Tag Archives: Laser Institute of America

Laser Safety Focus – The Value of Becoming a Certified Laser Safety Officer

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As we prepare to celebrate National Safety Month in June, we want to highlight the importance of laser safety with a series of laser safety focused blogs starting this month. One of LIA’s missions includes fostering laser safety worldwide. We do so by offering online, classroom & in-house laser safety courses. To learn more, click here.

Are you looking for ways to show your commitment to a higher standard of laser safety?

Do you want to prove to your current or future employer that you possess the knowledge to lead a laser safety program?

 

If this sounds like you, read on to find out more about the Certified Laser Safety Officer (CLSO) exam offered by the Board of Laser Safety (BLS).

“For professionals working around lasers, becoming certified by the Board of Laser Safety (BLS) is one of the highest credentials a laser safety officer (LSO) can earn,” said Laser Focus World Magazine.

LIA collaborates with BLS to enhance laser safety professionals’ knowledge and commitment to laser safety. The BLS is a non-profit, whose mission is to provide a means for improvement in the practice of laser safety by providing opportunities for the education, assessment, and recognition of laser safety professionals.

LIA’s Laser Safety Officer with Hazard Analysis (LSO with HA) training satisfies one of four CLSO exam requirements. A 3-hour pen and paper CLSO exam is offered immediately after the conclusion of most LSO with HA training courses. The CLSO exam is also available as a computer-based exam, which is offered at testing locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

With the ever-growing demand for laser safety professionals and the competitive nature of roles within this field, determining how you will stand out among candidates in your career is imperative. LSO certification can be a pivotal resource for those looking to better complete the tasks in their current role or gain security in their current position and move into a position of more responsibility.

Certification is designed for those who are working in a role as a Laser Safety Officer (LSO) or a position supporting an LSO. Whether you work in a military, research, technical, or industrial application of laser use, this certification will show that you are equipped with the knowledge and ability to manage a laser safety program.

Once certified, you must attain 10 certification maintenance (CM) points over each 3-year certification cycle in order to renew your certification. LIA offers many opportunities for CM points. You can gain these points by attending our International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC), taking select LIA courses or volunteering for various laser safety publication projects.

 

If you are interested in becoming certified, visit www.lasersafety.org or call 407-985-3810.

Laser Institute of America Announces Session on North American Additive Manufacturing as Part of Lasers in Manufacturing 2017 Event

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LIA will hold a session at LiM 2017 in Munich, Germany to offer unique perspective on how North American laser companies are successfully using additive manufacturing technology.

ORLANDO, FL (PRWEB) MAY 23, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) will organize for the first time a 1.5 hour Additive Manufacturing (AM) session called AM: Trends in North America as part of the World of PhotonicsCongress LiM 2017 event.

Held on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, from 2:00-3:30 PM local time at the International Congress Center in Munich, Germany, the event runs as a session of a subconference of the larger LiM event from June 26-29, 2017. LiM is a scientific conference on the latest advances and future trends in the field of laser materials processing, with a focus on potential for industrial applications. Organized by the German Scientific Laser Society (WLT), LiM 2017 is the premier international forum for researchers and experts in laser manufacturing.

The unprecedented AM session offered by LIA is intended to provide updates on the most current laser additive manufacturing applications and offer a helpful perspective regarding how American and Canadian companies are successfully using AM technology to reduce cost and increase efficiency.

“Now is an important time to be a part of all that is developing in the AM world in North America,” said Jim Naugle, LIA’s Marketing Director. “We are pleased to add our knowledge and insight to the vast body of additive manufacturing expertise offered at LiM 2017 through the AM: Trends in North America session.”

Attendees will include engineers, manufacturing managers, system integrators, precision parts specialists, and OEMs from all over the world in fields such as business development, manufacturing, construction, and design.

Featured Keynote David Ott from the Global Humanitarian Lab (GHL) will explain how 3D Printing can bring together the humanitarian world (private, academic and scientific) to address common challenges in disaster affected communities.

Other invited speakers include Rob Martinsen, CTO of nLight, and William Herbert, Director of Corporate Development for Carpenter Technologies. Martinsen will speak of breakthrough solutions for additive manufacturing and Herbert will cover material requirements. The session will come to a conclusion with presenter Yannick Lafue, Business Developer for Aeronautics, Defense and Oil & Gas at IREPA LASER with his presentation on AM with LMD-CLAD process: an Industrial opportunity.

For more information on this event, including sponsorship information, please contact marketing@lia.org or +1-407-380-1553. To learn more about LiM 2017, visit the LiM 2017 website.

View the PRWeb release here. 

Board of Laser Safety (BLS) Illumination Award Recognizes Mount Sinai Health System at ILSC 2017

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The new award recognizes an institution, company, or organization that directly employs a certified Laser Safety Officer & makes outstanding contributions to the laser safety community

ORLANDO, FL (PRWEB) MAY 11, 2017

The Board of Laser Safety (BLS) is proud to announce the first recipient of the BLS Illumination Award, Mount Sinai Health System. The award was presented at the BLS CLSO & CMLSO Appreciation Reception during the 2017 International Laser Safety Conference on March 20 at the Sheraton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, GA.

Laser Institute of America’s (LIA) International Laser Safety Conference (ILSC®), held biennially, gathers hundreds of laser safety professionals from around the world to discuss the latest topics in medical and industrial laser safety.

The BLS Illumination Award has been created to recognize an institution, company or organization that directly employs a certified laser safety officer and provides encouragement and support for employee participation within the laser safety community and/or has made outstanding contributions to the field of laser safety.

Jacob Kamen, who received the award at ILSC 2017 on behalf of his employer, Mount Sinai Health System, said it validates all the effort and energy Mount Sinai has put into its Laser Safety Program over the past 7 years.

“The Mount Sinai Health System is very proud to be a recipient of the BLS Illumination Award. This award validates Mount Sinai has been a significant supporter of laser safety education,” Kamen said.

Partnering with Laser Institute of America to host New York City’s first-ever LIA MLSO course in 2015, Mount Sinai Health System has advanced its education goal further. Mount Sinai was also the first institution to sponsor the BLS certified medical laser safety officer (CMLSO) examination in New York City. Presently, Mount Sinai boasts three CMLSOs on staff. The Laser Safety Program has recently expanded to 8 hospitals that incorporate the Mount Sinai Health System.

Additionally, Mount Sinai has supplemented their online training by creating multiple laser safety training courses covering a variety of clinical and research areas. These courses have been used by more than 5,000 staff members throughout the entire Mount Sinai Health System.

“Mount Sinai hopes that this award will provide encouragement for other hospitals to follow the path and create a safe laser environment for employee and patients,” Kamen added.

Barbara Sams, Executive Director of BLS, says, “We were honored to be able to present the inaugural BLS Illumination Award to Mount Sinai at ILSC 2017. We feel it is important to recognize the employer who has the vision to see the significance of investing in its personnel and challenges its staff to seek knowledge through various channels of continuing education.”

Due to its popularity and success at ILSC 2017, BLS is now calling on all CLSOs and CMLSOs who would like their employer to be considered for the next award. To nominate your company/employer, please review the criteria and download the Nomination and Supporter forms, complete with submission instructions, from the BLS website. Nominations can also be submitted directly to Barbara Sams, Executive Director, at bls(at)lasersafety.org.

The Board of Laser Safety (BLS) is a non-profit organization affiliated with Laser Institute of America (LIA) and dedicated to the improvement in the practice of laser safety by providing opportunities for the education, assessment and recognition of laser safety professionals. To learn more about BLS and their certification opportunities for medical and non-medical laser safety professionals, please visit http://www.lasersafety.org.

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) supports the BLS’ mission by offering laser safety training for both LSOs and MLSOs. As the professional society for laser applications and safety, LIA is dedicated to serving the industrial, medical, research and government communities worldwide. For more information on the LIA, visit http://www.lia.org or call 1-800-34-LASER today.

Meet Marubeni Citizen-Cincom Inc. – May 2017’s Featured Corporate Member

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By Brandon Kalloo 

Marubeni Citizen-Cincom Inc., an LIA Corporate Member, was founded in 1984 to market and service Citizen’s family of Swiss-type turning centers. MCC is also responsible for marketing and sales of Miyano multi-axis turning centers.

According to Jim Cepican, MCC sales manager, the synergy between the product lines enhances their capability to offer their customers better manufacturing solutions  He elaborated on the company’s success and said their Swiss-type turning centers have become the most widely accepted of their kind in North America.

To meet customer needs effectively the Marubeni Technical Center provides a variety of engineered accessories that enhance the performance of the Cincom and Miyano machines. An example of these engineered products is the L2000 fiber optic laser systems that can be adapted to the Cincom and Miyano machines. This allows a manufacturer to perform conventional and laser cutting or welding operations on a single machine platform. This system has been well received by medical device manufacturers.

MCC is based in Allendale, New Jersey and has sales and service facilities in several other states across the country including Fountain Valley, California. To manage and operate all of their branches, the company has grown to 95 employees and is continuing to expand as they provide manufacturing solutions for customers in North & Central America. The company is comprised of several departments including sales & marketing; customer support; parts & logistics; and a technical center.

“Time is money,” said Cepican. “Customers want to do more with less and they want to be able to operate 24/7. With this in mind, Citizen has continually improved its products by adding more functions and accessories that allow a multitude of production possibilities on a single machine.”

The company’s relationship with people is very important. They strive to connect with customers so that they may better meet their clients’ needs and expectations.

“We offer quality products that truly make a difference in the manufacturing industry and we are supported by a fantastic nationwide network of full service distributors,” said Cepican. “We are continually striving to provide our customers with support that is second to none. After a sale, support is paramount in maintaining customers and growing our business.”

This Corporate Member Feature was written by Brandon Kalloo in collaboration with Marubeni Citizen-Cincom 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.