IPG Photonics will be exhibiting fibre lasers and multi-axis systems at MACH (Stand H7-100). The company will be running a demonstration of dissimilar metals joining on a fully automated welding system equipped with a high brightness single mode fibre laser and wobble head. IPG will demonstrate welding of bright metals such as copper to standard industrial metals such as steel and aluminium.
The amazing success of fibre laser technology and its revolutionary impact on laser-based manufacturing bear the hallmarks of more widely publicised technology game changers, such as the displacement of vacuum tubes by the transistor. The analogy is apt when you consider that legacy lasers are bulky, inefficient and short-lived devices that are difficult to assemble and require frequent service. Fibre lasers, on the other hand, are compact, highly efficient and robust devices which offer service-free operation through their entire application lifetime.
The True Industrial Laser: Both key fibre laser elements, semiconductor diodes and optical fibre, lend themselves to mass production with outstanding process control and repeatability, while the key fibre laser assembly step is fusion splicing of optical fibres. Compare this with the bulky hermetic laser cavities, precision optical alignments and ultra-flat optical surface requirements typical of legacy lasers, and it is apparent that the simplicity and elegance of the fibre laser accounts for its efficiency, compactness, robustness and low cost that drive its enormous success in the marketplace.