Category Archives: Member Press Releases

Meet IPG Photonics – December’s Featured Corporate Member

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As a leader and pioneer in developing and commercializing fiber lasers, IPG Photonics’ diverse lines of low, medium, and high-power lasers and amplifiers are displacing traditional technologies in many current applications. Their lasers and amplifiers reach into numerous markets, including materials processing, communications, entertainment, medicine, and biotechnology.

Founded in Russia in 1991 by physicist Valentin P. Gapontsev, Ph.D., IPG originally produced and sold customized glass and crystal lasers, laser components, and wireless temperature meters for hyperthermia. In 1992, the company began to focus on the development of high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers.

IPG landed its first major contract with Itatel, a telecommunications carrier. The company then won a second major contract with DaimlerBenz Aerospace. In 1994, IPG opened a facility in Germany and established its world headquarters in the U.S. in 1998. In 2000, the company invested in new high-capacity production facilities in the U.S. to manufacture its own diode pumps—a major component of its fiber lasers and amplifiers. The company went public in 2006 and is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as IPGP.

With more than 4,000 employees today, IPG has local sales and service in more than 20 countries worldwide. Its three major manufacturing sites are currently located in the U.S., Germany, and Russia.

IPG’s vertically integrated development and manufacturing abilities allow the company to meet customer requirements, accelerate development, manage costs, and improve yields. The company is able to produce all critical components for its lasers and amplifiers, which it markets to OEMs, system integrators, and end users.

Being the first company to industrialize fiber laser technology, IPG has the broadest array of laser products in the industry. This includes high-power fiber lasers up to 100 kW for materials processing, pulsed fiber lasers for marking and engraving, and fiber lasers covering UV, visible, and mid-IR wavelengths.

Having displaced the traditional CO2 and diode-pumped solid-state technologies as the preferred laser tool for industrial material processing, IPG’s high-power CW fiber laser product line is arguably the most important offered by the company. These lasers are used in the cutting, welding, and drilling of metals within various industries ranging from automotive to aerospace to general manufacturing. Much of this product line’s success can be attributed to IPG’s in-house diode fabrication facility, which accounts for cost reductions.

In the next five years, IPG is looking toward the introduction of cost-effective, high-performance, reliable ultra-fast fiber lasers with a pulse duration in the 100 fsec to 10 psec range. With a higher efficiency, this laser advancement will enable smaller air-cooled packages. The company is also looking toward the expansion of fiber laser technology into the MID-IR wavelengths.

The improved reliability and increased efficiency of high-fiber power lasers as an accepted mainstream industrial tool has led to increase in laser adoption in the automotive industry, a trend that is expected to continue with the push to adopt lightweight materials and electric or battery-driven cars. IPG has monitored these shifts in the industry and will continue to be a leading developer in this area.

IPG Photonics has been a member of LIA since 2002. For more information about the company and its products, visit www.ipgphotonics.com.

This was written by Lindsay Weaver Burt in collaboration with IPG Photonics. 

Meet PhotoMachining, Inc. – August’s Featured Corporate Member

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In 1997, John O’Connell and Ronald Schaeffer founded PhotoMachining, Inc., a world leader in precision micromachining applications.

The company specializes in the use of Ultraviolet (UV) and Ultra Short Pulse (USP) lasers. Their lasers come in

3 wavelength femtosecond laser micromachining system

a wide variety of wavelengths, which enables them to provide the laser industry with laser micromachining, contract manufacturing, and laser micro machining systems for industrial applications specific to customer requests.

“The development of laser technology has occurred to a great extent over the last 20 years and we have always tried to have the newest lasers available,” said Dr. Ronald Schaeffer, Chief Executive Officer with PhotoMachining. “We were at the forefront of developing novel laser techniques using high pulse rate USP lasers with both fixed optics and galvo scanners.”

Their team of approximately 25 employees make up two divisions: the Systems Division and the Job Shop Division. Both divisions work together to create innovative systems for their customers’ unique industry needs. The company’s services reach a large variety of markets, which include medical devices, microelectronics, and semiconductors. They have even collaborated on projects related to aerospace and defense.

Laser process development engineer micromachining a novel medical device

“We are proud to deliver products to our customers that give them a competitive edge,” said Schaeffer. “We are particularly proud of the processes we have specifically developed for some of the leading medical device manufacturers, which have greatly reduced costs and downtime for our clients.” PhotoMachining, Inc. is continuously trying to innovate and grow. “Our staff is highly motivated to tackle some of the most difficult manufacturing processes regarding precision and economic viability in a production environment,” Schaeffer said. “It requires multiple talents in laser material interaction, systems integration, automation and software to produce highly reliable laser machining systems.”

Based out of Pelham, New Hampshire, the company is looking forward to exploring new initiatives. According to Schaeffer, one such initiative is, “3D printing in optically clear materials through Selective Laser Etching (SLE) with LightFab.”

“The SLE process involves exposing hard brittle and otherwise transparent materials like

Examples of micron-scale machining in soft (plastics) to hard (diamond) materials

Quartz and Fused Silica to USP laser light and then chemically etching the exposed area away, where etching selectivity after laser exposure is enhanced over a thousand times,” Schaeffer said. “This method makes 3D precision parts by essentially 3D printing the pattern inside the bulk of the material. SLE is expected to play a major role in many manufacturing processes such as microfluidics.”

PhotoMachining Inc., an LIA corporate member since 2005, actively participates in a number of networking opportunities, allowing them to rub elbows with industry leaders, scientists, and investors from around the world.

“We are active participants at ICALEO and LME conferences and find that LIA is a great place to meet others involved in the laser industry,” Schaeffer said. “LIA is like home.”

The company is always looking towards the future by working alongside new companies with fresh ideas. “Although we work with Fortune 500 corporations,” said O’Connell. “It is gratifying to help startups by producing a handful of prototypes and developing economically viable full production volumes.”

Ron Schaeffer is an active educator within the laser community and has given countless seminars on laser technology and laser materials processing.  For an example of his work, here is a short video on “How Lasers Work”. For more information about PhotoMachining Inc., please visit http://www.photomachining.com/

This corporate member feature was written by Brandon Kalloo in collaboration with PhotoMachining, Inc.

ALIO Industries, Inc. – November’s Featured Corporate Member

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A pacesetter in the industry, ALIO Industries, Inc. is known for its innovative designs and successful production of precision motion systems. With over 300 standard products and numerous custom OEM designs, ALIO Industries repeatedly meets and exceeds the current application needs for precision, high performance and reliable motion.

Founded in 2001 by current owner Bill Hennessey, ALIO Industries is dedicated to building the most precise motion systems with unparalleled performance and reliability. The expert team at the Colorado-based company has created numerous products and product lines that prove integral to the industry.

Since its inception, ALIO Industries has designed and built a patented Hexapod product line that focuses on precision needs with the fiber and memes assembly industry. Today, the company has grown to offer over 300 standard products for True Nano® Precision motion systems with 6-D Point Precision® for the global precision industrial markets. ALIO Industries’ product range covers linear and rotary motion using both high precision mechanical and air bearings. The company also offers single-axis motion, integrated monolithic XY stages with closed and open centers, rotary axes and complex integrated multi-axis solutions – such as its patent-pending Hybrid Hexapod®, which is unparalleled in its 5 or 6 axis precision.

ALIO Industries developed this revolutionary product, which is among the company’s most important, to meet the demand for systems with better precision and performance than legacy motion systems. As a result, the Hybrid Hexapod® is more precise than traditional Hexapods or stacked stages, with forward and inverse kinematics that can be integrated with lasers and programmed with G-code as a CNC machine. This allows for precision laser machining, especially when kerf, chamfer or drilling precision holes are required.

With an unwavering focus on Point Precision®, ALIO Industries continuously provides the highest precision motion systems available across the globe by starting with rigid novel designs. The company utilizes unique machining techniques and careful and exacting assembly methodology, all while testing to standards that exceed the current ISO/ASME procedure requirements. ALIO Industries’ nanometer level bi-directional repeatability, flatness and straightness provide the basis of its novel 6-D Nano Precision® standard of motion systems.

Over the years, ALIO Industries has remained dedicated to meeting customer needs in a variety of industries. Most recently, the company has seen the largest growth from the electronics manufacturing industry, which has kept ALIO Industries doubling in size for several years. The company’s products are used for applications that range from metrology, basic inspection and display tests to laser machining glass and sapphire. To meet the latter demand, ALIO Industries will soon introduce its laser integrated gimbal motion system. This system for machining sapphire and glass, which allows for very large angular motion to machine edges over 90-degrees from the plan, can also be used for 3-D metal printing for turbine blades and complex geometric forms.

A member of Laser Institute of America (LIA) since 2013, ALIO Industries appreciates the organization’s focus and contacts, which aid in the company’s efforts in to further its networking and maintain product relevancy.

For more information, visit alioindustries.com.

 

AdlOptica GmbH – August’s Featured Corporate Member

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Known for its versatile refractive laser beam shaping optics, AdlOptica GmbH provides technology that aids both industrial and scientific techniques. With a small team of experts that make up the company’s singular location in Berlin, Germany, AdlOptica GmbH’s reach extends globally, providing refractive beam shapers and special optics for a wide range of industries.

Named after Adlershof, Germany’s premier science and technology park, AdlOptica GmbH was founded in 2010 by its current owners, Vadim Laskin and Dr. Alexander Laskin. With the main goal of developing, manufacturing and promoting the company’s refractive beam shaping optics, the company has grown over the years, successfully creating a collection of more than 60 beam shaping product models.

AdlOptica GmbH’s expertly efficient piShaper, pShaper®, models can transform the intensity distribution of Gaussian TEM00 or multimode laser beams to flat-top – both uniform and top-hat – as well as inverse-Gauss and other profiles. This product line’s wide spectrum, which ranges from ultraviolet (UV) to Long Wavelength Infrared (LWIR), is accompanied by a power that spans milliwats to kilowatts. With continuous wave and ultra-short pulse lasers, the models offer users a narrow spectral band and achromatic spot sizes that can expand from microns and centimeters to meters. These versatile products also provide a low sensitivity to misalignment, which ensures that piShapers easily and efficiently integrate into users’ existing equipment and research installations. Whether in industrial or scientific applications, AdlOptica GmbH’s family of piShaper products serve as solutions for a variety of laser techniques – from micromachining, welding and cladding, to the manufacturing of solar cells, florescence and confocal microscopy and even holography.

With the success of these products, the company’s Research & Development team remains dedicated to monitoring industry requirements and developing new beam shapers to meet changing needs. Most recently, the company has developed multi-focus optics, foXXus, which optimize energy distribution in industrial techniques and use the ever-growing power of modern lasers to optimize the productivity of material processing.

Constantly vigilant of the changing needs in the industry, the company works to improve processes for numerous markets. Based on growth within the industry over the years, AdlOptica GmbH also added aThermoXX to its product offerings. As athermalized protective windows, aThermoXX products improve welding and selective laser melting technologies through the reduction or elimination of the negative thermal effects that occur with the use of high power industrial lasers.

Additionally, since its inception, AdlOptica GmbH has recognized the switch to higher imaging resolution in micromachining techniques, as well as the growth of laser power and brightness. The company has answered the latter demand through its products, which convert high power to high productivity in various processes. AdlOptica GmbH also meets the need for the wide use of multimode fiber lasers and fiber-coupled solid-state and diode lasers by offering beam shaping optics that can be used efficiently with both types of lasers.

A member of Laser Institute of America (LIA) since 2011, AdlOptica GmbH appreciates the organization’s community of professional users and developers in industrial laser technologies and the ease with which members can communicate with their fellow industry professionals in the welcoming environment of LIA events.

For more information, visit www.adloptica.com.

Clark-MXR, Inc. – July’s Featured Corporate Member

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An industry leader in Ultrashort Pulse laser based micromachining and the production of ultrafast lasers and laser-based solutions for scientific research and industrial applications, Clark-MXR, Inc. is known for offering unparalleled contract manufacturing services and easy-to-use laser products at a low cost of ownership. Located in Dexter, Michigan, Clark-MXR, Inc. serves customers from universities, laboratories and industries across the globe.

Clark-MXR, Inc. was incorporated as a Michigan corporation in 1992, to acquire the assets of two running companies: Clark Instrumentation Inc., founded by Dr. William Clark, and Medox (MXR) Research, Inc., founded by Dr. Philippe Bado – a member of Professor Gerard Mourou’s research group. As the world’s first commercial ultrafast laser company, Clark-MXR, Inc. has introduced many first-to-the-market products since its inception, including its CPA-1000 in 1992. In addition, Clark-MXR, Inc. has been involved in the use of ultrafast lasers for micromachining based on research conducted at Professor Mourou’s laboratory at the University of Michigan.

The company’s products and services stem from its two main divisions: the Laser Products Division and the Micromachining Division. Responsible for designing, building and servicing ultrashort pulse lasers for scientific and industrial applications, the Laser Products Division also manufactures micromachining workstations that are used in industrial micromachining, micro-manufacturing and proof-of-concept process development. Its complete system solutions meet a variety of industry needs, from ultrashort pulse micromachining workstations based on Model CPA-Series Ti:Sapphire lasers to Model IMPULSE, Yb-doped fiber lasers and complete nonlinear spectroscopy systems. Additionally, this division of Clark-MXR, Inc. produces accessories, such as NOPAs and harmonic generators, and offers customized product development, consultation and collaborations.

The formation of the second division, the Micromachining Division, was initiated by the introduction and success of the first commercial ultrafast laser based micromachining workstation in 2002, Model UMW based on Model CPA-Series laser. Providing value-added service to the semiconductor, medical and other high tech industries, this division utilizes the company’s ultrashort pulse lasers to cover a range of tasks, from prototyping to routine part production.

The Micromachining Division consistently meets its goal of addressing the growing demand for micromachined parts using ultrafast lasers, which offer a superior quality when compared to traditional methods. Because of the company’s innovative technology and extensive knowledge from the last 20 years, Clark-MXR, Inc. can machine a wide variety of materials – including ceramics and refractory metals – without recasting, heat-affected-zone (HAZ), delamination or melting. The micromachining technologies utilized within this division of the company can be adapted for innovative research – from 3D tomography and geological sample analysis to laser ablation mass spectrometry and LIBS. With a clearly-honed expertise, state-of-the-art inspection facilities, and a dedication to working closely with customers, Clark-MXR, Inc. develops custom methodologies that successfully fulfill customers’ unique needs.

Over its history, Clark-MXR, Inc. has grown, now earning recognition as a premier company in the laser industry for ultrafast laser micromachining and for its numerous ultrafast laser products, including many first-to-market products and innovations. The range of products and services the company offers today includes Model CPA-Series Ti:Sapphire Ultrafast lasers, Model IMPULSE Yb-doped high power/high energy fiber lasers, Ultrafast Micromachining workstations,  and complete system solutions for micromachining and research sectors, including fully customized systems. In addition to its range of products, Clark-MXR, Inc. works to help the growing ultrafast laser based micromachining industry, among other things, through its Ultrafast Micromachining Handbook, which was introduced in 1999 and is now freely available on the Clark-MXR, Inc. website to familiarize individuals with the novel physics of ultrafast laser based material removal processes.

Since joining Laser Institute of America (LIA) in 1999, Clark-MXR, Inc. and its team have been actively involved in the organization, with Dr. William Clark serving as LIA president in 2005.

For more information, visit www.cmxr.com.