Latest Advancements in Industrial Laser Applications and Improvements
Driven by new and ingenious applications, technological advancements, and constantly decreasing manufacturing costs, the international market of laser technology is on the verge of becoming a $17 billion industry in roughly 5 years from now. According to MarketsandMarkets, a research company in the domain, this will happen in 2020.
Laser is considered a sturdy light resource with amazing properties that can’t be found in average light sources, such as tungsten lamps or mercury lamps. The fascinating ability of laser is that its waves of light go really long distances and with almost no deviation; conventional light on the other hand, emits a mix of separate waves. These cancel each other, thus traveling short distances.
There are many types of lasers available, which operate at different wavelengths and are being used for all sorts of applications. The report presented by MarketsandMarkets, focuses on the future of laser technology and on its impact on today’s various industries from market oriented and technical perspectives.
Laser technology – advances and future expectations
Take a new car for a test drive, send a tweet from an iPad, or check the time on your smartwatch and you’ll benefit from the most advanced forms of laser technology. Advanced systems are now a viable alternative to conventional techniques. Mechanical drills for instance, wear down in time; this means that the shape and size of the holes that are being drilled may alter. Drilling systems which use laser technology don’t have this issue. Because they feature built-in lasers, no other components relate to the material being pierced. In consequence, the holes remain the same and they don’t feature any alterations in size over time.
Rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing
These two areas have seen visible improvements in laser systems too. The introduction of powders into laser beams facilitates the formation of various products. Single-item and low-volume manufacturing can be performed a lot faster, thus enabling elevated speed to monitor prototypes or low volume products. In addition, this enables the use of an expansive range of materials.
Laser micromachining is quickly transforming into a preferred material-processing technology for various real-world, small-scale applications. New discoveries in DPSS lasers (diode-pumped solid-state lasers) are facilitating material processes, which were once only available in research labs. In the manufacturing industry, lasers were something pioneering and new; right now, they’ve become pretty standard and are considered a reliable working tool.
Industrial laser applications & improvements
Today’s laser systems have gotten so much recognition due to recent tech developments, particularly driven by the electronics and medical industries. Revolutionary laser developments from various research laboratories have penetrated the industry, making short pulse rate and high power lasers push the boundaries and help industries attain greatness.
The demand for laser systems technology and advanced medical lasers continues to grow. A recent BBC research report mentioned that the unending evolution of laser sources (LEDs, OLEDs, and fiber lasers) and medical laser technology will continue to drive market growths. Leaving aside the medical sector, are important industrial field is evolving thanks to advanced laser technology – namely the defense & security market (the military). New trends in areas such as airborne laser mine detection are materializing, in addition to target designation, range finding, neutralizing opponents and anti-missile systems.
Rapid pulse
A very important area of interest is short pulse laser technology. Using short-pulse lasers has become trivial due to the ability of the lasers to stay controllable and focused. Because of the technology’s short, specifically targeted pulses, there’s no heat effect created during the laser processing on the material. That’s pretty interesting to many people because it allows them to modify surfaces without having to damage the base of the layers. These sorts of developments have a special connotation in the electronic industry, where the goal is to make mobile phones have increasingly thinner screens.
What should we expect next from laser technology? Experts agree that there will be more cost efficient solutions to expand available markets. New developments in turnkey laser systems will grab attention. This emphasizes the great importance of laser technology on today’s most importance industries. There will also be an increase in laser marking services, so it goes without saying that a company’s success may depend on this groundbreaking technology.
