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assumed that another vehicle driving at the same speed will do so within a minimum distance. Tus the speed of the platform is the basis to define the closest point of human access for classification. Both types of engineering features have the


advantage that the emission is tested against permitted levels at farther distances than usual, resulting in significant increases of the permitted emission level for diverging or scanned emission. While the IEC standard can be interpreted in a


way as to permit classification on engineering features that prevent human access, in order to assure international standardised testing conditions, it is necessary to update the IEC


standard and provide performance requirements. For the virtual protective housing, it will be


necessary to define probes used to test if the emission is reduced when an object enters the VPH. For the moving platform concept, it will be necessary to define the measurement distance as a function of vehicle speed, as well as additional requirements to prevent people on or in the vehicle being exposed to hazardous levels of laser radiation, such as when the laser is mounted on the roof of the car and there is a sunroof, or people on a pickup truck’s bed. A virtual protective housing might be needed to prevent access, and to ensure the concept of a moving platform is internationally accepted for


formal product classification. Classification of products following IEC 60825-1 can only rely on engineering performance of the device and cannot depend on proper installation or user behaviour. Several of these issues were topics of ILSC 2017


papers, including the history of CDRH and IEC standards in presentations by Jerome Dennis and David Sliney, respectively, as well as the moving platform concept.l


Karl Schulmeister was project leader for the third edition of IEC 60825-1, and is a consultant on laser product safety at Seibersdorf Laboratories in Austria. http://laser-led-lamp- safety.seibersdorf-laboratories.at


Automated lasers and the role of flexibility By Michael Sharpe, Fanuc America


critical for success. Flexibility is the wellspring when designing and building systems to address current and future manufacturing needs. Versatility of core motion control performance, whether in machine or robotic applications, is key to driving the confidence in users and the success of the application. Motion control features for cutting and welding of tomorrow’s products need to build on capabilities that complement the advances of the past, while anticipating unique solutions to meet future functionality. Laser technology demands and deserves progressive, intelligent developments with a strong focus on flexibility. Computer Numerical Controls


T


(CNC) most commonly used on laser processing equipment are mature and


DIARY


International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics (ICALEO): 22-26 October 2017, Atlanta, GA, USA Laser Additive Manufacturing Conference (LAM): 27-28 March 2018, Schaumburg, IL, USA Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME): 28-29 March 2018, Schaumburg, IL, USA


36


he role of flexibility in supporting the pace of advanced manufacturing through laser innovations is


readily accepted throughout the industry. Customers have been quite successful at utilising the full capabilities of laser oscillators when coupled to advanced motion control. At the dawn of numerical control and high capacity industrial lasers, manufacturers were mostly using CNC in a rectilinear machine. Tese machines were a simple moving bridge to carry the processing optics in an X, Y plane with Z height control – rudimentary but effective for the application demands of the day. Robots have witnessed recent


advances that have improved motion path performance and I/O trigger accuracy. Te downward cost trend of industrial 1μm fibre lasers and increased robotic processing performance has given the industry new vigour, providing a best cost point for high production applications. CNC applications continue to prosper with improved accuracy and speed but are limited in flexibility. Customers have more choices based on their manufacturing requirements for laser applications, benefiting all manufacturers of CNC, lasers, and robots. While it appears straightforward


to compare a robot to CNC, they have physical attributes and control nuances that suit them for different markets. A laser in motion can


LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 36 • AUTUMN 2017


Remote laser welding with a Fanuc robot and HighYAG head


produce incredible results but only with the precision of motion control and synchronised input and output control. To use either motion device effectively, it must have the ability to adjust the laser output based on position and velocity. As the motion device accelerates, it must have a proportional controlled output to allow laser power to follow, thereby providing uniform energy distribution along the cut or weld path. Despite their differences, they have similar control functions with different markets. CNC lasers may appear easier to deploy as they are mostly configured by machine tool builders, preconfigured for the application purpose. Te machines


typically offer limited motion range, from three degrees of axis motion up to five degrees in machines with multi-axis heads for orientation control. Most CNCs are rectilinear so can only work with one laser processing head at a time, and within their motion envelope. Tis design cannot support motion overlap of more than one bridge and gantry structure since it will interfere within its own structure. Despite the mechanical design limits, CNCs have enjoyed a large market share in CO2 laser applications, as the beam delivery is well suited for the rectilinear structure and its Cartesian motion envelope. Te use of CO2


on robots has been


limited to specialised applications and was tried early on with some success. Te largest problem is that beam delivery can become quite complex if not designed properly, though good solutions exist. Today the robotic CO2


market is primarily


plastics trimming where the 10µm wavelength is more suitable. Fibre delivery is nearly as simple as routing the optical fibre cable along the arm and to the processing head. Te cost per watt of a fibre laser has come down significantly, while robot motion performance has increased in the last decade. Robot manufacturers continually


@lasersystemsmag | www.lasersystemseurope.com


Fanuc America Corp


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