2 to 6-kW power levels and are employed for welding, brazing and cladding. These lasers, usually integrated with robots, are employed on applications too numerous to mention as they are deployed in virtually all disciplines of manufacturing. The growth in this sector has been attributed not only to the replacement of legacy technology but also from a switch from MIG and TIG welding systems. There is also a market expansion toward higher fi ber-laser power. This has been somewhat fueled by decreasing cost of ownership but more so by the increased awareness of the potential that high-power fi ber lasers offer in the welding of thick structures. With 10–100 kW of continuous power available, these lasers have gained wide acceptance in the oil and gas and aerospace industries as well as various R&D labs around the world dedicated to investigating the advancement of welding technology. Several of these super-high-powered continuous wave lasers have been implemented on outdoor mobile material processing applications not possible before compact, electrically effi cient fi ber lasers were available. The fi rst production US-installed 50-kW system was delivered by IPG in the fall of 2015. The system, dedicated to deep penetration welding, is producing high-quality welds in excess of 25 mm in a variety of materials including copper. The fi rst 100-kW fi ber laser was shipped to the Asian market during 2014. The 100-kW is launched from a 300-μm feed fi ber and produced weld penetration depths in excess of 125 mm. These super-high- power lasers will continue to encroach on applications usually dedicated to electron beam welding machines with the added advantage that they do not require a vacuum.
The lower power CW fi ber lasers which are available in either a single-mode or multi-mode confi guration have also experienced double-digit growth. The single-mode version in the 400–1000 W output power range has become the
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February 2016 |
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