business profile
in laser technology. ‘As laser technology comes down in price and goes up in power, and as galvo technology advances, we enable more applications and open new markets.’ As well as laser material processing, other core markets for scanning products include biomedical, imaging and inspection, semiconductor capital equipment, and laser projection. In terms of geographical distribution, around 40 per cent of Cambridge Technology’s business is in the US, 30 per cent in Europe and 30 per cent in Asia. ‘We’re in a strong position regarding the spread of markets and territories we cover,’ says Aylward. ‘This helps protects us against downturns in particular market segments or regions.’ The approach to technology development is to work closely with OEMs and universities. ‘OEMs give us a customer perspective, to help us understand what markets they are moving into,’ says Aylward. ‘The universities help us identify how technology is evolving, we believe that today’s university graduate is tomorrow’s company president running laser applications companies with demands for hundreds of galvos. ‘We have to be in a position where we have the right products at the right time. We are judged
We are judged on speed,
accuracy and reliability, as well as our cost and size
on our speed, our accuracy and our reliability, as well as our cost and size. Our research has to address all of those needs to ensure we develop the right products. And those needs may be in a different priority order for certain markets – some applications need a compact design over speed, while others demand speed above all else.’ The ongoing development programme has evolved Cambridge Technology from its origins as a galvo component supplier to one supplying a broader range of components and sub-systems. ‘We’ve responded to customer demand,’ says Aylward, ‘and now offer everything from galvos and servos to high-performance scanning and laser control, two- and three-axis subsystems, all standard wavelengths from low power to kW, and now application software.’
So, why should customers choose Cambridge
Technology products? ‘We offer the highest performance across the broadest range,’ says Aylward. ‘We’ve always driven for a broad line of products, so that customers can choose their entry point and optimise the price/performance point of their application. Because of the volumes we sell – and there are more than one million
www.electrooptics.com www.lasercomponents.co.uk
Contact us for all your component needs: Tel: 01245 491499 Email:
info@lasercomponents.co.uk
units in operation worldwide across our complete product range – high reliability and long product lifetimes are critical to us. Our R&D teams look at all aspects of this. For example, galvos are always suspended on bearings, and our R&D efforts into the best bearing recipes and technology has improved the lifetime of our bearings 100-fold over the past 10 years.’ Aylward sees plenty of opportunities in a range of markets, including photovoltaics, laser welding, micromachining and more – all of which require high levels of accuracy and stability. ‘New
applications come up every day,’ he concludes. ‘We’re always solving a problem where someone is trying to open up a market or replace traditional technologies with laser-based techniques. While it’s not always the most cost-effective solution, we also see a continuation of the trend towards higher- accuracy and higher-speed digital galvanometers, servos and controllers as laser wavelengths become shorter, and focal lengths increase. With an all- digital system, the flexibility and power of the software has enabled new levels of capability and performance – and will do so in the future.’ l
LASER COMPONENTS manufactures and supplies components, OEM modules, sources, optics and detectors, spanning the UV to the FIR. Products include: a) sources: laser diodes and modules, IR emitters, lamps, LEDs and SLEDs, b) optics: fibre, fibre cable, switches, patchcords, modulators, laser mirrors, lenses, output couplers, dichroics, prisms, windows, optical filters, and laser crystal rods, c) detectors: SiC, Si/CdS, InGaAs/PbSe/PbS, Thermopile/Pyroelectric/MCT, and single photon counting modules. Also supplied are low noise signal recovery current, voltage and lock-in amplifiers, laser proximity OEM modules, peltier heatpumps (TECs/SSHPs) and a range of accessory items such as laser safety goggles, IR converter cards and optical fibre tools.
APRIL 2011 l electro optics
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