It was a big week for lasers in the workplace, as we covered recent trends in scanning methods, industrial laser applications, manufacturing, and accident prevention across our website and social media channels.
The Leica Absolute Scanner LAS-20-8. (Image courtesy of Hexagon MI.)
Laser Industry News
A recent study predicts substantial growth for 3D scanners through the end of 2016. Worth noting, however, is the majority market share held by 3D laser scanners. Find out what is driving this new, projected trend here.
This week, we featured another entry in the Laser Accident Series – this time, with a focus on how a lack of laser safety knowledge led to life-changing injuries for two individuals. The Laser Accident Series is a continued emphasis on education and safety through the use of lasers by bringing to light real-life accidents, as reported by OSHA, and caused by lack of proper procedure. Learn more about the injuries and how LIA and OSHA are working to prevent these incidents from occurring here.
If you’re seeking ways to save time and cut costs on your manufacturing processes, be sure to check out How to Save Time and Money on Manufacturing. Here, you can discover ways to stay on the leading edge in your industry through attending conferences, such as the Industrial Laser Conference, and becoming more acquainted with the concept of additive manufacturing. While you’re there, download our SlideShare presentation on The Cost of Manufacturing with Lasers vs. Without Them. Find it all here.
Conference Updates & Information
Speaking of the Industrial Laser Conference – this week, we continued our Industrial Laser Conference blog series by unpacking just why the conference was created. Learn about four of the many valuable features of the conference today by reading our blog here. Included is a link to sign up for the inaugural conference, held at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Registration is open now.
ICALEO is right around the corner, taking place October 16-20 in San Diego, California. In preparation, we compiled a list of the top five things to see and do at ICALEO. From plenary sessions, to great networking opportunities, there’s plenty to check out in our post here. Haven’t registered for ICALEO, yet? You can find out how to sign up here.
The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the international society for laser applications and safety. Our mission is to foster lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide. For more information on conferences, laser safety training, or other laser related needs, check us out at www.lia.org.
Following the trend of additive manufacturing methods, such as 3D printing, the utilization of 3D scanning for measurement is on the rise.
According to a new report by MarketsandMarkets, the market for 3D scanners is expected to grow to nearly six billion dollars by 2020, a significant increase from 2015’s $3.41 billion. A compound annual growth rate of 9.6 percent is also projected.
The public summary of the report suggests that the growth is driven by new developments in 3D scanner technology, the capacity for quality control with the devices, and the time saved by stronger quality control.
Laser-based 3D scanners are expected to take up the majority of the market share. This figure includes devices that use laser triangulation, phase shifting, time of flight, or a combination of all three as “laser 3D scanners.”
The Leica Absolute Scanner LAS-20-8. (Image courtesy of Hexagon MI.)
The report also reveals that the market is significantly concentrated in the Americas, followed closely by Asia and other Pacific regions, due to rising applications in fields such as automotive, healthcare, and construction industries.
The full report can be found through MarketsandMarkets here.
The rise of electronic music in recent years has propelled the drum machine into the public eye more prominently than ever before. With electronic music showing very little indication of going away anytime soon, expect to see intriguing experiments and projects combining music and technology.
Such is the case with “Divider,” a large laser-powered drum machine installation, says Engadget, created by Russian artist Vtol. The machine, described by Vtol as “an autonomous light-music installation,” serves as a collaborative project between Polytechnic Museum Moscow and Ars Electronica Lins.
Would you travel to see the Laser Powered Drum Machine if you were in Russia?
The machine works by utilizing seven red lasers, 42 fans, a mono sound system, and four Arduino controllers. Divider’s laser beams are disrupted by fans with a photo sensor on the end, which monitors the presence or absence of laser light. The lasers serve as “independent binary variables,” creating the basis from which all of Divider’s sounds originate. The speed of the multiple fans helps to create the range of sounds, due to the modulation of the laser’s light.
The Inspiration for Divider
Divider was inspired by Rhythmicon, often considered the first electronic drum machine, invented by Léon Theremin in 1931. Rhythmicon used spinning disks and optical sensors to create its unique sounds. Drawing parallels between Vtol’s 21st-century Divider and Theremin’s Rhythmicon is far from a challenge.
Unfortunately, if you want to see Divider up close and personal, you’ll have to head to Russia to see it on display at Polytechnic Museum Moscow. Currently, there are no plans to tour or sell the device once it is no longer on display.
Since 1970 more than a half million industrial laser systems have been installed globally, so it is fair to say they are now firmly established in material processing operations among the world’s manufacturing industries. Recent statistical reports estimate that more than $80 billion of machine tools were sold globally in 2015, and in addition $8 billion of industrial laser systems that qualify as machine tools. Therefore logic suggests that, statistically, industrial laser sales should track machine tool sales.
However, not since the recession of 2008/09 has there been such uncertainty in the global manufacturing sector. In 2015, world economic conditions deteriorated as highly publicized events in China, Southeast Asia, Europe, South America and the mid-East led to reduced machine tool demand, except in the US, where manufacturing expected to increase machine tool purchases.
Confusing market conditions in China and Japan quenched growth in Asia, the world’s largest market for machine tools and lasers. Europe did stabilize after months of troubling economic news, i.e., problems at the world’s leading auto company, terrorist attacks and the impact of massive refugee migration, which shook Western Europe, quenching growth in the Eurozone economies. The predicted economic contributions from emerging nations did not materialize and the anticipated consumption power of the BRIC nations did not develop. As a consequence, global exports of capital goods declined in 2015.
In contrast to this negative economic news was the upbeat attitude in the industrial laser sector, led by positive financial news from the leading makers of these products. TRUMPF Laser Technology group turned in a 16.8 percent growth to € 890 million and IPG Photonics Corporation, the world’s leading fiber laser manufacturer, reported an outstanding 22 percent growth in the third quarter, and predicted seasonally adjusted fourth quarter sales growth that would take the company close to the $1 billion revenue level.
After tracking machine tool sales since the recession, was the 2015 laser industry revenue result out of sync with global manufacturing revenues? There is some support for this as only one industrial laser company reported strong double digit growth quarter to quarter — IPG Photonics. Overall performance of the major industrial laser companies was mixed; the largest companies that have shown growth over the past two years are primarily the suppliers of fiber, disk and ultra-fast pulse (UFP) lasers.
In 2015, the laser industry surpassed the machine tool curve, supported by strong sales in key market sectors, extending into first quarter of 2016. The substantive revenue growth of fiber and UFP laser suppliers is towing the total revenue numbers of the other underperforming companies along with it.
Total industrial laser revenues grew by mid-single digits in 2015, led by the continued strong double digit growth of fiber lasers, which represent more than 40 percent of total laser revenues, thereby dominating the industrial laser market. High-power fiber lasers for macro material processing that carry a high selling price per unit comprise about 45 percent of all industrial lasers sold for this application segment. Medium power fiber lasers also make up more than a third of microprocessing revenues and low power fiber lasers totaled are close to half of the laser marking/engraving segment.
Macro material processing revenues also grew, boosted by a mid-single digit increase in welding installations and a double-digit increase in the largest segment — cutting. Fiber laser growth continued at a high level in the metal cutting sector increasing its share of the total market at the expense of CO2 and solid-state lasers. Fiber laser applications grew in all manufacturing segments with a single-digit increase in low-power for marking and medium power for micro materials processing, and a strong double-digit in macro applications.
CO2 lasers lost market share across the board from low to high power as a combination of medium to high power fiber and disk lasers eroded market share. Solid-state laser revenues were flat, as higher revenues in disk lasers offset declines in diode-pumped solid-state marking applications.
Modest single digit growth in marking and micro material processing, compared to the more robust single-digit for macro processing, may be the precursor to slowing growth in the 2016 laser market.
Additive manufacturing technology attracted global manufacturers, however sales of moderate to very large size processing systems that grew rapidly since 2014 are expected to slow somewhat in 2016 due to temporary overcapacity in the market.
The semiconductor/pc board/display market took a hit in 2015 and consequently industrial lasers followed, showing the largest decline of all the applications. This is for the most part cyclical, a recurring situation that industry has experienced before.
In the 2015 Micro Processing category, fine metal processing represented more than a third of revenues.
In the US, the economy slowed in the last quarter of 2015, dragged down by cuts in business investment and a widening trade deficit. And an observer remarked that 2016 will be, “… an almost boring year with slight gains or shortfalls in industry segments but nothing spectacular in either direction.” Which sums up most of the opinions on the Internet on a drop in durable goods orders, a key measure of US manufacturing, which last quarter experienced the largest annual decline since the end of the recession of 2008/09. Starting in 2016, the ISM reported that 55 percent of manufacturing companies surveyed reported contraction in new orders, production, employment and raw materials inventory in December. The suggestion is that US manufacturers prepare to ride the waves for at least the first half of 2016.
Which brings us back to the opening of this article and the laser industries seemingly contrarian economic condition to machine tool sales in 2015. Last year the global market segmentation for industrial lasers looked as shown.
Asia, dominated by China, generated about 39 percent of all industrial laser revenues. Reflecting a slowdown in exports to China, Europe dropped slightly to 37 percent and North America, the most stable economic region in 2015, held steady. South America, Africa, Australia and Israel are included in the ROW category.
The forecast in 2016 is for industrial laser revenue growth to drop slightly to 6 percent from the 7 percent growth in 2015, not due to any diminishment of manufacturing industries acceptance of industrial laser materials processing of their products. It is simply that like machine tools this technology will feel the effects of global economic slowdown, especially in the past years strong market in the US.
David Belforte is the Editor-in-Chief of Industrial Laser Solutions.
Innovative laser applications are making headlines on a near-daily basis, with no sign of slowing. It was only a matter of time before the manufacturing end of these applications collided with another ever-evolving industry. Enter the age of laser-cut fashion.
Just this month, popular footwear & lifestyle brand VANS launched a new line of signature leather footwear for women. This time, however, the popular high top and skate shoe designs featured an upgrade that was equally stylish and functional: intricate laser cut outs.
The design, while visually intriguing, serves a functional, second purpose. The idea behind the laser cut outs is to provide relief from the summer heat, while still maintaining the ability to wear quality, leather shoes. While VANS is far from the first brand to introduce laser cut outs in their footwear, the intent is one that may prompt an increase in collaboration between laser manufacturing and fashion brands. Currently, a quick search for laser cut shoes will land you dozens of options, for nearly every budget. (The VANS line averages around $60.00, whereas Christian Louboutin designs will set one back around $1,500.)
While the technology itself is far from new, the demand created by the prominence of these designs on the runway as early as 2013, has made the technology available to a greater number of manufacturers –leading to the inevitable affordability of laser cut fashion to more markets. Today, laser cut outs and hemlines are just as likely to be found in fast-fashion retailers as they are in designer collections.
So what separates a laser cut garment from, say, a more traditionally cut piece? Lasers can create intricate patterns that would require unprecedented precision from blades or other fabric cutters. Similar to the use of lasers in medical applications, the heat of the laser provides a clean cut, minimizing the potential for fraying over time. Additionally, the only thing that needs to touch the fabric, in production, is the laser itself. Thus, the materials and equipment are kept cleaner, reducing the potential for flaws before shipment. Leather, silk, lace, and nylon are ideal materials for laser-cut fashion, due to the need for precise, clean cuts to maintain durability and appearance.
Typically, manufacturers use one of three types of lasers: a CO2 laser, a neodymium laser, and the neodymium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. The CO2 laser is preferred, mostly due to its interactions with organic materials, like leather. The other lasers are used more prominently in engraving and metal applications, making them a better candidate for jewelry and accessories, rather than clothing and shoes. For clothing applications, the CO2 laser works by firing the beam through a tube-shaped enclosure, reflected by multiple mirrors. The beam then reaches a lens, which targets the portion of the fabric that needs to be cut. The laser is then adjusted according to the amount of fabric that needs to be cut.
The demand for laser cut garments seems to be on the rise. For fashion brands, it provides an interesting opportunity for original, difficult to replicate garments. For consumers, intricate, visually-striking designs will be more affordable than ever. At the very least, the rise in demand and public exposure is great for laser-based manufacturing.
