SYSTEM INTEGRATION


pattern into the back of the solar cell. Te on-the-fly processing gives almost 100 per cent laser uptime, Wagner noted.


Making a mark Laser marking machines are much more of a commodity piece of a equipment than the systems developed for micromachining, but installing a laser marker on a production line can still require the expertise of a system integrator. Aaron Grimes, global product line manager at US-based laser marking company Tykma Electrox, gave the example of an automotive customer installing a laser marker in a station for leak testing components. Te laser is there to mark the part with tracking information once it has been tested and verified. Integrating a laser marking solution on an


automated production line follows the same guidelines as designing a system for micromachining, in that the starting point is the application, noted Grimes. ‘We want to know the type of component being marked, the material, the details and requirements of the mark, and the available cycle time,’ he said. ‘Te difference between a 20W and a 50W laser usually comes down to cycle time. ‘Once we qualify the mark, know what


wavelength of light is needed – most of our applications are solved using 1,064nm light – and determine that we can make the mark within the cycle time, then we know reasonably well what laser model to use,’ he continued. Te next stage is the control command to the


laser, which is usually a trigger from a programmable logic controller (PLC). Te data exchange is another consideration. ‘Most of the time in an automated application the data varies from part to part, usually either serialisation or date coding or custom coding,’ Grimes said.


Safety first Phil Jones, marketing manager, Lasermet


One of the many priorities under consideration is the safety aspect of the laser. This should never be overlooked, although it may not be the immediate focus of attention. The provision of a certified laser safety enclosure or cabin, complete with an integrated laser interlock control system, is as much a part of the working system as anything else. The ideal laser interlock controller is rack mounted on a DIN rail system and located in the cabinet containing the other main laser system controls. Combine the controller with automatically operated laser safety cabin doors, HD CCTV and HD monitor, or active filter windows and then connect to an interlocked laser fume extraction system and you have the complete integrated laser control system. The system must be certified as


being safe, so the provision of a Class 1 cabin for Class 4 lasers is the practical solution. The cabin that houses the laser should be considered as part of the control system as it contains the laser radiation. Usually,


Lasermet’s Laser Castle is a modular laser safety cabin


stray laser radiation is absorbed by the walls and roof of the laser safety cabin, but with the advent of even higher power, multi-kilowatt fibre lasers, it is now also necessary to include active laser guarding as a means of laser radiation control. Inadvertent laser strikes on the walls of the enclosure, caused either by reflection from the workpiece, missed or damaged targets, or control errors can all be catered for and rendered


‘Even in a test station like a leak test, sometimes they’re marking data from the test on the component – so the code contains proprietary data. We then have to understand how that information will be sent to the laser and via what form of communication.’ Tykma Electrox provides a lot of pre-set


capability to communicate between the laser and the production machinery. Te company offers off-the-shelf solutions for the customer to get the marking data to the laser in an integrated environment. ‘Te goal for us is to make


safe in an integrated laser safety control system where active laser guarding is included. Here, wall or roof strikes are immediately detected by the laser interlock controller and the laser switched off within a few tens of milliseconds. As the safety function is completely automatic for passive or active laser guarding, the operator can concentrate on performing the laser work in hand and continue to get the most out of the system.


commodity and more standardised in a lot of factories. Te prices of machines have been dropping steadily over the last 10 years. It’s become competitive, so the key is to offer customers a cost-effective solution while still giving them a quality piece of equipment, and good service support.’ Grimes’ advice for successful integration is to


off-the-shelf solutions available for data communication between the laser and outside sources. Tat’s a big deal,’ commented Grimes. ‘A lot of companies offer solutions but they require heavy customisation that might be tedious to learn, or require a higher level of programming. We try to simplify that. ‘Sometimes we need to look ahead to the


future. We need to think about volume, whether the volume of parts to mark will increase. We also try to match the customer’s needs with economics,’ he added. ‘Te winning combination overall is to make a


Electrox Scorpion integration laser 24 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 29 • WINTER 2015


laser that’s reliable, easy to integrate, but also remaining cost-effective,’ Grimes continued. ‘Laser marking is becoming more of a


integrator should strive towards simplification of a system


Every


try and keep it simple. ‘We see certain solutions that are more complex than necessary,’ he said. ‘It’s easy to do this if an integrator hasn’t had a lot of experience with laser marking. We try to educate the customer on solving the application in the most cost- effective manner.’ Shannon commented that the


use of laser machines will get easier, just in terms of soſtware


and interface advances to help optimise processes, but that for the integrator it doesn’t get any easier at all. ‘Tere are many more lasers on the market and you have to keep up-to-date with the technology,’ he said. ‘Tere are also advances in motion and different optical technologies that you need to keep up with. Tis means the end-user will still have to rely on the integrator to a large extent to help them through the process of building and installing a laser system.’


@lasersystemsmag | www.lasersystemseurope.com


Tykma Electrox


Lasermet


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