 on LIA’s newest laser education portal: Laser U. Go online and visit www.lia.org/laseru for more information and to sign up to “attend” a previous ILSC presentation and see what you are missing! New Products & Services Catalog Offers Valuable Solutions to Your Laser Applications & Safety Training Needs At LIA, we believe in the importance of sharing new ideas about lasers. In fact, laser pioneers such as Dr. Arthur Schawlow and Dr. Theodore H. Maiman were among LIA’s original founders who set the stage for our enduring mission to promote laser applications and their safe use through education, training and symposia. LIA was formed in 1968 by people who represented the heart of the profession — a group of academic scientists, developers and engineers who were truly passionate about taking an emerging new laser technology and turning it into a viable industry. Today, this unwavering dedication continues to propel LIA as we meet the growing demand for continuing education and safety training. LIA trains more Laser Safety Officers than any other organization in the world.
LME attendees will consist of Chief Operation Officers in small companies, Product Managers, Manufacturing Engineers, Purchasing Agents, Automation Specialists and much more. This event will help prepare attendees to become buyers!
Nothing is more powerful than knowledge, and with our publications and training, you’re getting more than 40 years worth of know-how from the leading professionals in laser technology. From national safety standards to instructional how-to guides on laser applications, these items are necessities for laser users in all environments.
For more information on exhibiting at LME or available sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.laserevent.org or call 1.800.34.LASER.
To see all of the products and services that our latest catalog has to offer, you can download a copy online at www.lia.org/store.
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