LASER WORLD OF PHOTONICS
three lasers over the entire substrate, no matter its geometries,’ said Buchbinder. ‘Tis means that every laser can always touch every part and can work 100 per cent of the time.’ At this year’s Laser World of Photonics the
company was showcasing its dual 200W laser TruPrint 1000 laser metal fusion system optimised for the large-scale manufacturing requirements of the dental industry. Te machine is able to print dental bridgework and caps at speeds 80 per cent faster than a single laser system.
Affordable additive An important factor for the uptake of metal AM is its adoption not only by larger corporations, but also SMEs looking to introduce the technology into their production chain. For many of these smaller firms, however, the financial risks of hiring 3D printing specialists or purchasing a modern AM system are too high for them to invest in, as industrial systems oſten cost between £100,000 and $1 million, according to Dawid Ziebura, project engineer at Fraunhofer ILT. While the larger corporations can benefit from the increasing build envelope and
basic SLM system for less than €100,000
The goal is to realise a
Photonics growth in Asia has begun to ease up, while the European industrial laser market is expected to grow over the second half of 2017, it was reported by the VDMA Mechanical Engineering Industry Association during Laser World of Photonics in Munich. The VDMA provided an update on the
technological and regional market developments of the laser industry via a panel of experts in the wake of two recent market studies carried out by the VDMA and Photonics21. Thomas Merk, executive vice
president and general manager of industrial lasers and systems at Coherent Rofin, spoke on the growth rates and trends in Asia, expressing that although it is still clear the region remains dominant in the photonics industry – roughly 50 per cent of Coherent’s business takes place there – and that the development of local markets can now be observed, growth in general has begun to slow down.
An introductory AM system costing only a fraction of the price of standard metal 3D printers
multi-laser efficiency of advanced AM systems, these advantages are not necessarily as important for SMEs. Small and medium firms need an affordable metal 3D printing solution that provides that with a way to enter this growing market at an introductory level. As part of its work for Te Aachen Center of 3D Printing, a collaborative group formed
Asian market slows, while Europe set to grow, VDMA reports Material processing is seen to be one
of the fastest growing markets in Asia, where a trend towards higher power lasers exists – while 2.5kW lasers were widely used in the region two years ago, lasers between 3kW and 8kW are now preferred for typical welding and cutting applications. Automotive is still reported to be a
great driving factor in Asia as well, with 28 million cars sold in China alone throughout 2016. Lasers are increasingly being used in the sector for battery and body-in-white welding, along with cutting airbags and even glass. Lastly, a clear increasing trend
towards laser-based medical device manufacturing has also been observed in Asia, an application that originally saw development across Europe and the US. In terms of laser material processing
in Europe, Gerhard Hein, managing director of the VDMA, commented that although the last quarter of 2015 wasn’t
alongside the Aachen University of Applied Sciences to be an access point of 3D printing for SMEs, Fraunhofer ILT has helped design an introductory AM system that costs only a fraction of the price of standard metal 3D printers. ‘Te goal is to realise a basic SLM system for less than €100,000 retail price in order to make the SLM process affordable for a
positive, which consequently affected development in 2016, 2017 looks to be a promising year, with the second half of the year anticipated to be a period of growth for manufacturers in the laser industry. The success of ultrashort pulsed lasers is expected to help drive this period of growth, having already positively affected the market for the past two years. The VDMA recently conducted a report
on the German photonics market that revealed domestic production of the German photonics sectors reaching €31 billion in 2016 – a 30 per cent share in European domestic production and a 16 per cent share in global domestic production. Thirty-seven per cent of the €31 billion 2016 figure is attributable to laser material processing, lithography, image processing and measurement technology. The market report states that German domestic production is expected to grow to around €39 billion in 2020 at
an annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent. Dr Christian Schmitz, vice president of
lasers for Trumpf, said that the highest and broadest penetration of laser technology continues to be in Germany, with most applications in the country coming from integrators. It was also reported that the photonics investment climate is currently looking good in Italy, that Spain’s laser market is developing well, that Eastern Europe is showing positive development, and that a number of commercial programmes are positively affecting photonics development in France. Dr Christoph Ullmann, managing
director of Laserline, reported on the state of the €200-250 million diode laser market, which is increasingly gaining ground from CO2
lasers. The company
has developed 100-500W prototype blue laser diodes, which show promise in copper processing applications where the blue wavelength has good absorbance.
14
LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 36 • AUTUMN 2017
@lasersystemsmag |
www.lasersystemseurope.com
Fraunhofer ILT
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