CONTENTS LASERSYSTEMS EUROPE CONTENTS Lasers in action
Additive manufacturing at Formnext l students 3D printing l letter to shareholders l
Teaching
Rofin responds to critical Trumpf opens subsidiary
Analysis: Power beam processing
Dave MacLellan of the UK AILU on the Power Beam Processing special interest group the association has founded
Show: Blechexpo
Greg Blackman reports from the sheet metal processing event that took place in November
Show: Photonics West 14
A preview of some of the technology on display at the US photonics trade fair when it takes place in February, along with results from the ISLA project to be presented at the show
Feature: Aerospace Feature: System integration Feature: Beam delivery
Beth Harlen looks at the scanning solutions for positioning ultrafast laser beams
Products 30
Lasers and laser systems for industrial processing LIA news
34
The Laser Institute of America’s regular section, including a study on producing better weld seams and a report from ICALEO, which took place in October in Georgia, US
Suppliers’ directory Find the suppliers you need, quickly and easily
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Free registrations available to qualifying individuals. Paid subscriptions available to readers outside registration requirements. Enquiries to Europa Science, 9 Clifton Court, Cambridge CB1 7BN, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1223 211170. Fax: +44 (0)1223 213385. ©2015 Europa Science Ltd. Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of this magazine, errors or omissions are not the responsibility of the publishers or of the editorial staff. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or editorial staff. All rights reserved. Unless specifically stated, goods or services mentioned are not formally endorsed by Europa Science Ltd, which does not guarantee or endorse or accept any liability for any goods and/or services featured in this publication. US copies: Laser Systems Europe is published by Europa Science Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville PA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Laser Systems Europe, PO Box 437, Emigsville PA 17318-0437.
Supported by the LIA 38 18
Rachel Berkowitz on building aircraft parts with additive manufacturing
22
Greg Blackman asks system integrators how to get the most out of a laser machine
26 26 12 22 10 4
ISSUE 29 • WINTER 2015 18
LASER PROCESSING IN 2016
With the year drawing to a close and 2016 on the horizon, this issue looks ahead to Photonics West, taking place in February in San Francisco. Te laser, photonics and biomedical optics show will include the Lase conference on laser manufacturing and materials processing, as well as displaying technology for industrial laser processing in the exhibition halls. Tere’s a preview of some of the equipment that will be on show on page 14, while, on page 16, Gary Stevens of Gooch and Housego discusses some of the results of the ISLA project, a programme developing components for 2µm fibre lasers. Stevens will be one of the presenters speaking at a special session on the ISLA project, which officially finished in the summer, but various aspects of which are still ongoing. Fibre lasers operating at 2µm, instead of the standard 1µm wavelength, will open up new applications for laser technology. Elsewhere in this issue are articles on additive
manufacturing in the aerospace sector (page 18), advances in laser beam delivery (page 26), and laser system integration (page 22). Tere is also a report from the sheet metal processing event Blechexpo (page 12), held in November in Stuttgart, where laser system providers were displaying products for Industry 4.0 and digital factory production. Te concept of Industry 4.0 is still at least 10 years
away. In the short term, areas like micromachining with ultrafast lasers and additive manufacturing will continue to be growth areas in 2016. I wish all our readers a successful New Year!
Greg Blackman, editor
Editorial and administrative team
Editor: Greg Blackman
greg.blackman@europascience.com Tel: +44 (0)1223 275472
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Laser Systems Europe is published by Europa Science Ltd, 9 Clifton Court, Cambridge CB1 7BN, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1223 211170 Fax: +44 (0)1223 213385 Web:
www.europascience.com ISSN: 1759-0752
ISSUE 29 • WINTER 2015 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE 3
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