28
Jan, 2026

AILU Half-Day Workshop – Handheld Laser Applications

Introduction

Chair: Paola de Bono (TWI)

Hand-held laser systems for welding, cleaning, and marking have grown rapidly in recent years, driven by falling fibre laser costs, compact and ruggedised delivery optics, and demand from industries seeking flexible, portable alternatives to fixed automation. From shipyards and oil & gas maintenance to fabrication shops and heritage conservation, these systems are being deployed across an increasingly broad range of applications — and the market shows no sign of slowing.

Yet hand-held operation introduces challenges that fixed-beam systems do not face. Operator technique directly affects process quality; fume and radiation hazards are less easily controlled; and buyers navigating a crowded supplier landscape often find it difficult to assess what a system is truly capable of.

This workshop brings together experts from across the sector to address these questions directly. Topics will include:

  • Technology — how hand-held laser systems work, and how current designs have evolved
  • Capability — what welding, cleaning, and marking applications are achievable, and what their limits are
  • Safety — the regulatory landscape, risk assessment, and practical control measures for hand-held operation

Who Should Attend

This workshop is relevant to anyone involved in hand-held laser systems: equipment manufacturers and distributors, system integrators, safety officers, end users in manufacturing, maintenance, or conservation, and organisations considering purchasing a system for the first time. Whether you supply, specify, or operate — or are simply evaluating whether hand-held lasers are right for your business — this event will provide the knowledge and contacts you need.

The Workshop will be followed by the AILU AGM.

Programme 

09:30 – 10:00  Registration

10:00 – 10:10 Welcome
Paola De Bono, TWI

Session 1

10:10 – 10:30  Handheld Laser Welding Systems – An Aerospace End User Perspective
Mark Dodds, ITP Aero

10:30 – 10:50  Handheld Laser Cleaning Capability and Performance on Grade 5 Ti 6Al 4V
Ali Khan, TWI

10:50 – 11:10 Laser Cleaning at Scale: A Real World Case Study
Harvey Allpress, LaserTec Laser Cleaning

11:10 AM – 11:40  Break

Session 2

11:40 – 12:00 Reduced Hazard Handheld Laser Cleaning Using Retina Safe Wavelengths
Tara Murphy, Woodrow Scientific

12:00 – 12:20 Hand-held Laser Safety Standards are Changing: Are You Ready ?
Neal Croxford, Dovecote Technologies

12:20 – 12:40 Laser Safety for Handheld Laser Systems
Ross Tomlin, Pro-Lite Technology

12:40 – 13:30  Lunch

13:30 – 14:20  Tour of TWI Labs (optional)

14:30 – 15:30  AGM (optional)

 

Venue

TWI
Granta Park
Great Abington
Cambridge
CB21 6AL

 

 

The 2026 AGM will follow this workshop, see here.

27
Nov, 2025

AILU Workshop: Optics & Beam Delivery

 

 

Sponsored by Laser Trader

 

Introduction

Chair: Bethan Smith (MTC)

Material processing applications such as cutting, drilling, welding, and surface structuring rely heavily on advanced beam delivery and control to achieve high productivity and consistent quality across metals, plastics, ceramics, glass, and other industrial materials. Innovations in optics for beam shaping, fiber-optic delivery, articulated arms, scanning heads, and welding and cutting heads have played a central role in enabling higher throughput, easier integration, improved reliability, and greater overall efficiency.

This workshop will feature presenters discussing recent developments in optical components, beam-shaping methods, and beam-delivery hardware—including galvo scanning heads, articulated arms, and processing heads for welding and cutting. These insights will be valuable to beam-delivery manufacturers, optics suppliers, system integrators, and end users of laser material processing, as well as researchers working to advance the field.

As well as listening to the presenters, there is plenty of time for networking with the other delegates and a handful of exhibitors. The meeting includes tea/coffee breaks and a buffet lunch.

 

Programme

9:30 – 10:00 am Registration and Coffee

10:00 – 10:10  Welcome
Bethan Smith, MTC

10:10 – 10:30  Novel Optical Coating Techniques for High Power Laser Material Processing Applications
Samuel Thienel, Laser Components

10:30 – 10:50  Flexible mechanisms for free-space delivery of laser energy
Nick Clark, Alban Laser Systems

10:50 – 11:10  Single-Step AI Control of Coherent Beam Combination for Agile Beam Shaping
Ben Mills, University of Southampton

11.10 – 11.40  Tea & Coffee Break

11:40 – 12:00  A stable beam for a stable process
Fabrice Meier, Cailabs

12:00 – 12:20  Agile Femtosecond Lasers for Precision Multi-Material Manufacturing
Nicolas Valero, Amplitude Laser: 

12:20 – 12:40  Innovative hollow core fibre beam delivery solutions for Ultrashort Pulsed Lasers
Benoît Beaudou, GLOphotonics

12.40 – 1.50 pm Lunch, Exhibitors and Networking

1:50 – 2:10  Beam Shaping for Advanced Laser Manufacturing
Andrea Geltrude, PowerPhotonic

2:10 – 2:30  Example applications in laser beam manipulation for micro-structuring of materials
Olivier Allegre, University of Manchester

2:30 – 2:50  Keyhole stabilisation and spatter-free welding with Adjustable Mode Beam fibre lasers
Mustafa Coskun, IPG Photonics

2:50 – 3:20 Tea & Coffee Break

3:20 – 3:40  UK Laser Damage Assessment and IBD Coatings for High-Power Applications
Andrew Ritchie, BRL Laser Damage Ltd.

 

Venue


Manufacturing Technology Centre

MTC Events
AMTC Building
Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre
Airfield Drive
Ansty Business Park
Coventry
CV7 9JU

What3Words: encodes.backed.balancing

Go to Google Maps

 

 

Travelling by car

The MTC in Coventry is located minutes away from Junction 2 of the M6.

Head into the Ansty Business Park through a set of traffic lights. Go straight over the next two roundabouts and then take the first exit at the third roundabout. From here, take the first right for the AMTC Building car park.

Parking at the AMTC building

Located within our beautiful grounds, the parking facilities at our AMTC building in Coventry have 275 complimentary car parking spaces and 10 large disabled parking bays. The parking is secure with barrier control, and we have dedicated EV parking for electric vehicles.

Please only use dedicated car parking when travelling by car. Stopping and parking on the roundabout in front of the venue is prohibited at all times, including for dropping off and picking up. Please be aware that regular law enforcement patrol the area and issue fines in accordance with the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Travelling by train

Just 20 minutes from Coventry Railway Station, rail is a popular transport option for our delegates. The X30 bus travels from Coventry railway station to the Ansty Business Park every 20 minutes. Alternatively, there’s a taxi rank situated just outside the station.

Travelling by air

Birmingham Airport is less than a 30-minute drive from Ansty Business Park. If you’d like us to arrange Taxis or Ubers from the airport, please let the MTC know.

Travelling by bus

There’s a dedicated bus service that runs frequently between Ansty Park and the centre of Coventry.

The X30 stops at Pool Meadow Bus Station in Coventry, and travels via Coventry train station.

From the city centre, the bus route follows the main artery roads past the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, before arriving at Ansty Park.

Laserax

Laserax works with the world’s leading manufacturers to implement laser cleaning, welding, texturing and marking solutions.

23
Jul, 2025

AILU Event – Early Careers Group Seminar & Tour

AILU’s Early Careers Group Seminar & JET Fusion Tour

Wednesday 19th November
UKAEA, Culham, Oxfordshire

 

Founded in 2017, AILU’s Early Careers Group (ECG) represents the next generation of laser industry and academic professionals. Members of the Group are from a variety of laser backgrounds including universities & research centres, and industrial manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors.

On Wednesday 19th November the Group will host a seminar followed by a tour of the JET fusion facility. 

The seminar and tour are open to AILU members and non-members, and would be of interest to those who might like to join this group or would benefit from networking with this enthusiastic and talented pool of individuals.

IMPORTANT: Attendees must bring photo ID.

 

Programme 

10:00  – 10:30  Registration & Refreshments    

10:30  – 10:50   Welcome and Introduction to Fusion Energy Research at UKAEA
Chris Peters, UKAEA

10:50  – 11:05  Laser Repair Processes for Remote In-Situ Operations in Future Fusion Power Plants 
Sean Roche-Watson, University of Manchester

11:05  – 11:20  Exploring Microstructural Evolution Induced by Dynamic Beam Shaping in Autogenous Laser Beam Welding of AA6082 
Reshad Bakhtari , Warwick University

11:20  – 11:35  Commercial Thinking for Technical People: Understanding Value, Not Just Specs 
Tom Kerrigan, TLM Laser

11:35  – 11:55  Cutting Edge Laser Processing and Micro-Machining Tools 
Mike O’Key, OpTek Systems 

12:00  – 13:00  Lunch    

13:00  – 14:30  Tour        

14:30 – 16:00  ECG Members’ Meeting

 

Tour

Joint European Torus (JET) was the world’s largest and most powerful fusion machine – it operated for over 40 years, setting a series of fusion performance records until closing in late 2023. The project was hosted by UKAEA for labs around Europe and laid the foundation for many of the advances we see in fusion research today.

Now JET is becoming a pioneer in the decommissioning of large fusion facilities. The techniques and knowledge from UKAEA’s JET Decommissioning & Repurposing (JDR) programme will help to develop future fusion plants that are sustainable from both an environmental and financial perspective.

The tour will allow individuals to gain an appreciation of the scale and complexity of this large device and the systems required to operate and maintain it.

 

Venue

UK Atomic Energy Authority
Culham Campus
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 3DB

Click on the links below for:

Travel details – Visitor-travel-information-UKAEA.pdf

Site map – Site-map-UKAEA.pdf

Tour information – Tour-information-UKAEA.pdf

15
Jul, 2025

AILU 2025 Annual Job Shop Business Meeting

 
 
Sponsored by Laser Trader

 

Introduction

The laser manufacturing sector contains over 150 subcontractors in the UK. If you are a member of this community or in the supply chain, this meeting is for you!

Not a member of AILU? No problem! Non-members are welcome too. Talk to us about special offer tickets for non-members in the laser subcontract industry – especially if you have never experienced this meeting before. 

After this event, you will take away vital information which can make a real difference to your business. By mixing with industry peers, the AILU Job Shop Members can benchmark their performance in a number of business areas. This meeting will focus on Carbon Footprint reduction, Cyber Security, Cost of Metals and Scrap, Micromachining, Welding and much more – so that participants have the information to determine the future directions of their business.  Plenty of time is set aside in the programme for networking and discussion with delegates and presenters.

As well as the above there will be the usual opportunities to catch up with the latest new technology on the market, the results of the Prime and Scrap Metal Survey and the Open Discussion Forum which allows people to ask any question that may be answered by our panel of experts or participants in the audience. 

Programme

09:30 – 10:00   Registration & refreshments

10:00 – 10:05   Welcome & Introduction
Chris Waters (Chair of AILU Job Shop Group)

10:05 – 10:20  Introduction to TRUMPF
Lee Moakes (TRUMPF UK)

10:20 – 10:40  Reducing Carbon and Costs with Real Solutions
Matthew Roberts (Energise)

10:40 – 11:00  Buying Energy in 2026
Liam Conway (Greenfields Energy Group)

11:00 – 11:30   Refreshments

11.30 – 11.50  Drivers and Challenges in the UK Steel Market 2026 
Kaye Ayub (MEPS International)

11:50 – 12:10  How Cyber-secure is Your Business?
Paul Crumpton  (IASME)

12:10-12:30 Laser & Ultrasonic Welding
Phil Carr (Carrs Welding)

12:30 – 12:40 AILU Prime & Scrap Metal Survey Results
Dave MacLellan (AILU)

12:40 – 13:40  Lunch

13:40 – 14:40  What’s new – short commercial presentations
Short company pitches (10 mins each): Bystronic, Ficep, SS Laser Solutions, Mate Tooling Solutions, World Machinery, TRUMPF

14:40-15:20  Open Discussion Forum

15:20  Close

 

Directions:

Directions to venue on Google Maps

PLEASE PARK IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING AND ENTER VIA THE MAIN ENTRANCE

 

Trident Power Cleaning Ltd

We provide a comprehensive range of nonabrasive laser cleaning solutions and services designed to meet the needs of UK Industry, in particular insurance, restoration, welding, manufacturing, food, plastics, and construction. Lasertec offers expert laser cleaning and surface preparation services, along with options for purchasing, renting, or short-term service use of laser cleaners.