Fiber lasers are ideal for performing cutting, welding, marking, texturing, and more. A fiber laser uses an optical fiber cable, that is made out of silica glass, to guide the light.
The laser beam is much more accurate than other laser tools. Fiber lasers are also low-maintenance and have good electrical efficiency and low operating costs.
When all that is put together, it is no wonder that a multitude of different industries is increasingly using fiber lasers. Here are six industries that benefit from fiber lasers the most.
1. The Aerospace Industry
The manufacturing processes used in the aerospace industry have to be meticulous. Fiber lasers are most commonly used in the industry for ablation, which is a process that involves chemical bonds on a material surface being broken off via focusing a pulsed fiber laser.
The ablation process is used for things like making permanent, clear, machine-readable markings on aircraft that can withstand extreme weather conditions. Another use of fiber lasers in the aerospace industry is for drilling holes in turbine blades with the utmost precision.
2. The Automotive Industry
Fiber lasers are utilized in numerous ways in the automotive industry. The lasers are used to drill, cut, and weld vital automotive components with high accuracy, including stator plates, differential gears, and coated foils for batteries.
By using a collection of fiber laser cutting machine, drilling machines, and welding machine equipment, it is simple to achieve optimum results. For example, electric motors’ stators have unique solid copper hairpins that generate a magnetic field once electricity is passed through them.
A fiber laser is an ideal tool for the hairpin ablation and welding of those copper wires. The tool makes the process quick and reliable and leaves no residue on the material. Fiber lasers can also be used in the automotive industry for the heat treatment of parts.
Fiber lasers provide a more environmentally friendly type of heat treatment because no chemicals are used in the process. Furthermore, laser-treated automotive parts are more aesthetic and do not require any post-machining.
Fiber lasers also save companies a lot of cost in power, sometimes up to 50%. So, companies working in the automotive industry can save money by using fiber lasers as well as time.
3. The Semiconductor Industry
The semiconductor manufacturing industry has benefited a lot from fiber lasers due to the tools’ versatility and accuracy. Making semiconductors is a lengthy and complex process, so each part must be tagged with a tracking number.
That is where fiber lasers come in very handy. They are used to mark each part so that the parts can easily be tracked through the manufacturing line.
Furthermore, because fiber lasers are non-contact, they can create permanent and legible marks without causing any risk of damage to the semiconductor.
4. The Electronics Industry
Like other industries, fiber lasers have various applications within the electronics industry. One way in which the tools are commonly used is in the production of printed circuit boards.
The lasers play a crucial part in etching the surface of the circuit boards and providing an insulated coating; both of which are instrumental in ensuring the printed circuit board performs its intended purpose.
5. The Jewelry Making Industry
The art of jewelry making has been revolutionized by using fiber lasers. Craftspeople in the industry can now create pieces of jewelry with an incredibly high degree of precision.
In addition to being used for cutting pieces, fiber lasers can also be used for customized engraving and color marking. The latter involves a permanent colored mark being left behind on the jewelry piece by the laser.
Basically, with fiber lasers at their disposal, jewelry makers can craft highly customized and personalized pieces in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods.
6. The Medical Industry
The medical industry makes use of fiber lasers in a multitude of ways. Firstly, seeing as the lasers work well with metal, they are perfectly suited for manufacturing surgical tools like scalpels, bone saws, and drills.
Fiber lasers are also used by the medical industry to make marks in implants or stents and manufacture various medical devices, pharmaceutical products, and training aids.
The lasers are also ideal for use in the medical industry because they use no chemicals and are not toxic. From prosthetics to dental implants, fiber lasers now play a crucial part in many areas of the medical industry. Furthermore, using fiber lasers is faster and less expensive than other methods.
