SYSTEM INTEGRATION He continued: ‘It’s beneficial for the end-user to
have a little bit of understanding of what they’re trying to do so they can ask the right questions. What laser am I going to use for this application? Tat’s a fundamental question. Ten, how do we engineer the process? Does the part move? Does the beam move? Do both move? Tose are all things that the customer needs to consider. Price and delivery are part of it too, but the customer needs to hear answers to those process questions from the integrator’ Tere’s always a best way to
build a system. ‘Every integrator should strive towards simplification of a system,’ Shannon said. ‘If the integrator isn’t familiar with the application or the production environment they are less likely to come up with the right decision. Te best route to achieving a good solution is to work with an integrator that really understands the application and the production environment. ‘You want to have a dialogue with the
part of laser welding tasks. One question the integrator might have to ask, according to Shannon, is: how can the tooling be used to minimise cycle time so that the part is positioned, clamped, and welded as fast as possible and reliably? Amada Miyachi deals with laser
a module; aspects like tooling that surround the laser define the laser’s capability
The laser is just
micromachining for which the production environment can vary significantly. ‘In laser microprocessing, every system we make is customised to some level, typically because the parts and application requirements are very different from customer to customer,’ Shannon noted. ‘In microprocessing, the shapes
of the part might differ and that might influence how you hold the parts and how you get the beam to the weld location. Te material might differ, as might the function
customer and for them to be involved in the process. Te customer shouldn’t be totally reliant on the integrator to provide the best solution. Tey should question the integrator, understand why the integrator is making certain decisions. If the customer is invested in that process, it’s going to help him understand how the integrator makes the decisions, and it’s going to ensure the integrator justifies its decisions. Tose two things together normally result in a good solution.’
The throughput challenge ‘Maximising the productivity of a system comes down to minimising the overall cycle time,’ explained Shannon, adding that this includes loading and unloading the part as well as the processing time. ‘Tat might relate to the application, the part loading mechanism, or the stage or optical train – do you use a stage, a galvo scanner, or a gantry system to process the parts?’ He added that the end-user has to be realistic
about the production throughput. ‘You want your integrator to offer some common sense as to what is achievable and what isn’t,’ he continued. ‘We try and guide the user through the process and educate them so they can make the right decisions. We want to have a dialogue throughout commissioning and building a laser machine to make sure the user is educated, on board and part of the process, so that when the machine arrives there are no surprises and everyone understands what the machine is supposed to do and what it is not going to do.’ Tooling is another consideration and a big
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of the weld – all those things add up to a machine being customised to some degree. Tirty to 40 per cent of our systems are completely custom built,’ he said. Wagner at 3D-Micromac commented that, in
the past, enquiries for laser micromachining were quite specific and high-end, whereas now the laser as a micromachining tool is becoming more commonplace. ‘Lasers are now easier to use,’ he said.
‘Soſtware and an accessible user interface helps with this, but also the stability of the laser itself; the optical integration is easier, and you need less metrology to make sure the laser is doing the right job. It’s opening up new applications and this will continue to be the case in the future. ‘Use of the laser is not a bottleneck anymore,’
Wagner continued. ‘But the intelligent integration of the laser into the system improves the capability and efficiency of the tool. Applications require know-how in machine integration and machine setup, as well as how to use the laser. Te laser is just a module; aspects like tooling that surround the laser define the laser’s capability.’ 3D-Micromac’s laser structuring tool for laser
contact opening of solar wafers is a good example of intelligent integration, according to Wagner. ‘Te most expensive parts in the system are the laser in combination with the optical beam path. A good integrator should find a solution with minimal additional components that keeps the laser up and running for almost 100 per cent of the time,’ he said. Te company developed a handling
component that works in a similar way to a processing stage. Te solar cells are transported under the laser source on a conveyor belt, which avoids alignment stops. Te integrated optics automatically compensate for the cells’ relative motion and the laser scribes exactly the desired
Baracuda laser system with pallet feeder, robotics, and automated processing ISSUE 29 • WINTER 2015 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE 23
ACSYS Lasertechnik GmbH
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