Monthly Archives: March 2016

Register Now for LME 2016, the Lasers for Manufacturing Summit & the NEW Laser Technology Tour

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Laser Institute of America (LIA) will hold its fifth annual Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA from April 26-27. A one-stop shop for companies looking to integrate laser technology into their production, LME offers you the chance to see the latest advances in laser technology, network with elite members of the laser industry, discover solutions to both current and future manufacturing needs, and gain a better understanding of laser basics in free education sessions. In these sessions, experienced industry leaders from companies like TRUMPF Inc., Alabama Laser and Massiv Automated Systems join together to provide unique insights into incorporating laser technology in the most effective ways.

“It is hard to imagine that anyone involved in manufacturing is unaware that to be competitive we must use technology,” says LIA Executive Director, Peter Baker. “One shining example is laser technology, and LME 2016 offers everything the beginner and early adopter needs to know.”

From the Laser Technology Showcase and ‘Ask the Expert’ Booth to the keynote addresses, free educational courses and tutorials, LME was designed to meet the needs of individuals interested in utilizing laser technology within their companies. In addition to learning opportunities, you can also meet with suppliers who can teach you to integrate technology into your company’s production. By connecting interested companies with the most helpful suppliers for their business, LME sets attendees up for success.

“LIA’s LME event is recognized as the premier event for those interested in industrial lasers and peripheral equipment,” says David Havrilla, Manager of Products and Applications for TRUMPF Inc., a loyal sponsor of LME. “Whether you are new to the industry or a veteran, LME gathers all the relevant suppliers and key technical spokespersons to present and advise you during this two-day exhibition and conference.”

Held in conjunction with LME, LIA’s Lasers for Manufacturing Summit will take place one day prior to LME, on April 25, at the Renaissance® Atlanta Waverly Hotel, where it will continue its tradition of providing a unique experience for those interested in expanding their understanding of lasers in the manufacturing marketplace.

“For manufacturing executives, the LME Summit provides business overviews of the technology, applications and market supplemented by a panel of industry experts who can guide you to profits,” says Baker.

Always looking to provide the best experience possible, LIA is offering a brand new way to explore LME in 2016 with the Laser Technology Tour.  Guided by industry experts, the tour takes you around the exhibit floor and introduces you to the numerous companies present while explaining the latest technology showcased. This easy way to explore LME can help you find companies with solutions to your manufacturing challenges while introducing you to experts who can answer your questions. To sign up, please email lme@lia.org. You must be registered for LME in order to participate.

To learn more and to register for LME 2016 or the Lasers for Manufacturing Summit, visit www.laserevent.org.

 

Lene Hau and the Bose-Einstein Condensate

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In honor of Women’s History month meet Dr. Lene Hau…

Dr. Lene Hau is a Danish physicist who was born on November 13, 1959 in Vejle, DK. Hau is currently Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University and has also taught Energy Science at Harvard while teaching within the fields of biophysics and nanotechnology. Dr. Hau is most famous for slowing a beam of light to about 15 miles per hour as well as her amazing work within physics when it came to the successful completion of what Dr. Albert Einstein once determined as being an impossible task: bringing light to a complete stop.

After being awarded her BS degree in Mathematics in 1984, Dr. Hau earned her Master’s degree in Physics two years later at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. While working towards her Ph.D. at UA, Dr. Hau spent seven months at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva in 1991. However, her research interests slowly started to change direction after receiving her doctorate that same year. Her formalized training is in theoretical physics but her interest moved towards experimental research in an effort to create a new form of matter known as the Bose-Einstein condensate. In an effort to achieve this goal, Dr. Hau applied to the National Science Foundation for funds to enable her to create an experimental batch of this condensate. However, Dr. Hau was rejected with reason being that the experiments would be too difficult to successfully complete. With her mind set on the prize, she found a way to receive alternative funding and proceeded to become one of a select number of physicists to create this new condensate. That same year, Dr. Hau joined the Rowland Institute for Science at Cambridge, MA as a scientific staff member, beginning to explore the possibilities of slow light and cold atoms.

In 1999, she accepted a two-year appointment as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University where she was appointed the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Physics at Harvard. After being awarded tenure that same year, she went on to become Harvard’s Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics. After this achievement, Dr. Hau then became the first person to stop light completely through the use of a Bose-Einstein condensate in 2001. This work was conducted among a group of Harvard associates who were able to completely stop then extinguish a light pulse in one part of space. The team was able to revive this light pulse in a different location which led to further experiments and the transfer of light to matter, then from matter back into light, through the use of Bose-Einstein condensates in the year 2006. For this remarkable work, Harvard awarded Dr. Hau with the George Ledlie Prize. 

Through her own hard work and dedication, Dr. Hau has since accrued numerous awards and titles such as the Ole Roemer Medal, awarded by the University of Copenhagen, the Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award, becoming a MacArthur Fellow in 2001, and being appointed a National Security Science and Technology Faculty Fellow by the Secretary of Defense in 2010. Dr. Hau has been elected into countless societies such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. According to Harvard University, she has been named “World Dane”, becoming one of three Danes to have been elected. Dr. Hau has since produced more research and experiments covering various topics such as: electromagnetically induced transparency, quantum physics, photonics, and nanotechnology.

More information on the light pulse experiments can be found in the February 8, 2007 publication of the Nature journal.

Automotive Laser Applications Expert Ralf Kimmel to Deliver Keynote Address at LME 2016

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Automotive industry leader Ralf Kimmel will provide a keynote address on Laser Applications in Automotive Manufacturing on day two of this year’s Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®), April 26-27, at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA.

Kimmel, an automotive industry business development leader at Germany’s TRUMPF, a leading worldwide manufacturer of fabricating equipment and industrial laser technology, will address the integration of innovative, cost-efficient production processes and the use of new materials in the auto industry — all enabled by laser technology.

“Light as a tool in manufacturing cars is an established medium for a wide range of applications; at the same time, laser technology is a guarantor for innovation and enables the development of new car technologies,” Kimmel said. “Although these innovations are happening at different levels, lasers are the missing element that we can incorporate for present and future industry growth and success.”

Kimmel will touch on the choice of material and production methods of today’s automobiles, which, as Kimmel mentioned, lead to new challenges and opportunities for lasers in joining processes. Various application examples will be shown, like a new laser brazing technology, welding of copper with new lasers at green wavelengths, and black laser marking, without any susceptibility to corrosion.

Kimmel’s keynote address will be one of four unique educational presentations at the fifth annual LME. This year’s conference in the heart of the Southeast will feature the latest trending topics in 3D printing, additive manufacturing, cutting, welding, drilling and marking.

For more information on LME 2016 and to register, visit www.laserevent.org.

LAM 2016: Exploring the Multi-Faceted World of Additive Manufacturing

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LIA’s 8th annual Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) Workshop welcomed over 170 attendees – over half of whom were new to the event – from 14 countries. They gathered in Orlando, FL on March 2-3 to discuss the latest developments in 3D printing, cladding and other revolutionary additive manufacturing (AM) methods.

LAM General Chair Paul Denney, along with co-chairs Ingomar Kelbassa and Jim Sears, designed the two-day event – featuring keynote addresses, educational sessions and numerous exhibits – to showcase the way companies are utilizing additive manufacturing.

“New this year was a session dedicated to technologies (electron beam, arc welding and ultrasonic) that compete against lasers for additive manufacturing,” said General Chair Paul Denney.

To begin this session, Professor Sudarsanam Suresh Babu from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville gave a keynote presentation that focused on recent advances in metal additive manufacturing, as well as the role in-situ process monitoring, computational monitoring and advanced characterization play in the field. Professor Babu’s discussion of AM’s benefits, compared to traditional manufacturing methods, gave way to an overview of the additive manufacturing process – from geometrical conformity and topography optimization to size specific properties and beyond.

After gaining this background on alternative technologies, attendees learned about the selection process companies use when choosing the premier additive manufacturing processes for their needs. In addition, the first day also featured executives from leading companies, including DMG MORI, Concept Laser, Inc. and Optomec, Inc., who showcased new equipment available for AM.

Focusing on new AM approaches, Christoph Leyens from Fraunhofer IWS discussed precise laser metal deposition with wire and powder filling material, while TRUMPF Inc.’s Frank Geyer compared the processes of laser metal deposition and laser metal fusion. After which Daniel Capostagno of SPI Lasers LLC, concluded the day with his presentation on fiber laser welding and cladding using filler wire.

With a focus on bridging the gap between additive manufacturing research and application, the second day began with a keynote address given by Professor David Bourell of the University of Texas at Austin. The Director of the Laboratory for Freeform Fabrication discussed the current status of additive manufacturing.

The day’s sessions also focused on both the national and global successes and challenges in AM with presenters from around the world. Tim Biermann of Fraunhofer ILT presented on LAM R&D centers in Germany, while Milan Brandt from RMIT University discussed the industry further in Australia.

Sharing the latest and greatest in additive manufacturing, LAM 2016 gave attendees a unique inside look at this rapidly-progressing manufacturing process. Alex Zappasodi of Polymet Corporation remarked, “A great show! Valuable information, great attendees and meticulously organized.” James Tomich, who attended LAM for the fourth time this year, agreed and said, “If you’re using lasers for AM, you don’t want to miss LAM.”

“We’re looking forward to LAM 2017, when we return to Houston, TX,” said Denney. “While the Oil and Gas industry is suffering from lower oil prices, we feel that there will still be a strong interest in laser cladding – a form of laser additive manufacturing – because it can lower production costs.”

Visit www.lia.org/lam for updates on LAM 2017.

 

MPIF’s Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference Visits Boston in June

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The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) and APMI International sponsored conferences and exhibits are recognized as the largest and most prestigious conferences in the powder metallurgy (PM) industry. The third Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy Conference (AMPM2016), June 5–7 in Boston, will showcase additive manufacturing (AM) as a process of making three-dimensional solid objects by adding successive layers of metal powders rather than by removing material, as is common in conventional methods such as cutting or drilling.

Focused solely on metal AM, over 40 presentations from global industry experts from 11 countries make this a truly international collaboration of the latest industry developments. Presentations will include the perspective of metal powder producers, toll providers and end user of these processes, R&D programs from academia and consortiums, and equipment manufacturers. Topics include materials, processes, technical advances & barriers, and applications.  MPIF‘s focus is to promote advanced manufacturing methods that have high-material utilization rates, relatively low-energy consumption, and utilize recycled materials where possible. In many cases, no other manufacturing method is practical to produce these components.

Co-located with AMPM is the POWDERMET2016 International Conference on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials, June 5–8.  The combined conferences’ attendance will approach 1,000 delegates, the leading industry-technical minds, transferring knowledge as they attend technical sessions, special interest programs, and view the poster display. The 100-booth marketplace exhibition will showcase leading suppliers of powder metallurgy and particulate materials processing equipment, metal powders, and products—one stop shopping for all.

Special events include a keynote presentation by author and futurist Jim Carroll, addressing the impact of advanced manufacturing methodologies; luncheon Guest Speaker Christopher A. Schuh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering; the Design Excellence Awards Luncheon featuring recipients of the 2016 awards; the State of the PM Industry in North America; and the Main Social Event at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

To learn more about this monumental event, visit AMPM2016.org or POWDERMET2016.org.