Few would dispute that we live in a time of accelerating technology change which continues to impact society and business, very often in highly beneficial ways. In many respects, this e-letter exemplifies a revolution that is taking place – that is in the area of communications.

The revolution is having a profound impact on businesses, particularly in their advertising of products and services. The channels available have grown at an amazing rate over the last decade, in ways often not foreseen. All businesses must ‘reach’ customers to survive and, for the faint-hearted, this change in the landscape can risk a panic attack!

The difficult economic times add urgency to address some key business questions. eg Which are the best routes to get ones message out to the customer base? Are some of the traditional routes (ie advertising in selected trade journals, attendance at trade shows, etc) still appropriate? Should we try something new, and how do we really judge the cost-effectiveness? These are not easy questions to answer, particularly if you are a SME with a limited (often near zero) budget.

Even a cursory look at the marketplace shows that many businesses have decided traditional routes are not cost-effective, hence we see the (possibly terminal) decline in printed newspaper and magazine sales as traditional advertising dries up, together with the decline of travel and trade-show attendance. A snap-shot of activity in our own industry and via solicited views of it, suggests that electronic advertising is fast becoming the norm.

Companies are raising the investment in their own Websites, establishing improved links to it (e.g. via databases and search engines), and using e-newsletters, particularly via their established customer base, to keep themselves in the eye of the market. The strategy allows good hands-on control with very rapid promotion of business ‘news’ to the target community. I have learnt that, for SMEs today, there are cases where this approach has totally replaced traditional advertising methods, being judged to be much more cost effective. The economic climate has certainly accelerated this change, which I believe will not reverse.

AILU via its recent major Website investment and the innovation of this eNewsletter, has caught the tide. Thereby we will undoubtedly benefit our membership via providing a fast and cost-effective route for business news, networking and advertising.

Clive Ireland

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16 September 2009
Technology Strategy Board announces new competitions for funding
The Technology Strategy Board is pleased to announce the opening of the September 09 competition for funding which open on 1st September 2009

8 September 2009
Laser Welding Electrical Contacts
Laser welding has several advantages over conventional welding processes including reduced thermal distortion due to very small heat affected zones (HAZ), accurate control of heat input that allows welding close to heat-sensitive parts, and the ability to repeatedly direct the beam precisely to the weld point

8 September 2009
GSI Launches new JK604D pulsed Laser
This month GSI Group introduces a new product to its popular range of JK Industrial Lasers. The new JK604D laser has been specifically designed to address percussion drilling and trepanning within the Aerospace and Automotive industry sectors

7 September 2009
New 525W DPSS Laser Delivers High Reliability for Solar Cell Processing
The new MambaTM from Coherent Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) (Nasdaq: COHR) is a 525 Watt (at 1064 nm), diode-pumped, solid-state laser that delivers an unmatched combination of high reliability, long lifetime and minimal maintenance downtime, and is primarily intended for high throughput materials processing applications such as edge deletion of solar panels and ITO patterning

3 September 2009
Science museum hosted laser-sintering demonstration
Over three days towards the end of August at the Science Museum in London, under the title “create and make - print in 3D”, a FORMIGA P 100 plastic laser-sintering machine from EOS gave the general public a glimpse into the future of manufacturing

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The articles below are from the Summer 2009 Issue of the AILU Magazine

A comparison of pulsed lamp-pumped Nd: YAG and fibre laser micro-processing

The lamp pumped pulsed Nd: YAG laser has played a major role in the development of laser microprocessing, including cutting, drilling and welding; however, the development of single mode fibre lasers is now providing a challenging alternative source for this work. Here we provide comparative micro-processing data for a pulsed lamp pumped Nd: YAG laser and a single mode fibre laser with up to 200 W average power. The comparison includes cutting, drilling and joining and a range of materials including plastics and polycrystalline silicon (wafers).
An area where there is a significant difference between lamp-pumped YAG and fibre laser performance is pulsed operation. Lamp-pumped lasers are capable of producing long, multi-ms, pulses with peak powers many times the rated average power of the laser, provided that the duty cycle is sufficiently low. By contrast, while the semiconductor laser diodes used to pump a fibre laser can be on-off modulated over a wide frequency range (from DC to tens of kHz in most industrial applications), they cannot typically be over-driven for long periods (i.e. multi-ms), as in a flash-lamp, without reducing the lifetime of the device to an unacceptable level. From an applications perspective, both these regimes (i.e. long high-energy pulses but a poorer beam quality, and high repetition rate on-off type modulation, single-mode beam quality but low pulse energy) have their advantages.

Laser micro-processing is a key enabling technology in modern manufacturing. From a comparison of a 100 W single mode fibre and a lamp-pumped pulsed Nd:YAG laser the following conclusions are drawn. The better quality of the fibre laser gave rise to a narrower kerf width and heat affected zone, making it a good choice for micro-cutting applications. Pulsed Nd: YAG laser with its high pulse energies and peak power capabilities is better suited for fine percussion drilling in a range of materials including carbon fibre composites. For micro-joining application the CW fibre laser is limited to welding stainless steel up to 1 mm thick, whereas with a high precision, low average power Nd:YAG laser with high peak power and enhanced control and complex pulse shaping facilities offers greater flexibility for micro-welding a range of materials including highly reflectivity materials i.e. aluminium, copper alloys and dissimilar materials.

Mo Naeem and Steffan Lewis
GSI Group, Laser Division,Rugby

IMAGE: SEM micrographs of stents

AILU members can log in to the AILU web site and download this article free of charge. Otherwise click here to order a copy’

The impact of the machinery directive on laser processing machines

In the Europe Union (EU), there is a legal obligation on machines manufacturers to implement the Machinery Directive and for employers using machines to meet the requirements of the Use of Work Equipment by Workers at Work Directive (89/665/EEC and amendments).

The requirement to implement the Machinery Directive in the EU cam into force in 1995. Since then, there have been several amendments to the Directive mainly to extend the scope to include a greater range of safety components. In 2006 the Machinery Directive was re-issued as 2006/42/EC. In it the range of safety components was extended and a number of small but significant changes to the requirements for complete machines was introduced. The transition period for  implementing the Directive runs out on the 29 December 2009.

Changes to the Directive are highlighted and the application of the revised standard for safety-related controls are explained.  Note is also made of the requirement to consider acoustic noise and the developments being made to cover laser processing machines.

Risk assessments play an important part in the lifecycles of laser processing machine design, manufacture, installation and use. Changes continue to occur in the requirements and standards that are applicable and are valuable when making potentially dangerous machines safe to use. The two major publications described, relating to safety-related control systems and acoustic noise, give guidance to enable designers and others involved the continuous process of improving safety of laser processing machines.

Mike Barrett
Pro Laser, Abingdon, Oxon

IMAGE: Laser process machining (courtesy: Laser Lines Ltd.)

AILU members can log in to the AILU web site and download this article free of charge. Otherwise click here to order a copy’

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22 September 2009
Meeting future manufacturing needs with laser-materials innovations at the micro- and nano level
In this annual workshop, industrial users of laser processing technology, suppliers of laser-based equipment and researchers in new laser technology come together to present their applications. This year’s workshop is run in collaboration with both the newly-formed Photonics and Plastic Electronics Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and the Nanotechnology KTN and seeks to bring together researchers and industrialists to review the latest innovations in micro and non-scale laser processing and the opportunities that they create. Chaired by Malcolm Gower

20-21 October 2009
MM LIVE 2009
MM Live is a global showcase for everything to do with the mass manufacture of small to micro precision parts, whether a company can make them to order or supply the machinery to mill, cut or mould. Companies from all industrial sectors are embracing the potential micro manufacturing can offer. As consumers demand small, lighter, and more portable products, MM Live offers the manufacturer the solutions. Exhibits cover the full spectrum of micro manufacturing techniques from laser cutting, welding, and micro machining to injection moulding, inspection & measurement, photo etching, handling and assembly.

28 October 2009
Job Shop 09: Surviving the Recession
The annual business meeting dealing with topical subjects in the laser sub-contract sector. Non-AILU member job shops are welcome to attend. An opportunity to learn, to network and to discuss the major issues of the day.

19-21 November 2009
EXPOlaser 2009
Piacenza exhibition centre will host EXPOlaser again. Thanks to successful results of previous exhibitions, the show is the national reference event dedicated to industrial applications of laser technology. 200 exhibitors and represented firms attended EXPOlaser 2007, with more than 6500 professional visitors coming from Italy and abroad (Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland). This year's show is expected to be even better.

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