Laser

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Video Questions
1. Name four advantages of laser cutting as listed in the
film

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2. Limitations of lasers….

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3. Performance of a cutting laser can be enhanced with
….. ?

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4. What type of laser is normally associated with
percussion drilling….

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Lasers in Industry
 Precision machining
 Laser engraving
 Laser cutting
 Machine vision

 Anything else?

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Laser Acronym
L Light
A Amplification by the
S Stimulated
E Emission of
R Radiation

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What we want to learn today

 Units of measurement
 Basic concepts and Laser terminology
 The electromagnetic spectrum
 The interaction of light & matter (reflection,
refraction, absorption)
 Characteristic of Laser light

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 Laser Beam Machining (LBM)
 Uses the light energy from a laser to remove material by
vaporization and ablation (removal of material from the surface of an object by
vaporization, chipping or other erosive processes )

Figure 26.14 Laser

beam machining (LBM).

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 http://en.wikipedia
.org/wiki/List_of_l
aser_types

 Metric Prefixes
 centi (c=10-2)
 milli (c=10-3)
 micro (c=10-6)
http://www.conest  nano (c=10-9)
ogac.on.ca/met/ra/r
obotics2009/Rubix/
Templates/Videos.
Html 14
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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

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The Interaction of Light and Matter
 Refraction
 Light “bends”
 Dispersion
 Reflection
 Light “bounces back”
 The “reflectance”
depends on the indices of
refraction as well as the
angle of incidence and
the polarization of the
light

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 Transmission
 Light may travel through
the second material and
exit
 Attenuation
 Removing light energy
from the beam before it
exits the second medium
 Diffraction
 Light bends, or spreads,
when passing through an
object

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Characteristics of Laser Light
 Monochromatic
 Directional
 Coherent

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Coherence

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Lasers and Normal Light Sources

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Virtek International
http://www.virtek.ca/index.asp

VIRTEK is a leading provider of precision laser-

based templating, inspection, marking and
engraving solutions for industrial material
processing.
Their advertizing reads that:
We serve customers in the prefabricated
construction, transportation, metalworking, glass,
tool and die and mold making industries.
and Our solutions enable customers to produce
their products faster, better and at a lower cost.

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Industry Solutions
 Home, Aerospace
 Automotive, Construction
 Electronics, Gasket
 Glass, Heavy Equipment
 Medical, Metalworking
 Mold Making, Packaging
 Plastics, Tool & Die
 Transportation, Woodworking

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Characterizing the Laser Output
 Continuous Wave Output
 Single Pulse Output
 Repetitively Pulsed Output

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Characterizing the Laser Output

 CW Laser Output
 Steady power (Φ)

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Characterizing the Laser Output

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Beam Delivery - CO2

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Focusing Lenses
 Short Focal Length  Long Focal Length
 35 to 60 mm  70 to 120 mm
 Smaller spot size  Larger spot size

 Higher intensity  Lower intensity

 Shorter working distance  Longer working distance

 Shorter depth of focus  Longer depth of focus

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Outline
 Types of Industrial Lasers & their Components
 Gas Lasers
 Solid-State Lasers
 Semiconductor (Diode) Lasers
 Liquid (Dye) Lasers (tunable wavelength)

 Laser Fabrication Applications

 Surface treatment (heat treating, alloying and cladding)
 Welding (spot welding, seam welding)
 Material removal (cutting, drilling, scribing, marking)
 Advantages of Industrial Laser Systems
 Market Forecast

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Industrial Lasers

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Commonly used Diode Lasers

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Laser Fabrication Applications

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Advantages of Lasers in Industrial Applications

 No physical contact
 Very controlled, localized heating
 High repeatability
 Easily incorporated into CNC or robotic
applications
 Versatility
 Faster, more economical

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Jan. 2000 Annual Market Forecast

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2009 data http://photonics.light.utoronto.ca/laserphotonics/ECE1461/Laser_markets.pdf
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 2009, data,
http://photonics.light.utoronto.ca/laserphotonics/ECE14 48
61/Laser_markets.pdf
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Credits
 Laser Institute of America (LIA)
 Hamid Karbasi, Conestoga College
 http://photonics.light.utoronto.ca/laserphotonics/ECE1461/Laser_markets.pdf

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