DIODE LASERS
laser systems (ILS). According to Steffen Reinl, sales and product manager of the ILS department: ‘In 2008 the company decided to start integrating more of its own fibre-coupled modules, which was the start of the ILS group. We will continue to expand this area to gain a larger market share. We already had the key technology in the components department, so it wasn’t that much of a step to move into the sale of the systems, and it offered more standardisation.’ He said: ‘Tis has proved very interesting to our industrial customers, because the diodes offer much larger efficiencies, require less cooling, have a smaller footprint, and this amounts to lower running costs. Tis is helping drive the technology. We are now able to replace older and established technologies.’ Jones agreed: ‘In several cases, we are
looking to take out other laser types to be replaced by diode lasers, without any significant changes in overall system design or particularly high engineering effort.’ He also noted: ‘If you are changing from a totally different laser source such as a CO2
laser, you
have to consider that it is operating with a different wavelength and therefore have to consider the health and safety. Tis means you have to ensure it is fully enclosed and that the windows of the enclosure are specified to the new laser, so if you change the laser type you may have to adapt the enclosure.’ However, Jones stated: ‘Te multi-kilowatt
Optics of a
TruDiode 6006 solid state laser
Jones explained that high-power sources
suppliers and integrators will have to work to establish the technology’s position
End-users,
laser sources are certainly a competitive source; it’s still a relative newcomer to the high-power laser market but it’s another choice.’
have only been available for the past few years. He believes that end-users, suppliers and integrators will have to work together to establish the technology’s position. ‘Awareness needs to be raised, because oſten people don’t think of the diode laser immediately. Suppliers have to be sure that the customers are aware of the latest developments, and the customers have a duty to their own companies to be up to
speed with what’s available. Certainly for multi-kilowatt brazing and welding applications, it’s a case of raising the profile.’ He continued: ‘As with a lot of emerging
laser technologies, there may have been an earlier period when some people questioned the reliability [of diode laser systems], but not anymore. Tey’re here and they are here to stay.’ Today’s diode lasers have to be reliable.
Jones pointed out that Trumpf ’s main target market for these sources is the automotive industry, where machines are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said: ‘Tat’s where they are being sold so, as far as we are concerned, there is no choice in the matter. Tey have to be reliable and there is no compromise on that for such industry sectors.’ Tese continuous manufacturing plants are
where the lower operating costs will be appreciated most. Te lower costs stem from the higher efficiency of the system. Reinl explained that part of the reason why these systems are more efficient is down to the semiconductor materials that are used to construct the diodes. ‘Tese have improved a lot over the past few years; they are now much more efficient.’ However it is not the whole story, Reinl elaborated: ‘Also, improvements made to the efficiency of both the coupling and the optical components increase the system’s ability to create a useful beam.’ Reliability and efficiency are also opening
Plastic welding, such as that
performed on this tap, is one of the many tasks lower-power diode lasers are suited to
new markets for the sub-1kW diode market. Pangolin is a USA-based company whose areas of interest span the industrial biomedical, 3D printing, illumination, and laser- entertainment markets. It is predominantly concerned with the lower-power diodes. Te company’s chief operating officer, Justin Perry,
38 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 23 • SUMMER 2014 @lasersystemsmag |
www.lasersystemseurope.com
Scholle and Dilas
Trumpf
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