By: Ken Barat Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California An underused tool in the Laser Safety toolbox is the use of remote viewing. By remote viewing I mean being able to observe beam placement and interaction from a location other than bending over the optical table. Industrial applications are familiar and has long used machine […]
Laser Insights
Developing a Laser Safety Culture
By: Ken Barat Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California While we have come a long way with laser technology, laser safety has lagged in one important area. Still today the most common laser incident is an individual (usually student) performing some type of beam manipulation and not wearing proper protective eyewear and being struck by […]
Laser Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Prototypes
By: Agnes Klucha Pratt & Whitney Aerospace prototyping is a way to realize the vision of freeform fabricated metal additive manufactured parts on aerospace production engines, gain acceptance for additive manufacturing and change perceptions of what is possible. The freeform fabrication of laser additive manufactured metal parts is of prime interest in aerospace prototyping since […]
New Industrial Systems & Concepts for Highest Laser Cladding Efficiency
By: Eckhard Beyer Fraunhofer IWS Over the past decade laser buildup welding transitioned from mostly specialized laboratory efforts into an established industrial technology for high quality and precise surface coating deposition. Compared to traditional plasma powder buildup welding processes, laser cladding generates superior corrosion and wear protective coatings. The laser process can also generate localized […]
Overview of Laser Additive Manufacturing in China
By: Minlin Zhong Tsinghua University The booming Chinese economy has created a favorable environment for the research, development, application and market in the area of high-power lasers and especially laser additive manufacturing (LAM) in China. In a so-called “world manufacturing center,” laser additive manufacturing, as a modern advanced manufacturing technology, plays an important role in […]