World’s Laser Industry Meets for the Premier Conference in Atlanta
The 34th International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) took place Oct. 18–22 at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in Georgia. This year the conference had over 400 attendees from 22 different countries and 200 presentations and posters highlighting the latest breakthroughs in laser research and development. ICALEO provided those that attended the opportunity to learn about advances in laser material processes and networking opportunities with scientists, engineers and researchers from across the globe. It is no surprise that ICALEO is the most important laser materials processing conference in the world. Continue reading →
Expanding the Bounds of Laser Materials Processing Research
While the opening and closing plenary sessions of the International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) are always a major draw, the invited papers that will be presented throughout the five-day conference are a treasure trove of novel laser research and applications.
ICALEO will take place in Atlanta, GA this year on Oct. 18-22, where about two dozen invited papers — presentations given special attention by conference and session chairs — are scheduled. Chaired for the first time by Silke Pflueger of DirectPhotonics, Pflueger is also joined by three other conference chairs: Laser Materials Processing Conference Chair Christoph Leyens, Laser Microprocessing Conference Chair Michelle Stock, and returning Nanomanufacturing Conference Chair Yongfeng Lu. With last year’s implementation of a peer-review process, ICALEO 2015 is yet again slated to be the premier conference for the latest in laser materials processing research and technology. Continue reading →
When Silke Pflueger attended her first ICALEO® in San Diego in the 1990s, she was a bit overwhelmed by having to give a talk about her work.
“The first presentation is scary,” she recalls. But that initial involvement has led Pflueger all the way to serving as congress general chair of ICALEO, the International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics, to be held Oct. 18-22 at the Sheraton Atlanta in the heart of the city. Now she is overseeing a team of conference chairs for the 2015 gathering, including:
Laser Materials Processing Conference: Christoph Leyens, Fraunhofer IWS
Nanomanufacturing Conference: Yongfeng Lu, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Business Forum & Panel Discussion: Klaus Loeffler, TRUMPF, and Bo Gu, BOS Photonics
“With over 200 presentations and posters on the latest in laser research, strengthened by the peer-review process introduced last year, ICALEO will provide another outstanding opportunity to learn about advances in laser material processing,” Pflueger notes in her welcome message for the ICALEO advance program (available online at www.icaleo.org). Continue reading →
A new focus on biomedical laser applications and continued opportunities for presenters to have their papers peer-reviewed will be among the highlights of the Laser Institute of America’s 34th International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®), to be held Oct. 18-22 at the Sheraton® Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, GA.
“With over 200 presentations and posters on the latest in laser research, strengthened by the peer-review process introduced last year, ICALEO will provide another outstanding opportunity to learn about advances in laser material processing,” noted ICALEO 2015 Congress General Chair Silke Pflueger of DirectPhotoincs.
In case you missed today’s CO2-vs.-fiber shootout by Cincinnati Incorporated using its 4,000-watt CL440 CO2 and CL940 fiber lasers to cut identical parts side by side, here’s a quick rundown.
Performed at the company’s Customer Productivity Center in Harrison, Ohio, about 20 miles west of Cincinnati, this demonstration by the longtime LIA exhibitor used their machines to fashion parts out of 20-gauge mild steel, 1/2-inch mild steel and 1/8-inch aluminum. Both systems have identical drive systems.
In broad terms, of course, fiber lasers — which have been carving out more and more market share — cut thinner materials faster, while CO2 performs better with materials thicker than 10 gauge.
The results:
Cincinnati Incorporated pits its CL940 fiber laser against its CL440 CO2 laser.
• 20-gauge mild steel (assisted by shop air): Fiber laser cut the part at 27 seconds at a rate of 2,160 inches per minute vs. 31 seconds for the CO2 laser run at 850 inches per minute. Estimated cost of the process is $6.90 per hour for fiber vs. $9.88 for CO2. • ½-inch mild steel (oxygen): CO2 cut the part at about 79 seconds at a rate of 60 inches per minute vs. about 99 seconds for fiber run at 45 inches per minute. Estimated hourly operating cost is $6.52 for fiber vs. $10.33 for CO2. • 1/8-inch aluminum (piercing with nitrogen, cutting with oxygen): Fiber cut the material at 56 seconds at 950 inches per minute (vs. 500 inches per minute if cutting with nitrogen).
Audience polling during the demonstration yielded an interesting look into laser purchasing habits:
• 32 percent said they had two to five lasers in their facility; 30 percent said one, 30 percent said none and 9 percent said more than five.
• 82 percent said they had not purchased a new laser within the past three years.
• 45 percent said they might consider automation with their next laser purchase, 40 percent said yes and 15 percent said no.
• 51 percent said they would be more likely to purchase a fiber laser, 30 percent a CO2 laser, 19 percent unsure.
