Materials Processing
and Industrial Application Report

Information Exchange on Laser Sources and Laser Machining Tools

Coherent Introduces Smallest 1 kW Machine Tool at Fabtech 2011

At FABTECH 2011, Coherent presents the METABEAM 1000, the most compact turnkey, laser-based machine tool of its class. This unique tool enables cost effective cutting of sheet metal including stainless steel, mild steel, aluminum and brass as well as plastic and organic materials all in one machine. Using the Coherent DIAMOND E-1000, a 1000W, completely sealed CO2 laser, the METABEAM offers substantially lower capital and operational costs when compared to legacy systems based on fast flow CO2 lasers. The METABEAM 1000 also delivers several advantages over cutting systems that utilize fiber lasers. Specifically, the long wavelength infrared output of the CO2, like fiber lasers, enables the system to work on a wide range of metals, but also process organic materials such as wood and plastic. "In general, our customers are looking for high performance and low cost of ownership but with the flexibility to meet the changing material demands in their facilities," said Stephen Lee, Coherent Laser Machine Tools Product Manager.

The METABEAM 1000 will be available with either a 1.25m x 1.25m or 1.25m x 2.50m cutting table, and offers a cutting accuracy of ±25µm over its entire range. The system utilizes a capacitive height sensor to maintain constant spacing between the cutting nozzle and metal surface, and comes standard with auto focus to deliver consistent clean cuts. Additionally, the system has two independent, high pressure regulators to rapidly switch between assist gasses, thus enabling cutting of a variety of materials with minimal setup time. Various automation enhancement tools, such as pallet shuttles, are available to facilitate integration into a production environment and increase productivity.

The METABEAM 1000 offers cost effective processing of a wide range of metals and other materials for job shops, metal service centers and sheet metal fabrication shops. Its ease of use and automation capabilities will also make it attractive for in-house sheet metal cutting for manufacturers in a broad range of industries including white goods (appliances), automobiles, aerospace and contract manufacturing.

Coherent Demonstrates Unique Cladding Results with its
New HighLight 8000D

At LASER-World of Photonics Munich 2011, Coherent presented its new HighLight 8000D, a free-space direct diode laser, available with various beam shapes and an optional cladding nozzle. Physically compact and lightweight (compared with most other industrial lasers), it is built from diode laser bars, and when multiple stacks are combined it can deliver multiple kW’s of laser power. Coherent's HighLight D-Series lasers, with up to 8 kW of output power available at 975 nm and smart beam shape optics, are the ideal source for large area heat treatment and high deposition rate cladding in the oil & gas and other industries. Its natural rectangular mode of output can be easily re-imaged as a line of laser light which "paints" across the surface as it is moved in a direction perpendicular to its long axis. This allows wide, flat cladding of controllable thickness with very low dilution and little distortion.

In laser cladding, the laser melts a powdered metal or wire placed onto the work surface to produce a metallurgical bonded continuous high-alloy layer.

The direct diode laser, having a wavelength in the range of 800-1000 nm, has the unique advantage of high absorption of this shorter wavelength (higher photon energies) into the base metal surface of typical drilling components. As a result, the direct diode laser has been documented to be almost twice as efficient as a CO2 laser for the cladding process. This benefit is in addition to the electrical efficiencies, which are 4 - 6 times that of CO2 lasers and 15 – 20 times that of non-laser techniques.

Recent tests in Coherent's application labs have shown clad widths up to 23 mm (20 mm effective clad width) with single pass clad thicknesses of >2 mm, which could be achieved at 0.5m/min by using 8 kW of laser power.

In comparison to application results achieved with our market proven HighLight 4000L using 4 kW in power, 2.5x more effective clad width could be achieved using the same cladding speed.

Please feel free to contact us to discuss your laser cutting needs. Simply fill out our Contact Us form found on the Laser Machine Tools section of the Coherent website, or call us at +49.6071.9680.

Coherent Opens a New Application Facility in Europe

Coherent recently opened a new laser application center and showroom for its Laser Machine Tools in its facility in Dieburg, Germany. This new institution offers access to a Coherent METABEAM laser system equipped with the field proven DIAMOND E-400 CO2 laser.

The application lab is available to customers for individualized consultation on their unique laser cutting needs. Application center personnel are available to help customers find ideally suited parameters to improve their production efficiency and provide excellent cutting results.

"The new showroom and application center gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the outstanding performance of Coherent's laser machine tools to our customers and partners throughout Europe," notes Michael Jess, Sales Manager Europe – Laser Machine Tools. "The METABEAM system delivers cutting results with the highest speed and quality combined with higher precision than comparable laser cutting machines. The use of optically read linear scales with 2 µm step on all axes contributes to this unmatched precision."

Operators of large laser cutting machines with multi-kilowatt lasers often produce small parts at costs much higher than the work piece value. Equipped with completely sealed, highly efficient and almost maintenance-free CO2 lasers, a Coherent laser machine tool with operation costs of 2 to 4 Euro per hour, is the ideal complement to such large machines. Especially when cutting small and intricate parts, there is typically no productivity gain in using large and high power machines.

Need more information? Call us at +49.6071.9680 or email us at tech.sales@coherent.com

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About Coherent, Inc.

Coherent Inc. is one of the world's leading suppliers of laser sources, laser tools and laser-based solutions offering reliability and performance advantages for the widest range of commercial and scientific research applications. To find out more about Coherent, please visit our website.

For more information about the products in this bulletin, or for questions or comments, please contact us using the information below.

Europe

Benelux +31 (0)30 280 60 60, coherent.europe@coherent.com
France +33 (0)1 8038 10 00, coherent.france@coherent.com
Germany +49 (0)6071 968 0, sales.germany@coherent.com
Italy +39 02 31 03 95 1, coherent.italia@coherent.com
UK +44 1 353 65 88 00, sales.uk@coherent.com

Please visit us at:

Expolaser, Piacenza , Italy, November 17-19, 2011
TIME, Istanbul, Turkey, November 24-27, 2011
SIGN, Istanbul, Turkey, December 1-4, 2011
INDUSTRIE PARIS, Paris, France, March 26-30, 2012
MACH, Birmingham, UK, April 16-20, 2012
XYLEXPO, Milano, Italy, May 8-12, 2012
LAMIERA, Bologna, Italy, May 9-12, 2012
LASYS, Stuttgart, Germany, June 12-14, 2012