By Geoff Giordano At the second-annual Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME®) in October, past LIA President David Belforte gave a riveting account of some of the more economically robust segments of the laser industry. Ultimately, it was the medical sector that “kept us alive through the recession,” he asserted. Laser applications in the manufacture of […]
Use of Lasers in Veterinary Medicine
By Kenneth E. Bartels With the increased use of lasers in veterinary medicine during the past 20 years, the perception that the medical laser is a “tool in search of an application” is out of date. Initially, the cost of laser technology for veterinary medicine was a limitation, but this impediment did not prevent wide […]
Meet the New President and Board of Directors
Klaus Löffler, LIA’s 2013 president, graduated from the University of Stuttgart with a master’s in mechanical engineering. His expertise in lasers extends from resonator design, excitation methods, beam delivery, sensor systems to laser material processing. From 1990 to 1991 he worked on the LaserCAV process at MAHO in Pfronten, Germany. From 1991 to 1995 he […]
Production of High-Quality Welds Using Hybrid Laser/GMAW on Thick Steel
By Lorraine Blais, Novika Solutions In the last years, several groups have worked on the development of hybrid laser/GMAW welding (HLAW), for various segments of the industry. Depending on the intended application, the objectives are significantly different, and the definition of quality itself can differ a lot. Nevertheless, new HLAW applications usually benefit from the […]
Increased Process Efficiency and Quality by Lasers with Tailored Wavelength and Beam Profile
By Keming Du In the past years, a strongly increasing interest has developed in laser ablation processes for the removal of thin films, for instance the production of photovoltaic and display devices. The principal advantages of a laser in comparison with other processes are the high flexibility in combination with precision and quality of the […]