Sapphire cutting for electronic displays, laser marking and processes related to retrieving and transporting oil, were among the leading applications spotlighted at LIA’s fourth Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) on Sept. 23-24 at the Schaumburg (IL) Convention Center.
Attendees packed 101-level courses on laser types, laser welding, cost advantages of lasers and laser safety, as well as four keynote addresses at the Laser Technology Showcase Theater in the exhibit hall. Nine working laser systems added to the attraction, as did a new tour of exhibits by Ask the Experts booth chair Rob Mueller.
This year, LIA’s first Lasers for Manufacturing Summit, the day before LME, painted a broader picture of global opportunities for laser processes. In addition to providing vital statistics on established and often-disappointing emerging markets, the summit offered a fast-paced panel discussion and spirited question-and-answer period providing the kind of insider perspective attendees craved. Five expert panelists tackled questions about the future of feedback control in micromachining, diode lasers directly coupled to fibers, technology that might replace solid-state fiber lasers, and what will become of CO2 lasers. Continue reading →
Laser micromanufacturing is just like traditional manufacturing except that we use photons (light!) instead of, for instance, drill bits and saw blades. Lasers are used for machining, marking, welding and surface treatment. This article provides a brief summary of how lasers are used in several exemplary situations. In conclusion, a discussion is made concerning the use of Contract Manufacturers with respect to owning in-house laser tools. First though, it is important to define ‘micromanufacturing.’ Our definition of it is that the process involves lasers for material removal, addition or alteration and furthermore, the feature sizes on target are less than 1 mm (and usually much less) and the material thickness is also less than 1 mm (and again, usually much less). Continue reading →
Currently, electrical semiconductor components such as LEDs, solar cells or transistors are commonly produced in a batch process. This way, many identical components can be processed in parallel on one big wafer; subsequently, each chip has to be singulated. Mechanical sawing with diamond blades has been used for a long time, but as the wafer material gets thinner and the chip size smaller, this classical process can be replaced by laser-based dicing processes. In particular, the mechanical load and the relatively large kerf width are serious disadvantages of a mechanical dicing process. A reduction of the kerf width leads to a much higher yield of chips per wafer and, therefore, to increasing efficiency and conserving resources at the same time.
The latest LIA Today has been published and is now available online. If you have never read LIA Today we encourage you to flip open a few pages! Those of you who have read it in the past know what a great publication this is.If you would like to take a look you can find LIA Today online here
ORLANDO, FL, Oct. 17, 2014 — The fourth annual LME was another exciting event full of informative educational courses and laser vendors with offerings on a wide range of laser related products. Laser experts, business professionals and representatives of the industry curious about laser manufacturing gathered for LME 2014 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL from Sept. 23 -24, 2014.
This year’s LME expanded on exhibit space and hosted an increased number of exhibiting companies from last year. Follow updates for the upcoming LME at www.laserevent.org.
