REPORT: PHOTONICS WEST
the distance to the workpiece is 50cm or more. He noted that this is not possible with any other blue laser on the market. The high brightness also enables the use of scanning – for which the firm also provides technology – with a power density optimal for deep penetration and speed. ‘Scanning and remote welding are very critical delivery processes for the key markets: lithium ion battery welding, e-mobility, consumer electronics and general electronics packaging,’ Pelaprat said.
Speaking with Laserline’s head
The benefits of AI and machine learning in laser processing were discussed by a panel of experts at the show
g
battery cells. Lasers are already used to clean, drill, cut and weld such foils. Regarding the processing challenges posed by copper’s high reflectivity, Prugar referenced Trumpf’s development of a green version of its TruDisk laser, the wavelength of which exhibits a 40 per cent absorption in copper – compared to the approximate 5 per cent absorption of the infrared wavelength used by fibre lasers. The latest 2kW version of this technology was on display at Trumpf’s booth during Photonic West, and Prugar informed attendees that an upcoming 3kW version has already been produced in the firm’s R&D lab. He noted Trumpf is looking for partners with which it can develop uses for this higher power, such as the welding of copper and other materials at higher thicknesses. Prugar also acknowledged the suitability of blue laser technology for copper processing. However, he remarked that while blue wavelengths do exhibit higher absorption than green, there does tend to be a drop in beam quality and diode lifetime when using the technology. He added that while Trumpf is currently in the process of evaluating the two wavelengths, so far the firm is finding the trade-offs to be more beneficial for green laser technology. This doesn’t mean that blue
10 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE SPRING 2020
“Both Nuburu and Laserline have upscaled their blue laser technology to offer 1.5kW power”
lasers are set to be outclassed by green in e-mobility, however – far from it. Nuburu and Laserline were also at the show discussing the advances they have made to blue laser technology for copper processing. Both have upscaled their technology to offer 1.5kW power: Nuburu with its AI-1500 and Laserline with the LDMblue 1500-60.
Speaking with Nuburu’s co-
founder, Jean-Michel Pelaprat, I learnt that the 1.5kW laser is the first model of the firm’s new AI product line (AI meaning ‘deep blue’ in Japanese) whereas previous lasers have been part of its original AO line (meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese). The new product line is based
on a very different light engine design to that of the AO line, Pelaprat explained. It is a third of the size, more than twice as powerful, up to three times brighter (offering BPP < 11mm. mrad), and 30 per cent more efficient than its predecessor. The high brightness offered
by this new laser enables it to be used for remote welding, which, according to Pelaprat, is when
Nuburu has recently introduced a 1.5kW blue diode laser with increased brightness, allowing it to be used for remote welding
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Artificial intelligence in process control A Q&A session followed the ‘Lasers in Manufacturing’ industry session. The speakers, in addition to Gillner, of Fraunhofer ILT, and Trumpf’s Prugar, consisted of Chi-Woo Kim, president of APS Holdings, which uses
of product management, Stefan Aust, I learnt that the LDMblue 1500-60 was first shown by the firm in November at Blechexpo, in Stuttgart, where it was presented as part of a hybrid concept for copper keyhole welding that sees blue and infrared laser light combined. The new technique connects infrared and blue laser light via a special optic, enabling a large, blue spot to be used to form and stabilise a melt pool in the copper, and then a centred infrared beam – from a 4kW diode laser – to create and maintain the keyhole. This enables welding depths larger than those possible when LDMblue is used on its own. The LDMblue can also be offered with scanning technology, according to Aust, with the firm having presented the ‘LDMblue plus special scanner’ solution alongside its hybrid solution at Blechexpo last year.
industrial laser technology in the manufacture of OLED displays. I took the opportunity to ask the panel whether artificial intelligence and deep learning were poised to bring benefit to industrial laser processing, as it’s a topic I’ve been following ever since Dr Ben Mills, of the Optoelectronics Research Centre, shared his work with deep learning in Laser Systems Europe’s spring issue last year. Gillner said this is definitely
the case, and that the ILT has been exploring tools, including machine learning and AI, for two years for controlling laser processes. High-speed cameras are used by the institute to monitor parameters such as plasma formation, irradiance, temperature measurement and melt flow behaviour.
Using AI enables upper and
lower limits of such parameters to be identified in the large amounts of captured data, which, when breached, can be used to automatically detect failures in welds or cuts.
Kim added that AI is also
very important in display manufacturing for controlling the multitude of process parameters involved. He said that it is very hard to achieve high-quality, optimal displays without being able to control all the parameters. AI is therefore playing a key role in ensuring the stringent quality demands of the display industry are being met. Prugar commented that, at least in the battery world, the holy grail now is to find an in-process method to qualify every single weld non-destructively. While he said that such a capability does not yet exist, when it eventually does, tools such as machine learning and AI will undoubtedly play an important role. l
Nuburu
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