SHOW REPORT: ILAS 2019


CONFERENCING IN CREWE


Matthew Dale shares three applications of laser technology presented at ILAS 2019


In March I had the pleasure of attending ILAS, the Industrial Laser Applications Symposium hosted by the Association for Industrial Laser Users (AILU). The two-day user-oriented


conference – at the palatial Crewe Hall in Cheshire, UK – was packed with talks on welding, cutting, additive manufacturing, drilling, marking, process monitoring and much more. It provided me with a great opportunity to step away from my desk (and an inbox filled with the many product press releases and success stories of laser manufacturers), and really


8 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE SUMMER 2019


delve into the world of users and the exciting applications they address on a daily basis with laser technology. Below are three applications that caught my eye.


Electrifying aerospace Clive Grafton-Reed, Rolls Royce’s global process owner for laser processes, opened the first speaker session by saying that laser processing is on the rise and facing new challenges in the aerospace industry. Laser marking, for example, is


now being increasingly used to add fine marks to aircraft parts to increase their traceability and to combat fraud. Lasers are also being used more and


more to drill cooling holes in the turbine engines of aircraft – the number of which has increased from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of holes per engine over the years, according to Grafton-Reed (see feature, page 18). New challenges in laser


processing are arising, however, due to the advent of electrification in aerospace – which Grafton-Reed said needs to happen to meet the 2050 emission and noise targets


ILAS is a user-oriented conference that


welcomes attendees from all aspects of industrial laser processing


set by the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe (ACARE). Engine CO2 and NOx


emissions


must be reduced by 75 per cent and 90 per cent respectively by 2050, while aircraft noise must be cut by 65 per cent – considerably lower than currently achievable. ‘This is a huge challenge,’


Grafton-Reed said. ‘Some of the engines in development will close a large part of this gap, but we have a long way to go.’


E-Fan X will be a hybrid-electric aircraft demonstrator produced by Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens


@LASERSYSTEMSMAG | WWW.LASERSYSTEMSEUROPE.COM @researchinfo | www.researchinformation.info


Rolls-Royce


AILU


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