For the scribing or perforation of plastics films, a compact and easy to integrate entry-level solution requires no connection to external gases and has very low power consumption.

The StarScribe Easy, manufactured in the UK, is the latest addition to the product range offered by Rofin-Baasel for the scribing or perforation of plastics films. A compact and easy to integrate entry-level solution for perforation or scribing of plastic films, the StarScribe Easy is an adaptation of the highly successful MultiScan range of laser marking systems built at Rofin-Sinar UK in Willerby, near Hull. Using a 100W slab, diffusion cooled CO2 laser, the system requires no connection to external gases and has very low power consumption.

Supplied in an easy-to-clean IP56 stainless steel enclosure, the system is designed to operate in an industrial environment.

A highly flexible 7-knuckle articulated arm allows the processing head to be positioned at the required height and orientation to suit the customer's machinery.

For multiple row applications 2, 3 or 4 head options are available using beam splitting and adjustable head separations.

This technology is primarily of interest in the food packaging industry where small holes are used in the plastics packaging of fresh foods (e.g salads) to prolong the shelf life of the food.

Almost all the types of film commonly used in the food industry (OPP, BOPP, PE, PET, Cellophane or laminated materials) can be processed at the desired quality and speed.

At suitably small diameters, the transmission of moisture is prevented but exchange of air is still ensured.

Typically, the hole sizes are small (in the region of 50 to 80 microns) and the number of holes per bag necessary to achieve the desired result is minimal.

Another application which is ideally suited to this system is the production of laser scribing in the web direction for easy-tear opening sachets and pouches.

These are typically used in the food and pharmaceutical industry to make the opening of packaging easier and more predictable.

Batch production of features typically from 200 microns down to only a few microns in material <1mm thick can be done with high speed lasers, from a few parts/month to 1000s/week.

Batch production of features typically from 200 microns down to only a few microns in material <1mm thick. Facilities are available for development of process, optimisation of process or batches, from a few parts per month to many thousands of parts per week, all produced with equal care and precision. By using the latest high speed laser technology and a team of specialist engineers, Oxford Lasers can offer cost effective sub-contract micro machining services for medical, semiconductor, microelectronic, NDT, pharmaceutical and many other applications.

Oxford Lasers' three fully equipped micro machining Applications Laboratories give customers the benefit of infrared, visible and UV lasers with multi-axis part manipulation.

Trepanning heads, optical and electron microscopes, vision systems for part location, and CAD/CAM file conversion are all available for use in drilling, milling, cutting and scribing processes.

For example Oxford Lasers developed a new, fast and highly precise method of producing capillary reservoir pins for use in micro-arrays.

The narrow kerf of laser micro machining makes it possible to fabricate these tungsten pins featuring a 10 micron wide capillary slot leading to a reservoir 1000 microns long and 100 microns wide.

Not only is laser machining the only way to achieve this and more complex geometries but its high speed capability is 10-20 times faster than any other processing, making it more economical for high volume production.

As well as tungsten, Oxford Lasers Applications Laboratories can process steel and most other metals, silicon, diamond, ceramics (including alumina, zirconia and silicon nitride), sapphire, silicon carbide, silica, glass, polymers and other transmissive materials.

Two laser systems have been delivered to carry out maskant scribing, a highly specialized laser process for part chemical milling that produces high strength turbine engine components.

Prima North America, announced that its Laserdyne Systems Division, the world leader in precision multi-axis laser machining systems, delivered 790XS and 790XL BeamDirector systems to the Smiths Aerospace facility located in Terre Haute, Indiana for laser processing of turbine engine components. Dr Paolo Cigna, president of Prima North America, announced the shipments saying the deliveries were made to Smiths Aerospace as it expands production capacity for engine components with new laser technology and upgrades to its existing laser systems. 'We are pleased to have developed such a good partnership with a company the stature and size of Smiths Aerospace,' stated Dr Cigna.

'These orders prove again a leading customer's long-term commitment to Laserdyne's precision, multi-axis laser system technology and to our expertise in developing solutions for challenging aerospace applications,' stated Cigna.

Smiths Aerospace, a division of Smiths Group PLC, London, England, is a global provider of innovative solutions to builders and operators of military and civil aircraft and engines, from fighters and transport to large civil, regional and business jets.

It has more than 9,000 employees in its North American and European operations.

The Terre Haute operation has been a multiple Laserdyne system user for over 15 years processing sheet metal and laser drilling turbine engine components.

According to James Donohoe, general manager of Smiths Aerospace Components N A, 'The addition of the new Laserdyne systems represents the latest efforts in our continuous improvement program to provide the most advanced processes for producing aerospace engines and components to our worldwide customers.' Smiths Aerospace's new 790XS system has an extended Z axis feature with a 1m x 1m x 1.3m (40in x 40in x 54in) work envelope.

It was designed primarily for maskant scribing, a highly specialized laser process for part chemical milling that produces high strength turbine engine components.

The 790XL system is a seven axis system with two rotary tables and the Laserdyne Optical Focus Control (OFC).

OFC complements the 790 BeamDirector's patented Automatic Focus Control (AFC) and provides Smiths Aerospace with new capabilities such as precision drilling of cooling holes in thermal barrier coated turbine engine components.

The two laser systems, plus upgrades to one of Smiths Aerospace's existing Laserdyne laser systems, has a total order value in excess of 1.4 million dollars, according to Dr Cigna.

With over 340 multi-axis laser systems in use worldwide, Laserdyne products have become the technology standard for the aerospace industry and are used in turbine engine manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Asia.

Based on a Nd:YAG laser marking system, an effective deep engraving system, is far more versatile and gives much faster cycle times than traditional engraving methods.

Deep engraving using a laser-based machine is now possible, giving reduced production time, less scrap, improved engraving accuracy and greater profitability. Electrox, one of few fully integrated laser marking manufacturers and the only one in the UK, has developed a laser-based system for deep engraving. Based on the proven Scriba lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser marking system, to create an effective deep engraving system, it is far more versatile and gives much faster cycle times and therefore greater productivity than traditional engraving methods.

Metal removal rates are up to 12mm3/min.

The system has been developed by Electrox's Letchworth-based research and development engineers in response to demand from customers, particularly those in the mould, tool and electronics industry.

The laser system ensures minimal material recast.

All types of metal, including hard materials such as tools steels and soft materials such as aluminium can all be engraved using the Electrox system.

Metal removal rates are up to 12mm3/min (in 2D contours) and the removal rate can be adjusted to remove between 2 and 10 micron per pass.

The laser-based system is a contact free means of metal processing so can be used on a wider range of components easily, including components where surface finish could be damaged by clamping systems, those which can be distorted and those which are difficult to hold.

It uses an amplified beam of light, focussed on a very small spot, to create a wide variety of images including alpha-numeric codes and all types of graphics including logos.

The new Electrox system uses the company's proprietary, intuitive software, the result of over 60-man years development.

It is compatible with all current versions of Windows and can import a wide range of graphic file formats, generate bar codes, two dimensional codes and data codes as well as perform automatic serialisation, conduct merges with data from external sources and control up to four axes of motion.

No swarf is produced to cause wear.

In addition, no coolants or dielectrics are necessary.

Health and safety considerations are minimised because there are no hazardous materials such as acids or solvents involved in the process and the vaporised material can be extracted locally to reduce dust and contaminants.

The system has USB communications, a galvo beam scanning system, DSP Galvo drives and a range of scan lenses which, along with all the electronics and the software, have been developed in-house by Electrox engineers.

A hand-held console facilitates control of the laser and can hold up to 64 previously downloaded marking files.

An LCD display provides access to saved files as well as showing the status of the laser and comprehensive diagnostics.

The new deep engraving laser system is the latest in a long line of innovative laser-based systems from Electrox, all designed and developed to enhance its customer's productivity and ease of manufacturing.

Known for its innovative and proactive product development programme, the company also provides second-to-none service and support for its customers.

General manager, Howard Moore, said 'Customers made us aware that deep engraving could cause a log-jam in production and was fraught with potential problems.

As with other production problems, our design and application engineers have developed a solution accommodating the requirements of our customers for a fast, productive, versatile and easy to use deep engraving system.

The new system is typical of our product range - created to the highest standards using the very latest technology in order to meet a perceived customer need efficiently and at a realistic cost.'

The Centre for Ultrasound Engineering (CUE) at the University of Strathclyde is developing novel piezoelectric devices using a laser-based micro machining system.

The Centre for Ultrasound Engineering (CUE) at the University of Strathclyde is developing novel piezoelectric devices using an Oxford Lasers micro machining system. As part of their research programme CUE used the Oxford Lasers system to machine an array of pillars in PZT to form a composite ultrasound transducer. Each pillar was 80 microns x 80 microns x 250 microns and the gap between the pillars was 20 microns; the complete array contained several thousand pillars.

The completed composite transducer was then tested to determine its performance characteristics and was able to detect accurate signals transmitted along a 140mm long steel bar, generated using a standard 10MHz probe and pulsar unit.

The machining of small 3D structures and precise blind features can be achieved with the extremely accurate dimensional control, low level of recast material and small heat affected zone that are typical of the copper laser.

Careful control of the laser parameters and manipulation of the work piece make it possible to micro mill these very fine features in PZT and most other very hard materials.

The unique characteristics of the copper laser make it possible to mill slots as narrow as a few microns and with the correct configuration can be used to produced contoured features over a relatively large area.

With the combination of high precision and high material removal rate, this technique is well suited to machining small components or micro moulds.

Oxford Lasers, as well as providing standard or fully automated bespoke systems, has well equipped Application Laboratories that can carry out single item or batch production for customers who do not wish to purchase a complete laser system or who wish to try out a new design.

For con-rod splitting to work properly the fracture must be fully brittle, and is achieved by a YAG laser cutting a stress-raising groove on each side of the bore.

Albon makes around 350,000 connecting rods a month for a worldwide customer base that includes Caterpillar, Cummings Diesel, Detroit Diesel, Daimler Benz, SAAB Cars and MG Rover. These are mostly for diesel engines, with the majority destined for seven to sixteen-litre truck engines, and Trumpf YAG lasers play a vital role in their manufacture. The large end of the connecting rod is in two halves so that it can be bolted around the crankshaft, and as the parts are machined from forgings this means that the forging has to be split during manufacture.

The conventional way to do this was to allow extra material so that the forging could be cut in two, the faces machined, and the parts bolted back together.

But as Albon's Technical Director, Ralph Howard, explains, 'When you machine two halves of a con rod you have to have a location to fit them back together again - maybe a serration or a machined hole with a fitted bolt - and it never goes back together quite how it was.

What's more, all that machining around the joint face is quite an on cost.' To reduce these costs, Albon has developed a process where the con rods are fractured rather than cut.

This means that when the parts are reassembled the fracture surfaces mate to give a perfect location with no machining.

For the process to work properly the fracture must be fully brittle, and this is achieved by creating a stress-raising groove on each side of the bore to initiate the fracture.

This groove used to be produced using a V-shaped broach, but the broaches quickly lost their edge, which meant that the quality of the groove - and hence the fracture - began to deteriorate.

Albon's solution was to use Trumpf HL 62P YAG lasers to produce a consistent and closely controlled scribe mark.

Not only does the laser never lose its edge, but the heat input from the laser beam hardens the metal and creates an even better stress raiser.

'We did a lot of development work on the laser settings and the groove profile,' says Howard.

'The key factors to control are the number of pulses and the profile of the groove.

We aim to produce a groove that is about 0.1mm wide and 0.3mm deep that is wider at the bottom of the groove than the top.

And when you look at the bottom of the groove after fracture you should see a neat sawtooth profile.

Once you get the parameters right you get an excellent fracture.

The other thing we have to consider is the cycle time.

A leading North American turbine engine builder has ordered a six axis 790 BeamDirector system, equipped with a CP3500 CO2 laser provided by Convergent Lasers, from Prima North America.

Prima North America, announced that its Laserdyne Systems Division, a world leader in multi-axis laser machining systems, has received an order for a six axis 790 BeamDirector system from a leading North American turbine engine builder. This system is equipped with a CP3500 CO2 laser provided by Convergent Lasers, also a division of Prima North America. Dr Paolo Cigna, president of Prima North America, announced the order and said, 'The sale included the customer trading in a Laserdyne system'.

'This represents the launch of our new 'Technology Trade-up' programme for valued customers who have made a long-term commitment to Laserdyne's unique laser system technology for providing exacting laser-based manufacturing solutions for difficult aerospace applications'.

' By trading in a 1991 780 BeamDirector Nd:YAG laser system, which served the customer well for nearly 14 years, the company transitions to Laserdyne's newest system design, the 790 BeamDirector,' reported Cigna'.

''For the last two years Laserdyne has offered complete mechanical rebuilds and controller upgrades for customers' 780 systems'.

'In fact, this customer has another 780 BeamDirector system scheduled for remanufacture'.

'The choice between remanufacturing and acquiring a new 790 is partly economics and partly application driven'.

'Our new programme expands the options for our customers'.

'The 780 will be brought back to Laserdyne and will also be remanufactured'.

' The demand for remanufactured 780 systems is high,' Cigna stated'.

''After remanufacturing and retrofitting the system with a new laser and controller, the system will most likely be again used for laser hole drilling'.

'There are many laser applications such as drill on the fly hole drilling where the 780 BeamDirector is a proven and productive system.' The 790 BeamDirector with the Convergent Lasers CO2 laser has the flexibility to perform cutting as well as welding operations.

Laserdyne Systems has been providing equipment to turbine engine manufacturers for over twenty years.

Laserdyne laser systems are used worldwide for laser processing a wide variety of turbine engine parts.

Most of these parts are produced from difficult to machine higher temperature materials such as inconel and super cobalt.

With the newest Laserdyne laser systems, these parts are produced accurately and with greater productivity than in the past.

With over 340 multi-axis laser systems in use worldwide, Laserdyne products have become the technology standard for the aerospace industry and are used in turbine engine manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Asia.

Digital automation platform with a 32-axis motion engine features pulse synchronised output, with error mapped systems for enhanced accuracy laser machining.

Aerotech's A3200 Digital Automation Platform is a powerful, software only machine control system combining a high-performance, 32 axis motion engine with decentralised drives interfaced via Firewire and other machine control function modules such as HMI and soft PLC, for a completely integrated solution. Widely used in semiconductor, data storage, laser processing, automotive, and machine tool industries, the A3200 includes a wide range of advanced motion control commands aimed at increasing and improving the finished quality and throughput performance of demanding production and test applications. Along with an extended range of advanced commands for motion including electronic gearbox, cam profiling, high speed registration/position capture and velocity profiling, Aerotech have developed a number of commands targeted to augment application specific performance in combination with its wide range of mechanical positioning systems.

An example of such enhanced performance is that of Position Synchronised Output or PSO.

Widely used for high performance laser machining applications, PSO allows the precise, 'on-the-fly' synchronisation of the laser's pulse, power level and firing pattern with the exact position of a multi-axis positioning system typically moving the work piece undergoing laser feature generation.

PSO will acquire and analyse the position of all axes of motion on the A3200 using real time encoder feedback and will process a two or three axis vector position to provide an output for laser firing control which is exactly synchronised to the 2D or 3D contoured position.

For extremely high accuracy requirements, PSO can be combined with positioning systems that have been interferometer calibrated and error mapped using Aerotech's HALAR option, where micron level linear errors are analysed and the resulting calibration information is included as a look-up table in the A3200 motion controllers' parameter file.

The combination of PSO and HALAR is unique to Aerotech and allows the real time encoder information to be read then error corrected before the vector position is processed, resulting in laser pulse synchronisation that achieves an unsurpassed level of accuracy.

Aerotech's PSO provides a versatile and easy method of interfacing laser firing with high throughput positioning systems and has been broken down into a number of simple commands and parameters to allow for output modes including fixed pulse, analogue, PWM, ramping and bit pixel mapping.

Other PSO commands cover encoder position tracking input set-up, definition of distance and firing trigger, pulse sequence and pulse on/off characteristics as well as a command to define a window for absolute or incremental position window firing.

There is also provision for an array to be used to define bitmapped firing, used to fire the laser at only specific axis locations.

Interfacing with lasers that allow external control, including CO2, YAG and Excimer lasers is easily achieved.

Tracking latency varies depending upon the drive product used in conjunction with the A3200; the best performance is achieved with the Aerotech Nservo digital drive with 140 nsec for a single axis and 220 nsec for dual and triple axis tracking.

In addition to laser firing applications PSO has been successfully applied to non-destructive testing applications where its ability to provide a fixed pulse spacing along complex contours has been found ideal for ultrasonic, eddy current and X Ray inspection systems.

Aerotech's A3200 Digital Automation Platform is a software based machine control system for IEEE-1394 (Firewire equipped PCs combining synchronised motion control for up to 32 servo axes with fully integrated modules for HMI, machine vision and soft PLC functions.

Programming and software development tools allow the Automation 3200 to be programmed in native RS274 G-code and a software development kit may be used to program with ActiveX based components as well as other languages including C, C++, VisualBasic and Labview.

The high speed Firewire interface delivers fully deterministic position and velocity motion updates to all axes with no system degradation as the number of axes increase.

A range of compatible digital servo drives with high performance, 20kHz position, velocity and current loop update rate can be supplied in stand alone or rack mounted configuration.

All drives come complete with local I/O and an optional 10/100 BaseT Ethernet interface which may be used add third party I/O and PLCs if required.

Choices of PWM or Linear power stages are available with sinusoidal commutation and onboard encoder multiplication.

The A3200 also includes extensive system commissioning tools for servo tuning and system analysis.

A range of stepper drives for open loop control systems is also available.

When compared to traditional PCI card solutions, which usually include numerous breakout modules requiring complex wiring and interfacing, the reduced cost benefit of the A3200 in terms of its simplified wiring, fewer components and Firewire based plug and play interfacing, offers OEMs and System Integrators a complete machine control solution with lower startup and lifecycle costs.

Aerotech design and manufacture a wide range of mechanical position systems and associated control and drive products for laser machining applications.

These include the new VasculatheTM, single machine platform for the production of cardiovascular stents.

All Aerotech systems are supplied complete with motor power and encoder cables, all performance and calibration related documents and a CD with complete interconnection drawings to help integrators with their own system documentation.

In addition, all motor parameter set-up data for the software configuration file is included; with full technical support and product training always on hand, system commissioning is straightforward requiring little more than connecting cables and applying power before programming application software.

These features are built into every Aerotech product ensuring that the true cost of ownership is extremely competitive.

Among a range of 2D and 3D laser cutting, welding and drilling machines being introduced to the UK is a machine that combines laser cutting and high speed milling in one unit.

The Lasertec-Series for precision 2D and 3D cutting, welding and drilling combines the respective talents of DMG and Sauer to create a range of machines that are both flexible and highly dynamic. As well as dedicated machines for drilling and filigree cutting, the product programme includes laser cutting and high speed milling on a single combination machine. The user can also choose the best laser source to suit the application, Nd: YAG or CO2 and the optimum power from 15W to 1kW.

Designed for high precision cutting and drilling of sheet metal between 0.1mm and 3mm thick, the Lasertec 80 Series is characterised by its accuracy of 10 micron, high positioning speeds up to 120m/min and acceleration of up to 2G.

The massive, vibration-damping machine bed with 3-point support, linear drives and solid X-Y compound table enhance the performance of this machine.

Working area is 800 x 500 x 700mm.

Control of all machine functions is provided by the Siemens 840D powerline, accessed via the DMG ControlPanel with 17in TFT screen.

The overall footprint of the machine is just 3 x 3.5m and to facilitate servicing, a walk-on panel is provided for fast access to the laser.

The modular concept of this machine with 3, 4 and even 5 CNC axes makes the Lasertec 80 ideal for fine 2D and 3D cutting and for a broad spectrum of laser drilling and welding applications.

This flexibility allows it to be configured for specific needs in the automotive, electronic and aerospace industries.

Typical applications for the Lasertec 80 FineCutting model include the production of electronic circuits, surgical instruments, prototype car parts and hydraulic valves.

Its dedicated counterpart for drilling, Lasertec 80 PowerDrill is best suited to hypodermic needle, micro tool, oil filter and turbine blade manufacture.

Five-axis control has allowed for better positioning of deep mold cores and cavities, laser engraving with optimum tool orientation, and precise repeatability.

In response to the growing complexity of part design, Precision Laser Technology (PLT) provides 5-axis laser technology for both engraving and micro-machining applications. In today's domestic market, many mold makers are being called upon by their customers to provide complex surface machining. PLT is stepping in to offer precision laser services as a solution to multi-axis surface etching and micro-machining.

'In addition to offering a cost-efficient service, the true driver was the ability to provide our customers with a solution to expand their mold design and construction capabilities,' adds Ron Natale Jr, PLT Co-Owner.

'As a service partner, our objective is to increase our customers' capacity.' 5-axis control has allowed for better positioning of deep mold cores and cavities, engraving with optimum tool orientation, and precise repeatability.

Ideal for extreme contour surfaces, the 5-Axis technology has reduced the number of required set-ups yielding higher savings to customers.

Laser cutting/engraving machine offers power, precision and flexibility, yet is as simple to set up as a printer and is affordable for industrial and educational users.

The new Legend 36EXT laser cutting/engraving machine is setting new standards in accuracy, performance and throughput according to Unimatic Engineers of London. Yet it is as simple to set up as a printer and offered at a price that is affordable for both industrial and educational users. The Legend 36EXT offers high energy optics that enhance the natural characteristics of its CO2 laser beam, software that precisely coordinates the firing of the laser with the position of the work piece carriage and a large work area.

Combined with the precision and repeatability of linear encoders and a vacuum table with an integrated vector grid that permits cutting of materials from paper to wood without the risk of under-side burning of the work piece, these features ensure users can achieve high levels of throughput worked to the tightest of tolerances (1200 DPI).

Unimatic's 'Radiance' high energy optics system has been developed to shape and refine the laser beam to create the best possible beam profile for engraving and cutting applications to ensure both high accuracy and maximum productivity on work pieces up to 355mm thick.

Indeed, to handle the higher volume of gases resulting for the increased throughput, Unimatic has installed a twin exhaust facility.

'HyperDrive', Unimatic's own motion control software, provides the total harmonisation between laser beam firing and work piece positioning.

This facilitates process operation whilst ensuring quality of output.

With its work area of 914 x 609mm, the Legend 36 EXT can handle the largest of engraving/cutting work jobs.

It also permits multiple task working; either straight forward step and repeat jobs or quantities of one-offs.

Other features include 'NeverWear' stainless steel bearings, advanced B-stile Kevlar precision drive belts and high speed, continuous loop DC servomotor system.

Ultrafast laser micromachining system is the first of its kind in the UK and provides ultimate flexibility in laser processing as it can machine virtually any material with micron scale resolution.

Ultrafast Laser System For Micro and Nanotechnology Oxford Lasers announce the supply of key enabling technology to create the most advanced micro technology and nanotechnology manufacturing centre in the UK. An Oxford Lasers Ultrafast Laser Micromachining System will be employed in the MicroBridge Project at the Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) in Cardiff, UK. The PicoLase 1000 system from Oxford Lasers features a state-of-the-art picosecond laser system with 532nm and 355nm harmonics and 12 axis motion control system.

It is the first of its kind in the UK and provides the ultimate flexibility in laser processing as it can machine virtually any material with micron scale resolution.

Special features of the system include dual beamline, automated trepanning systems and special micro-milling routines for ablating complex structures.

The system will be used for product miniaturisation and for developing future manufacturing platforms for the next generation of microsystems-based products.

The project will provide a vital resource for improving the effectiveness of UK industry by generating a critical mass of facilities and expertise that will underpin the development of microtechnologies beyond the ones that rely on conventional IC tools and materials The PicoLase 1000 is an enabling technology within the MicroBridge project at MEC which is part funded by the UK's DTI under the Micro and NanoTechnology Initiative with matched funding from the other industrial partners including Oxford Lasers and other funding from the Welsh Development Agency.

MicroBridge is a GBP 7 million, 5 year project to provide Facilities for Micro-Machining and Micro Fabrication of Non-Silicon Components.

This project extends the existing micro-manufacture facilities at the MEC and creates a much-enhanced 'bridging' capability for micro-machining and micro-fabrications in a range of materials not currently available in the UK.

In particular, the aim is to use picosecond laser ablation and focused ion-beam machining to bridge the existing 'machining gap' between classical precision micro-machining and the lithographic/direct write semiconductor patterning technologies.

The new facility will be commissioned in 2006 and will be one of nine open access facilities within the UK to promote the use of micro and nanotechnology and to provide specialist training alongside these unique facilities.

Oxford Lasers are a partner in the MicroBridge project and will be working closely with MEC through the 5 year project to develop and support picosecond laser-based microprocessing.

Laser system delivered to EBTEC has the capability to drill a wide range and size of parts and products range from sheet metal combustors to nozzle guide vanes.

Prima North America has announced that Laserdyne Systems, the world leader in precision multi-axis laser machining systems, delivered a Laserdyne 790XL BeamDirector Nd:YAG drilling system to EBTEC Corporation, Agawam, Massachusetts. Dr Paolo Cigna, president and CEO of PRIMA North America, announced the shipment saying the delivery was made to EBTEC to expand their capacity for laser drilling with the latest system technology. 'We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide this system to EBTEC, a pioneer in high energy beam processing.' stated Dr Cigna.

'EBTEC has over 40 years of experience providing parts for the aerospace, medical, defense, power generation and commercial industries.

We are grateful for their positive evaluation of our system technology and the Convergent P50L laser, another product of Prima North America.

Laserdyne products are in use in aerospace and turbine engine manufacturing sites around the world.' stated Dr Cigna.

EBTEC Corporation is owned by Aquasium Technology, Cambridge, England, and has been a supplier of electron beam welding and laser processing services to North American industry since 1963.

As an early user of these processes it has developed an expertise in the supply of difficult to weld and drill components.

According to John Leveille, president of EBTEC Corporation, the Laserdyne 790XL system was purchased as the first new laser system outlined in an equipment phase replacement plan.

The 790XL was chosen over other systems primarily for overall processing versatility.

The 790XL system is a 6-axis system with a 2m x 1m x 1m (40in x 40in x 40in) work envelope with a 25in diameter high accuracy rotary table and Laserdyne's latest software features including Optical Focus Control (OFC) and BreakThrough Detection.

OFC complements the 790 BeamDirector's patented Automatic Focus Control (AFC) and BreakThrough Detection has been shown to not only produce parts with a shorter cycle time but with a better flow consistency.

This will enhance EBTEC's capability to provide precision drilling of cooling holes in thermal barrier coated turbine engine components.

An additional feature of the EBTEC system is the ability to drill parts programmed for Laserdyne's new 450 systems on the 790 as a result of the Part Surface Coordinate, or PSC, programming feature of the Laserdyne control.

Laserdyne products have become the technology standard for the aerospace industry and are used in turbine engine manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Asia.

A laser galvo head control has been added to a software based motion and machine control platform to produce a single integrated development platform for laser applications.

Aerotech's PC based A3200 software machine control system combines 1 to 32 axes of Firewire distributed motion control with HMI, PLC and vision control modules and is now available with the Nmark galvo control package for vector and graphics based laser marking applications. OEMs and machine builders of laser marking systems are able to significantly reduce application development time and cost by controlling industry standard XY2-100 protocol galvo scanning heads and additional axes of servo based linear and rotary motion with other machine control functions within a single, integrated programming environment. Two versions of Nmark are available - the Nmark VCT (vector) suits vector laser marking applications where lines, arcs and circles define the marking path, and the Nmark GRC (graphic) is available for raster-scan based marking.

Both versions are supported with a comprehensive range of programming commands and parameters that are used in conjunction with the A3200 Digital Automation Platforms' powerful software to achieve complete control of multi-axis laser machining applications including marking 'on-the-fly' for continuous web processes and Z-focus height control for 3D processing.

All Nmark galvo motion and functional parameters can be controlled in synchronisation with motion and machine control commands directly from within the Automation 3200 program space, providing a single integrated program development environment for the complete application.

Galvo based laser marking provides a fast and convenient means of coding and identification, and is used extensively in the aerospace, automotive, industrial, and medical industries.

Galvo's can also be applied to other medium accuracy marking and machining applications such as micro-hole drilling and decorative work on a range of thin metal and non-metal substrates.

Aerotech's Nmark products use the industry standard XY2-100 serial protocol to communicate with galvo scanning heads from a wide range of manufacturers.

Aimed at laser marking, cutting, welding, sealing and ablation applications, the Nmark VCT is programmed from the A3200 in the industry standard RS-274 G-code language with Aerotech's own AeroBASIC command extensions for laser and I/O control.

As all major CAD/CAM suppliers support RS-274 output, a direct conversion path from CAD to galvo motion is available.

The Nmark VCT is used in conjunction with a PCI interface board and via a Windows DLL, is able to access all commands, status and diagnostic information from the galvo head in real time.

The Nmark GRC is targeted at applications such as barcoding, engraving, serialisation, and character scribing.

Laser marking projects are created using a simple Windows tool that is used to import and manipulate bitmaps, graphics and barcode images and store the resulting marking profile in a project file.

Straightforward AeroBASIC commands within the A3200 are used to download the file at run time and additional commands are available to manipulate the properties of objects such as text strings or barcode values during the marking process for serialisation applications.

Commands are also available to scale, rotate and change the orientation of the object.

Aerotech's A3200 Digital Automation Platform is a powerful PC based, software-only machine control system combining a high-performance, 1 to 32 axis motion engine with decentralised drives interfaced via Firewire with other machine control function modules such as HMI, Vision and soft PLC.

A 10/100 Base-T Ethernet interface is also available to add third party I/O and PLCs for a completely integrated solution.

Typically used with Aerotech's extensive range of high performance direct-drive, linear and rotary positioning stages and digital servo drives, the A3200 based motion and machine control system includes a wide range of advanced motion and machine control commands aimed at increasing and improving the finished quality and throughput performance for demanding applications.