Laser Institute of America:
Celebrating 40 years of innovation,
ingenuity and inspiration
Beaming ahead: What’s next?
Today, LIA trains more laser safety offi cers than highly customised products, is another reducing and preventing exposure to laser beam
any other organisation in the world. As we look advancement that promises to bring a whole new and non-beam hazards in the workplace.
into the future, we identify trends such as the group of non-expert users to the forefront. Rapid As LIA expands in response to this exploding
growing number of non-expert laser users across manufacturing is being applied to a wide variety market for laser applications across many
many different industries, collaboration of industries including automotive, jewellery, industries, the organisation seeks to collaborate
opportunities with this fast-growing segment, dentistry, orthodontics, medicine and collectibles. with laser end users in all fi elds.
and meeting the increased global demand in Another area to watch is laser applications for the
Europe and China. In addition, LIA’s conference development of fuel cells, solar cells, and even International infl uence
proceedings continue to defi ne state-of-the-art lithium batteries. Thanks to growing demand from Europe and
applications in laser material processing. As end users increase, more laser safety China, LIA is becoming more visible on a global
programmes are being implemented in a wide scale. Innovations in laser applications have made
More people are using lasers variety of organisations and work environments. a tremendous impact in Europe and across the
than ever before With the goal of keeping the workplace safe from Pacific, and have certainly influenced future
While the laser industry has a fi nite number of hazards associated with lasers, LIA formed a growth opportunities for LIA.
laser experts, estimated to be around several cooperative programme with the Occupational When it comes to laser research and technology,
thousand in the world, there is a huge and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Europe is the current leader. The government
expanding number of ‘non-experts’ using lasers 2005. The programme provides guidance, and contributes to laser research, and universities step
as tools, estimated to be in the millions. access to training resources to help organisations in to solve problems for laser corporations – all
As lasers become more reliable and affordable, protect their employees’ health and safety by leading to an enhanced economic environment. ➤
the number of non-expert users will continue to
increase in every field including material
processing, construction, medicine,
communications, and energy production.
Consider the number of automobile, aircraft, and
boat manufacturers using lasers to increase
productivity and save on costs. These are just a
few examples of ‘non-expert users’ of reliable,
lower-cost lasers.
To support and educate this fast-growing end
user community, LIA is drilling deeper into the
application side of the industry. For example, in
conjunction with the Fabricators & Manufacturers
Association International, LIA has developed an
Automotive Laser Applications Workshop
(ALAW). Aimed directly at end users, ALAW is
the springboard for LIA to reach and help this
rapidly growing group.
Designed for fabricators, job shops and
automotive manufacturers, ALAW is comprised
of helpful, practical sessions on increasing
productivity, reducing manufacturing costs,
improving quality and providing fl exible laser
manufacturing. LIA is also forming a new seminar
on laser cladding to provide practical, hands-on
education including how to save and make
money.
Rapid manufacturing, the quick production of
www.lasersystemseurope.com ISSUE 2 • LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE 25
LSEspr09 pp22-28 LIA pages.indd 25 3/3/09 10:53:22
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28