Tag Archives: Inc.

How LIA Corporate Members Are Innovating the Future of Manufacturing

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The Laser Institute of America aims to foster the future of laser applications. Many of our corporate members uphold similar ideals and they are working hard to advance the future of laser applications in manufacturing.

From the development of new life-saving products to building the future of transportation and researching the next steps in the additive manufacturing revolution, here’s what some of our members have been up to in the last year:

Buffalo Filter Launches Plume Pen Pro

With a 25-year legacy as a recognized surgical safety brand, Buffalo Filter recently launched the new Plume Pen Pro. The device is a surgical smoke evacuation pencil that offers surgeons the “flexibility and option of longer surgical smoke capture ports making the exchange of blades easy and plume capture tailored to plum length.”

The Plume Pen Pro, along with other products by Buffalo Filter, work to reduce surgical smoke inhalation and exposure. This keeps operating rooms safer with user-friendly solutions.

Image: Buffalo Filter

 

II-VI HIGHYAG’s RLSK Laser Featured in Industrial Laser Solutions for Manufacturing

A recent issue of Industrial Laser Solutions for Manufacturing featured a cover article on laser welding for the Ford Mustang, spotlighting II-VI HIGHYAG’s RLSK remote laser welding head. In developing the new Mustang, Ford needed a large-scale, single-sided joining method that did not possess the potential structural weakness of traditional spot welding. Ford then turned to remote laser welding, which not only solved the structural weakness issue – it created a measurable increase in productivity at the production plant.

Starting in 2015, the RLSK remote laser welding head was put into full use by Ford. Four were installed at the Detroit plant, joined by 24 additional structural remote laser heads for the vehicle’s production. Implementing these remote laser heads lead to a decrease in weld time, fewer station cycles, fewer welding robots, and an increase in overall production space.

Image: II-VI HIGHYAG

LPW Technology, Inc. CEO and Founder Discusses 3D Printing Opportunities in Aerospace

Machine Design Magazine recently published a piece on the use of 3D printing for aerospace applications. The article quoted various industry leaders and experts, including LPW Technology Founder and CEO Dr. Phil Carroll. Dr. Carroll addresses the increasing demand versus the quality control of metal powders used in 3D printing. In the early days of powder metal liturgy, the materials were essentially grounded up scrap metal, leading to a high chance of contamination. Contamination of a pure metal powder could lead to a compromised part down the line, because the offending particles may degrade over time.

To combat this, greater inspection and handling of metal particles is required. Working with Lloyd’s Register and TWI, LPW will be certifying powders for a joint effort to increase the adoption of additive manufacturing.

Image: LPW Technology

RPM Innovations, Inc. Working With Okuma America Corp. on Alternative to Combination Additive/Subtractive Manufacturing Processes

 Despite the overwhelming push for additive manufacturing processes across industries, there are still many cases in which traditional subtractive processes are the most effective solution. However, it does not always have to be a case of choosing one over the other, or even combining them.

With the assistance of their laser deposition machines, RPM Innovations and Okuma America are developing options for machines that allow individual operations to occur, by keeping processes in separate sections that link together. Rather than choosing one manufacturing method, or forcing them to overlap, separating the processes allows for differences in processing time, automation in loading and reloading, as well as the addition of other processes in the workflow.

Image: MMS Online

Spectra-Physics Introduces Icefyre

Earlier this year, Spectra-Physics debuted IcefyreTM, “a compact, high power industrial picosecond hybrid fiber laser.” The IceFyre is versatile in its process optimization and repetition rates, as well as pulse-on-demand triggering. It combines the power supply and laser head into a single, compact unit.

In the official news release, Spectra-Physics states that Icefyre is designed for precise manufacturing of sapphire, glass, ceramic, metals, plastics, and other materials. The Icefyre made its debut at the 2017 SPIE Photonics West.

Image: Spectra Physics

We are committed to sharing the latest news about our esteemed and innovative Corporate Members. To learn more about becoming a Laser Institute of America Corporate or Individual Member, click 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. Read about LIA or contact us for more information.

Industrial Laser Sales Grow in a Slowing Global Economy

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By David A. Belforte

These are unsettled times for global manufacturing. Setting aside the normal up and down cycles of manufacturing — a number of global factors — ranging from Brexit concerns, to economic problems in China, turmoil in the mid-East and a new administration in Washington give cause for concern about economic growth prospects.

Trumping (pardon the pun) these concerns is the current status of industrial laser activity in the global manufacturing sector,  that seemingly ignoring external effects, are enjoying another growth year (revenues up by more than 10 percent) led by strong double-digit sales of high-power fiber lasers, a surge in excimer laser revenues led by excimer laser silicon of displays and significant rises in uses for ultra-fast pulse lasers.

Fiber lasers at the kilowatt for metal cutting and joining operations, continue to outpace other laser types, representing 41 percent of the total industrial laser revenues in 2016. Fibers’ 12 percent increase came, in part, at the expense of CO2 (-4 percent) and solid-state (-1 percent) lasers. On a percentage basis direct-diode and excimer lasers in our ‘Other’ category enjoyed the largest annual revenue gain (54 percent) in recent years. These lasers have been recording strong gains based on their limited base numbers in several of our last reports. But one application, excimer laser annealing of silicon (FPE) used in mobile phone displays caused one company, Coherent, Inc., to book multiple orders worth several hundred million dollars for system’s to be delivered into 2018.

The overall revenue growth for industrial lasers in 2016, estimated at slightly more than 10 percent, would in reality be more like 4 percent if we deduct the 2016 FPE revenues; leading to fiber lasers inexorable drive to 50 percent of total laser sales. US based IPG Photonics will have a record 2016 as their revenues from fiber lasers for nine months passed $726 million and, at the high end of guidance for the 4th quarter, could be pushing the $1 billion mark (admittedly not all revenues are generated by laser sales).

Joining IPG Photonics near the billion dollar level is Coherent, Inc., whose fiscal year closed in October at a bit more than $857 million, but strong excimer sales at the end of the year should assist them breaking the barrier (not all revenues are industrial laser related). Certainly after their merger with Rofin-Sinar they could be over the $1.5 billion.

Sitting atop the ‘billionaires’ club is industry giant Trumpf Group whose 2015/2016 approached the $2.8 billion mark, of this, laser technology (including some laser systems) alone topped a billion dollars.

The aforementioned is not intended to belittle a fine group of laser companies who also make up the industrial laser market, but it is these Big Three that dominate the news.

Table 1. Revenues by laser type – Source: Strategies Unlimited

As stated earlier, and shown in the table above, 2016 was another growth year for industrial lasers. In an otherwise moribund global capital equipment market, laser system sales grew in industry sectors that continue to show strength: automotive, aerospace, energy, electronics and communications (smart phones). We divide lasers into three major categories: the first is marking, including engraving, that contributes about 18 percent of all laser revenues and, because this is the most global of all laser markets, traditionally has shown solid growth in all non-recessionary years, continues the trend with a 3.9 percent growth dominated by fiber lasers at 49 percent of the total.

The second category is Micro, which includes all applications using lasers with < 500 W of power, which in 2016  climbed to 35 percent of the total laser market thanks to a 10.2 percent growth in the sector that included display applications requiring excimer lasers. Ultra-fast pulse (UFP) lasers are gaining adherents in the Micro sector and this technology will shore up otherwise decreasing solid-state laser revenues.

The laser category Macro, that includes laser processes requiring more than 500 W of power, is the largest, at 47 percent, of all industrial laser revenues, thanks to fiber lasers which make up 44 percent of all Macro revenues. In 2016, CO2 lasers bore the brunt of fiber laser’s penetration into their largest revenue market, sheet metal cutting, resulting in a 4 percent decline in revenues with an almost 11 percent increase in high-power fiber laser sales. Additive manufacturing demand for more productivity has caused a spurt in higher power CO2 laser demand at the kilowatt level which is factored into the Other category.

Source: Strategies Unlimited

Applications
Cutting as an industrial laser application is the most important on two levels: revenues generated and as a user of high-power fiber lasers. Globally over 70 integrators supply flat sheet cutters for metal fabricating. This sector is key among both industrialized and emerging nation economies, therefore its growth prospects are closely tied to a nations GDP. In 2016 global economic growth dipped below 2015 and is expected to expand only slightly in 2017. Thus sheet metal cutting, a key economy indicator, had an off year in terms of growth, with a concomitant softness in high power laser growth to 3.5 percent, which was irregular around the globe.

Fortuitously, expansion in global demand for laser welding (3.4 percent) led by the auto industry and boosted by pipeline and downhole oil pipe welding made up the difference.

Non-metal processing applications in paper converting and fiber reinforced polymers combined with fine metal processing (replacing mechanical fine blanking) to add 5 percent to total market growth. Additive manufacturing, more specifically laser metal deposition, grew 22.1 percent in 2016 spurred by acceptance in the aviation engine industry, with some growth in higher-power lasers accounted for in the Macro category. Both intermediate and high power CO2 and fiber lasers are used depending on material selection. In 2016, other less advanced user industries moved more slowly on acceptance as realization of secondary post-LAM processing required ROI readjustment. 

The Future
Economic projections for manufacturing in 2017 are a repeat of 2016 with pockets of sluggishness (East Asia, South America and Eastern Europe) continuing. For industrial lasers we are expecting a return to recent annual trends in total market growth with a projected 8.7 percent revenue growth. Marking laser sales are expected to show a decline as unit prices continue to erode mainly in the Asian markets.

Micro laser sales will be a bright light in the revenue picture as FPE laser shipments continue and non-metal processing grows in importance. This category will grow to 38 percent of total revenues.

Sales of laser in the Macro category level off to 47 percent of 2017 total revenues, with continued decreasing revenues in the CO2 segment and a shift into high single digit growth in the fiber laser segment with a more typical 8 percent projection. Solid-state laser (buoyed by UFP lasers) should return to the plus side with a 3 percent growth for 2017. An anticipated shift to high-power direct diodes will pump up the Other category.

David Belforte is Editor-in-Chief of Industrial Laser Solutions.

New “Hybrid” Additive/Subtractive Machining System Unveiled at IMTS 2016

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By Lynn Gorman

Mitsui Seiki USA, Inc., one of the leading builders of machine tools in the “high precision” category, has developed new machining technology that successfully combines both an additive and subtractive process on one machine tool platform. Named the Vertex 55X-HA, the new “hybrid” technology was introduced at IMTS recently in Chicago. Robb Hudson, Technology & Business Development Manager, gave demonstrations of the new machine during the show and also gave more formal presentations at the official IMTS Conference track as well as the Industrial Laser Conference.

Featuring the nozzle © Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies

The basic concept of Mitsui Seiki’s new Vertex 55X-HA combines a precision-built traditional CNC vertical machining center with a spindle-adapted laser DED (Direct Energy Deposition) / powder feed nozzle. Parts can be 3D printed from nothing or material can be added to existing parts. The nozzle loads into the tool changer like any conventional tool and is changed automatically via the CNC program prompts, a milling/drilling tool replaces it and aspects of the workpiece can be machined conventionally – including internal features. For example, perhaps surface work needs to be machined before the next layer of material is added. Or, the workpiece can be printed to completion and then subsequent machining operations can be accomplished.

“The process is under full adaptive control as we are making the part, ensuring that as we’re moving back and forth between additive and subtractive, we are maintaining the intended surface or feature as it’s being produced,” said Mr. Hudson. “In addition to developing the integrated spindle-adapted fiber laser and powder-feed system, this is the main benefit that Mitsui Seiki offers as compared to other hybrid systems on the market: our machine maintains common center line integrity between nozzle and tool as users go back and forth between the additive nozzle and the subtractive tool and offers a sub-15 micron volumetric accuracy within the work envelope.”

Generally, coolant and lasers don’t get along well, however as part of the research of additive/subtractive processing at Mitsui Seiki’s headquarters in Japan, the company has developed a process for using flood coolant extensively within a cycle that also includes additive layering. In this technique, an air blow-off operation removes much of the volume of coolant still clinging to the part, followed by the laser applied at a wide focus to dry off the rest. The surface is now prepared for a new feature to be added to it via laser cladding.

The machine also needs protection from the minute powder particles; it’s impossible to filter them all, and one of the hallmarks of a Mitsui Seiki machine tool is its mechanical accuracy, particularly its precision-ground ballscrew and way components. To protect those sensitive attributes, the company modified special guarding and other protections that it engineered in the past for machining centers used in graphite milling, such as EDM electrodes.

Customers can choose either a CAT or HSK spindle that offers 15,000 to 30,000 rpm. Further, Mitsui Seiki has integrated a coolant system for either dry or wet machining best practices. The working range is from 550 mm to 750 mm in X-axis; 600 mm to 800 mm in Y-axis; and 400 mm to 750 mm in Z-axis. Ultimately, most all of the company’s machines will be able to be equipped with the new hybrid technology, including its large trunnion-style machining centers.

Mr. Hudson sums up the benefits to be: a highly productive and repeatable process; good surface finish results; significant reduction of long cycle times attributed to powder bed additive processes; reducing the waste of expensive materials; a one-setup and two-process system on a single platform; a common, adaptive programming language that allows the movement between additive to subtractive seamlessly; machining of IDs and ODs on the workpiece; freedom to add multiple nozzles for different powder flow rates and different angle heads; exact control of the powder flow deposition rate using a variety of laser beam profiles; and the inherent benefits of an ultra-precise and well-constructed machine tool.

The applications ideally suited to Mitsui Seiki’s particular hybrid machining solution include the repair of a number of different types of airfoil parts, such as high-pressure turbine and compressor blades, low pressure blades, blisks/IBRs and impellers for the aerospace, power generation, and oil and gas industries. Further, as large truck and off-road equipment OEMs use more super hard materials in the production of parts and diesel engines, hybrid technology is ideal for repair operations in those industries as well. General part recovery is another area where hybrid machinery could be used to great advantage in traditional machining environments where a scrapped part can cost a company up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to Mr. Hudson, the future holds great promise for the expansion of hybrid technology. “Over time we will likely see hundreds of additional application opportunities in multiple industries. In the very near future we will be able to add nozzles for localized heat treatment, cleaning the workpiece surface, drying the part of coolant residue, and even laser drilling and cutting. The possibilities are virtually endless.”

Lynn Gorman is the marketing communications representative for Mitsui Seiki. 

Low-Cost Robotic AM for Large-Scale Parts

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By Raymond Walker & Bryant Walker

Expanding directed-energy additive manufacturing into very large parts based on a low-cost platform has been a thrust of Keystone Synergistic Enterprises, Inc. for the past decade. Keystone has successfully produced directed-energy additive manufacturing (AM) parts using a robotic pulsed arc platform enhanced by a suite of integrated process controls that provides a level of uniformity needed for a qualified additive manufacturing capability. To expand beyond laser powder, laser wire feed and electron beam (EB) wire feed AM processes, Keystone has established a very low-cost AM capability using the robotic arc-based process capable of making very large parts. Figure 1 shows the Keystone Robotic AM work cell for large-scale parts.

Figure 1. Keystone Robotic AM work cell

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, additive manufacturing was being seriously considered for a limited number of F35 airframe components, but that small market of parts was far from being a sustaining business case for a supplier base in additive manufacturing. While numerous airframe and gas turbine engine makers were investigating additive manufacturing, only part demonstrations, test parts and the production of test blocks of AM material were produced, representing a very limited volume of AM parts.

Keystone participated in numerous detailed cost-benefit analyses with the OEM companies, reviewing part after part for suitability for AM processes and looking for compelling cost reductions that would be the foundation for a strong business case. Given the high cost of powder metal and welding wire, the high capital cost of electron-beam or laser AM equipment, few good examples of cost reduction were identified that would inspire an OEM to substitute AM processes for castings or forgings.

In that timeframe, it was becoming obvious that the effort to qualify additive manufactured parts for use in flight-critical airframe and engine applications was becoming a significant roadblock. This constraint coupled with the difficulty to identify pervasive cost reductions by substituting additive manufacturing for existing manufactured components, proved that directed-energy AM processes would struggle to be a sustainable business.

Keystone’s strategy was to expand the range and market of parts that could be made using directed-energy additive manufacturing, focusing more on non-critical parts, tooling and the reconstructive repair of non-critical components. This greater market segment would, however, require a significant reduction in the per-pound cost of AM deposited metal. A cost breakdown of an AM process reveals that the primary drivers are the cost of raw material, the cost of capital equipment, and the machine and labor-based cost of time in the equipment. These factors drove to a simple set of conclusions that defined the path forward for additive manufacturing to establish a foothold in the broader manufacturing industry beyond just aerospace.

Low-Cost Raw Material
Welding wire is always a lower cost than powder metal and the cost for handling and management of the raw material stream is lower. There are far more alloys available as welding wire compared to powder metal. This raw material stream is highly mature, broadly distributed and is lower in cost.

Low-Cost Equipment for Large Parts
Electron–beam and laser AM processes require expensive equipment driven by the high cost of delivered and focused energy from an EB gun or laser. This represents a significant cost compared to an energy source such as an electrical arc delivery. A robotic platform capable of 6 or 7 degrees of freedom of motion in a very large work space is a very low cost alternative to a gantry-based CNC system supplying motion in an equivalent work space. A highly capable robotic welding platform can be acquired for $100 K to $200 K compared to millions of dollars for EB and laser systems. This led to the utilization of a robotic gas metal arc welding (GMAW) system as a robust, mature starting platform for a low-cost AM process using traditional weld wire as the principle material delivery system. Robotic welding systems are a very mature capability and represent a highly supported industry. The primary challenges with robotic AM processes are the lack of integrated process controls and the difficulty of programming for complex parts.

High-Rate Throughput & Deposition Rates
The up-time of robotic welding processes is very high, and the deposition rate for most alloys ranges from 7 lbs/hr to 25 lbs/hr.  One operator can easily operate two to three robotic systems representing a low labor content.

However, one does not just take a robotic welder and become a qualified source for additive manufacturing processes. There are several other considerations required to make a capable AM system. Most significantly, closed-loop process controls need to be added to the robotic platform to build in a level of reproducibility and process consistency to provide confidence the material will be uniform.  AM processes must be consistent, of predictable quality, be homogeneous throughout the AM build, consistently achieve minimum mechanical properties, and be equivalent from part-to-part, machine-to-machine and supplier-to-supplier. There are thousands of robotic welding systems throughout the country that could be placed into service performing AM processes, however without process controls, process specifications and procedures, qualification standards and certified mechanical property data bases, the output from these equipment platforms would be inconsistent, variable and lack reliability. The potential industry would falter and have strong negative perceptions.

The key elements needed for AM capability are process controls, written guidelines and specifications, and a solid path to qualification. Keystone is actively addressing these enhancements to make robotic pulsed-arc AM a qualified mainstream process.

The primary process controls that are needed to transform a typical industrial robotic welder to an AM capability are:

  • Control of build height
  • Control and management of part temperature during an AM build
  • Monitoring the features of the melt pool during AM processing

Keystone has developed an integrated suite of sensors and control software that can be added to a welding robotic system and communicate with the robot’s controller through analog and digital I/O ports. Figure 2 shows the Keystone lightweight integrated sensor head mounted on the robot end arm to provide closed-loop build height control, closed-loop thermal management and control, and melt pool size and feature measurement and monitoring.

Figure 2. Keystone lightweight integrated sensor head mounted onto a robotic end arm

Using these controls, Keystone has successfully produced a significant range of AM parts in many important alloys including titanium, aluminum, steel, iron-based alloys, nickel superalloys, cobalt alloys, and copper-nickel alloys. Parts and tools with over 550 lbs of deposited material have been produced at Keystone for production applications. Figure 3 shows several examples of AM parts produced by Keystone using robotic pulsed-arc methods. This capability, combined with a focus on very low cost and non-critical hardware, has enabled Keystone to expand the range of parts and tooling appropriate for AM processing, critical for the directed-energy AM market.

Figure 3. AM parts produced by Keystone using robotic pulsed arc methods

Keystone has generated AM source and process qualification guidelines for the robotic pulsed-arc process and facilities and is currently developing certified B-Basis allowable mechanical property data for titanium and stainless steel alloys in support of US Navy projects.  Along with process controls, these guidelines and certified properties databases provide the foundation for qualification against the criteria for both non-critical and critical hardware.

Keystone continues to mature and expand the capabilities of add-on process controls for robotic AM platforms, working to have a package that can transform an industrial welding robot to a viable AM machine and process. Expanding large-part AM manufacturing into many industry sectors will be a critical aspect of building a robust manufacturing supply base and enabling directed-energy AM processes to get a foothold as a viable approach for producing large-scale metal parts.

Keystone has installed a second robotic AM system at its Port St. Lucie, FL facility to keep up with the expanding demand for low-cost large-scale additive manufacturing for aerospace and industrial applications. We invite you to visit Keystone at www.keystonehq.com and consider potential applications for this emerging addition to the traditional directed-energy AM processes.

Bryant Walker and Raymond Walker are President and Vice President of Keystone Synergistic Enterprises, Inc.