ANALYSIS: CUTTING
Cutting innovations make waves in industry
Takaaki Yamanashi, of Amada, shares how users have been getting to grips with the firm’s Locus Beam Control technology since it first debuted at EuroBlech 2018
improve processing in the mid- range power band while keeping power consumption – and therefore cost-per-part – as low as possible, all while providing extra benefit to users. Amada’s R&D team discovered that significant improvements to the interaction of the laser beam and metal could be achieved by the ability to oscillate a low- order laser beam independent of the cutting head direction of travel, while maintaining the high brightness provided by continued developments in laser diode technology. This led to the development of Locus Beam Control (LBC) technology (see figure 1), which first debuted in 2018. Since then we have seen
One of the challenges in recent years has been how to get the best performance from a solid- state laser cutting machine without simply increasing the overall power of the engine. Increased power can lead to unexpected knock-on effects within the machine itself, such as increased consumable costs, as well as generally increasing the machine cost. Several different beam shaping technologies have been developed by different manufacturers, but these have all been static control solutions and all have led to the energy density of the laser beam to be compromised in some way. Some even require additional optics to be manually changed by an operator in the cutting head before production can continue. Research into dynamic beam
oscillation methods and control systems revealed their ability to
18 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE SUMMER 2022
users increasingly realise they do not require the high-power systems they initially thought they did, and they can achieve similar cutting results using a 4kW LBC-enabled system – at lower running costs – than a 6kW system. Not only that, but they are also seeing these systems require less regular maintenance than higher-power systems due to them being less susceptible to imperfections in the beam path, such as dirty laser optics.
Beam control beats power When cutting thin materials, a standard solid-state laser beam has a sharp, power-dense profile. However, as the material thickness increases, the focus position must be adjusted to provide the optimum cut width to remove molten material, thereby reducing the power density of the beam. The only way to overcome this decreased power density and still provide enhanced cutting performance is to increase the laser power. With LBC technology, the power density of the laser
beam never changes from the sharp, power-dense profile. The beam is moved dynamically in predefined patterns depending on the material and thickness being processed. This independent beam movement provides the optimum cut width, retains the high power density of the beam and allows material on the cutting front to be removed with high efficiency. For users to take full
advantage of this type of technology, Amada developed a new 4kW single diode module fibre laser engine. It was discovered during the development of LBC technology that keeping the low order properties of the laser beam was a fundamental requirement. Originally, in 2010, Amada developed a fibre laser engine using 600W modules that were combined together. In 2014, the design was changed to utilise 2kW modules. The elimination of combined modules meant the superior BPP of the beam was retained at the 2kW level. In 2017, 3kW single modules were introduced, moving this BPP benefit to a higher power level. Whilst developing LBC technology, a parallel development was made into a 4kW single diode module, as it was realised that the benefits of a high quality beam at higher power would provide additional benefits. When LBC technology was released on the Ventis-AJ fibre laser at EuroBlech 2018, it was therefore powered by the new 4kW single diode module engine without the need for a module combiner. It is this set-up that users are finding
capable of achieving similar results to higher-power 6kW systems at lower running costs. The introduction of this
type of laser processing also required the development of enhanced control systems in relation to the beam cutting direction. If the dynamic beam pattern is not altered during the cutting process, the final cut shape will not be as the customer requires. Vector control technology was developed to eliminate this issue. Using this system, the dynamic beam pattern can be
“Users are increasingly realising they don’t need the high-power systems they initially investigate”
adjusted as the cutting head approaches, turns through and accelerates away from a corner, ensuring the required cut shape is correct after processing. Figure 2 shows three examples of instances where there is either no control or incorrect control (2a to 2c), versus the Vector Control technology result (2d). As can be seen, the dynamic beam pattern must be altered progressively in relation to the cutting head direction to ensure that the final cut profile is correct.
Figure 1: The difference between a standard solid-state laser without any type of beam control and LBC technology
@LASERSYSTEMSMAG |
WWW.LASERSYSTEMSEUROPE.COM
Amada
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
