interrelated evolution of process development, required laser sources and ... and the emergence of completely novel applications motivate the development.
editorial
Laser Technologies for the Manufacturing of the Future The significant progress of laser technology for manufacturing is a result of the holistic and interrelated evolution of process development, required laser sources and corresponding system engineering. On the one hand the continuously enhanced requirements for material processing and the emergence of completely novel applications motivate the development of new laser systems. On the other hand the advanced lasers pave the way to novel applications. In the field of laser development, as in the past, the increase in brightness of kW cw lasers and the scaling of the average power of ultra-short-pulse lasers are still important trends this very day but are now complemented with growing interest in beam shaping and the quest for other wavelengths. Indeed, the improved beam properties and the enhanced laser performances are currently exploited in numerous applications ranging from high-precision structuring and drilling to high-quality cutting and welding, but most importantly these developments now help to significantly widen the range of processible materials such as, e.g., copper, fibre-reinforced materials, or other composite structures. The seventh international Stuttgart Laser Technology Forum (SLT’12) will present numerous breakthroughs along the above lines. In the field of laser development the presentations include new power and efficiency records of diffraction-limited thin-disk lasers and the demonstration that fundamental-mode radiation at the kW power level can be transported in conventional multi-mode step-index fibres. The improvement of beam quality is a major challenge also in terms of laser safety, where new and affordable solutions for laser-safe enclosures will be presented. The benefits of high beam qualities and beam shaping are highlighted with examples of cutting, the reduction of spattering during welding of copper and the drilling of high-precision holes with unprecedented reproducibility. The unique diagnostics opportunity offered by the Xray facility at the IFSW and a special session on laser processing of carbon-fibre reinforced plastics will complete the program. Once again the SLT will show how fast laser technology is progressing. Scientists and users can look forward to a wealth of expected and unexpected future developments. New laser sources with a larger choice of wavelengths and special beam properties, new concepts for system engineering, system components and sensors for quality assurance and the development of novel laser processing techniques for new materials and material combinations will continue to contribute to the fast progress of industrial manufacturing and with it to our economic prosperity.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Graf Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW), Stuttgart
I wish you inspiring reading of the present issue of Laser Technik Journal.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Graf Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW), University of Stuttgart
