ORLANDO, FL, Oct. 17, 2014 — The fourth annual LME was another exciting event full of informative educational courses and laser vendors with offerings on a wide range of laser related products. Laser experts, business professionals and representatives of the industry curious about laser manufacturing gathered for LME 2014 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL from Sept. 23 -24, 2014.
This year’s LME expanded on exhibit space and hosted an increased number of exhibiting companies from last year. Follow updates for the upcoming LME at www.laserevent.org.
More than four years ago, consensus began building in the United States on the need for a “laser only” show focused solely on the benefits of industrial laser materials processing.
Now in its fourth year, the Laser Institute of America’s one-of-a-kind Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) will build on its momentum and value with the addition of a one-day Lasers for Manufacturing Summit. The summit, to be held Sept. 22, precedes LME 2014 on Sept. 23-24 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL.
LME has made believers of companies that want to talk directly to established or potential customers and attendees who need to learn the nuts and bolts of using lasers efficiently and profitably. With its range of educational levels and opportunities for vendors to present to attendees at the Laser Technology Showcase Theater, LME provides one-stop shopping for companies interested in integrating laser technology into their production. Continue reading →
ORLANDO, FL, Aug. 5, 2014 — To arm manufacturing executives with the information they need to profit from laser-driven production in the 21st century, the Laser Institute of America is bringing out some big guns for its first Lasers for Manufacturing Summit on Sept. 22 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL.
On tap to present at the summit are Mark Douglass of Longbow Research, renowned additive manufacturing expert Terry Wohlers, as well as representatives from GE Global Research and TRUMPF. The event will close with a laser manufacturing forum moderated by LIA Past President David Belforte, editor-in-chief of summit media premier partner Industrial Laser Solutions magazine.
Kicking off the intimate high-level briefing around 1pm will be Douglass, who will give an overview of industrial laser markets. Wohlers will follow with a 40-minute presentation on the current state of laser additive manufacturing. After a break, James Yang from GE Global Research will discuss additive manufacturing opportunities and challenges at GE, and TRUMPF’s Sascha Weiler will address applications for ultrafast lasers.
Machine-shop owner and author/columnist Dr. Ron Schaeffer will deliver the closing keynote address on the use of ultrafast lasers in manufacturing on Sept. 24, the second and final day of the Laser Institute of America’s fourth annual Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) in Schaumburg, IL.
Schaeffer, founder and CEO of PhotoMachining in Pelham, NH, is also a columnist for Industrial Laser Solutions magazine and author of the 2012 book Fundamentals of Laser Micromachining.
Schaeffer brings exactly the kind of real-world success stories that hit home for LME attendees. His job shop is particularly successful in the medical device market. “We had some of our best years in 2008/2009, because we were heavily entrenched” in that area, he has said.
And, since lasers are the only way to manufacture many complex medical devices and components like stents, catheters and diagnostic tools, profits can be generous. For example, diabetes test strips include a thin conductive layer of metal or ink patterned with lasers. “This has been a big area for us; we’ve got laser systems doing this in several of the top manufacturers of these devices.”
By Ilya Mingareev, Tobias Bonhoff, Ashraf F. El-Sherif, Wilhelm Meiners, Ingomar Kelbassa, Tim Biermann and Martin Richardson
Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) is a rapidly developing field of advanced fabrication technologies that will benefit many industries by enabling near-net shape manufacturing of high-value components from metals, ceramics and compound materials. However, the geometry and the surface quality of parts produced by LAM can be significantly affected by heat-induced distortions, solidified melt droplets, partially fused powders, and surface modifications induced by the laser tool motion. The dimensional accuracy is insufficient for many application areas, thus requiring a certain amount of post-processing such as CNC milling and polishing. While efficient for solid and bulk components, conventional post-processing techniques cannot be applied to parts made of brittle, heat-sensitive materials, many multi-layer material systems and components with engineered porosity. Continue reading →
