Tag Archives: lasers today

Weekly Lasers Wrap Up – Week of December 5, 2016

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The Laser Institute of America LasersToday.com Weekly Wrap-Up aggregates industry news, conference updates, and LIA happenings. Here is the latest:

Laser Industry News

This week, Lasers Today featured a guest blog discussing additive manufacturing using hot wire and powder processes. The post gives an in-depth overview of laser cladding, powder cladding, hot & cold wire cladding, including processes and tools used for each. Find it here.

After performing a few updates, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) is back online. Over the last year, updates on LIGO’s lasers, electronics, and other assets have increased its sensitivity by 10 to 25 percent. Check out the interview with Peter Fritschel, the associate director of LIGO at MIT here.

Following the passage of the 21st Century Cures act, the National Photonics Initiative applauds House leaders for their decision. The bill provides $4.8 billion for advanced research on medicine initiatives. The involvement of optics and photonics in health care technology leads to less invasive, more cost-effective treatment for patients. Learn more about the bill here.

LIA Updates

Peter Baker is the first ever recipient of the LIA Leadership Award. This award focuses on “an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in an organization or a company and has significantly benefited the world laser community.  The recipient may have also led to major global impacts in the advancement of laser science, technology, engineering, education or applications.” Baker has lead LIA for 28 years, playing an immeasurable part in LIA’s impact on the laser community. Read the full press release here.

Did you know that Student Membership with LIA is only $25? LIA members enjoy complimentary subscriptions to LIA publications, discounts on LIA courses, conferences, & seminars, networking opportunities, and more! Get the details here.

Conference News

Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM) will take place February 21-22, 2017 in Houston, Texas. LAM features presentations from researchers and industry leaders pertaining to the use of additive manufacturing. This year will feature a new session on micro/nano laser additive manufacturing research. Register today here.

Don’t miss a single laser industry update! Sign up today to receive the latest in lasers delivered straight to your inbox. Be sure to follow LIA on Facebook and Twitter for even more laser news.

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. Find us at www.lia.org

Using Direct Metal Sintering to Fight Bacteria in Implants

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Could adding antibacterial agents to the additive manufacturing process lead to safer medical implants?

Direct Metal Sintering is used to create titanium implants for dental and orthopedic use. 3D modeling allows manufacturers to determine the porosity and surface roughness of the implant for medical use. Titanium and titanium alloys are preferred in the medical field due to their biocompatibility and other properties that cause minimal disruptions within the body.

However, the rough surfaces can often lead to breeding grounds for bacteria, and by extension, biofilm in the implants. This can lead to infection or unwanted cell adhesion. These infections can cause implants to come loose or even detach. While measures are taken to prevent these infections, bacteria is still commonly present within an implant. Over time, bacterial colonization leads to the creation of a biofilm, which makes it more difficult to fight and remove the bacteria from within the implant.

To combat this, researchers determined that preventing the spread of bacteria would have to come from within the implant, or rather, with antibacterial coatings on the surface of the implant. This poses a unique challenge, as antibacterial agents used would have to be both compatible with the titanium and titanium alloys, and nontoxic to the patient receiving the implant. Utilizing a novel phase-transited lysosome, with a variable thickness, combined with three layers of negatively charged hyaluronic acid and positively charged chitosan, researchers believed they could prevent the formation of the biofilms by including these within the direct metal sintering process.

The results show that the method (phase transited lysosome-functionalized Direct Metal Laser Sintering Titanium, or PTL-DMLS-Ti)  can help prevent the early onset of bacterial presence in the implant, while still retaining its function and compatibility with the body. The findings are expected to gain interest within the medical field, with potential for additional applications in the future. Check out the full report here, for more information.

Interested in learning more about direct metal sintering and other additive manufacturing practices? Be sure to register for LAM, taking place February 21-22, in Houston, Texas. Don’t miss a single laser industry update, visit Lasers Today and sign up to receive the latest in lasers delivered directly to your inbox.

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.

Weekly Lasers Wrap Up – Week of November 14, 2016

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The Laser Institute of America LasersToday.com Weekly Wrap-Up aggregates industry news, conference updates, and LIA happenings. Here is the latest:

LIA News

November’s Featured Corporate member is Alio Industries, Inc. Alio Industries has developed a reputation through the years for its “innovative designs” and production of precision motor systems. Learn more about this Colorado-based company, and their contributions to the industry here.

Laser Industry News

GE has been a household name for decades. However, in the last year, GE has reinvented itself, increasingly merging with the world of open-source, industrial design, through manufacturing. Take a look at what GE has recently worked on here.

Lasers Today recently featured a guest post on Beam Delivery. This in-depth look discusses the importance of a laser’s beam size, M2, beam perimeter product, and the measurements needed for each. Discover why these measurements can be a great deal of importance to those in the industry here.

Researchers at UCLA are working to “explore one of the last frontiers of the electromagnetic spectrum” using terahertz lasers. Terahertz lasers are capable of producing photons with frequencies of over a trillion cycles per second. They are, however, a challenge to create. Check out the article at Phys.org to learn more about the team’s research.

Forget scarecrows. Lasers may soon be the preferred method to keep birds away from destroying crops. Currently, sound cannons, used at random intervals keep crows from lingering too long, much to the dismay of neighbors. The solution? Low powered lasers that take advantage of birds sensitivity to moving light, which usually indicates a predator nearby. Learn more here.

As 2016 begins to wind down to an end, the first look at the shifts, growth, and the overall state of the laser market is starting to show. Take a look at the first of the predictions and analytics here.

Don’t miss a single laser industry update! Sign up today to receive the latest in lasers delivered straight to your inbox. Be sure to follow LIA on Facebook and Twitter for even more laser news.

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. Find us at www.lia.org

Weekly Lasers Wrap Up – Week of October 31, 2016

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The Laser Institute of America LasersToday.com Weekly Wrap-Up aggregates industry news, conference updates, and LIA happenings. Here is the latest:

Industry News

Physicists have shattered the existing laser-electron interaction record! Beating the previously known efficiency of 10 percent, for most free-electron lasers, researchers were able to convert the energy of an electron beam into a pulse of coherent light, with an efficiency of 30 percent.

Learn more about this record-breaking accomplishment, and what it may mean for the future of high powered lasers here.

Following the development of a short-range, 2-kilowatt laser weapon, the Army may have laser equipped vehicles by 2017. Engadget reports that the device is designed to be mounted to the roof, and will be used to protect soldiers against missiles, mortars, and drones. Find the original article here.

Researchers are exploring new possibilities regarding the use of ultrafast lasers to etch microstructures into thin glass. The method will likely have applications in analytics, such as engraving information into a chip. Check out the surprising phenomenon that makes the etching process so intriguing here.

LIA News

Are you interested in learning more about the world of additive manufacturing? Be sure to check out our free slideshare The Cost of Manufacturing With Lasers and Without Them. The slideshare explores the advantages of additive manufacturing, types of 3D printing technology, characteristics of additive manufacturing, and more! Find it here.

We want YOU to become part of the LIA experience! Explore the options, perks, and savings associated with LIA membership. Help us continue to cultivate innovation, ingenuity, and inspiration. Learn more here.

Beware the hidden costs associated with not completing, or regularly refreshing, LSO training. LIA offers numerous resources and perks designed to help LSOs keep themselves, their colleagues, and their work environments safe and secure. As an added bonus, LIA has included a coupon code with a significant discount on LSO training. Get it here!

Don’t miss a single laser industry update! Sign up today to receive the latest in lasers delivered straight to your inbox. Be sure to follow LIA on Facebook and Twitter for even more laser news.

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. Find us at www.lia.org

Physicists Shatter Laser-Electron Interaction Record

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In case you missed the news last week, researchers converted the energy of an electron beam into a pulse of coherent light with an efficiency of 30 percent. If you need perspective, this is much higher than the 10 percent efficiency of most free-electron lasers.

According to the breaking news story by PhysicsWorld.com, while the demonstration produces only infrared light, the method could lead to efficient, high-power lasers operating over a range of wavelengths, including X-ray.  X-ray sources like these could be used to etch circuits on semiconductor chips even faster.

At the Brookhaven National Laboratory, a research institute in Upton, New York,  the energy conversion was demonstrated by first accelerating a beam of electrons in a five-metre-long tunnel. They then directed those electrons for several more metres along a helical path using magnets, before illuminating those electrons with an infrared laser.

Courtesy: News Story, PhysicsWorld.com

The method could lead to efficient, high-power lasers operating over a range of wavelengths, including X-ray. Such X-ray sources could be used to etch circuits on semiconductor chips faster and more efficiently. -PhysicsWorld.com

Interested in learning more? Read the Full Article Here.

Tell LIA: What does this record-breaking update mean to you as a laser enthusiast or professional? Comment below or share with us on Twitter @LaserInstitute! 

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. Find us at www.lia.org.