New generation of advanced laser marking workstations

From September 10th to 15th 2012, FOBA, international market and technology leader of systems and integrated solutions for laser marking and engraving, presents its new generation of laser marking workstations at IMTS 2012 in Chicago, McCormick Place.

At booth no. N-6534, FOBA showcases its laser-based solutions for varied applications in the Manufacturing Technology and introduces its new workstation series for laser marking, the FOBA M-Series.

The new workstations are perfect for economic high-precision parts marking. Available in two sizes and with three models each – with work table, rotary table and expandable to five axes – the FOBA M-Series enables the processing of multiple part sizes. The M-Series allows customers to stay flexible as the novel workstations adapt to the customer’s laser process and not vice versa. The different workstation models are dimensioned for maximum use of space and possess optimal machine accessibility. Additionally, all M-Series workstations are height-adjustable and possess a control panel that can either be mounted on the right or the left side of the workstation.

Process reliability
Combined with FOBA IMP (Intelligent Mark Positioning), the rigid M-Series workstations enable precise and repeatable markings and guarantee process reliability. FOBA IMP detects work pieces and their position automatically and aligns the marking accordingly. Also changes regarding the component geometry and position or defective parts are identified and the processing will be adjusted accordingly. Thus, the use of IMP avoids incorrect markings and leads to less scrap.

To be discovered at IMTS 2012
FOBA offers a broad line of systems and workstations for laser marking, coding and engraving applications in the Manufacturing Technology: From OEM laser systems ready to integrate into production lines through to workstations for stand-alone operation and high precision laser engraving machines. FOBA’s system and machine solutions combine high-performance equipment with extensive application experience and excellent service and support to satisfy demanding customers all over the world.
FOBA @ IMTS 2012: booth # N-6534
September 10th to 15th, IMTS 2012, Chicago, IL, McCormick Place

www.fobalaser.com

The universal laser machine for 3D processing

Let’s carry on the presentation of machines and solutions seen at Siams. Indeed there were many microtechnology solutions to discover there. The Trumpf TruLaser Cell Series 3000 machines offer a flexible solution for 2D and 3D processing of small components.

Compact machine construction with small space requirements – Where space is restricted – for instance on an assembly line – the laser device and the machine can be set up separately.

Typical applications are in medical technology, precision engineering and the electronics industry – wherever high precision, quality and reliability are required. The TruLaser Cell 3010 with up to six axes is suitable for 2D and 3D processing of workpieces. Sample parts and prototypes as well as small and medium series can be welded, cut or drilled with it, economically and precisely.

Build to last
Solid portal construction of hard stone and glass gauges are the basis for the highly precise travel guidance. All axes are driven by service-free digital servomotors and ball screws and are monitored by high-resolution measurement systems. Solid construction guarantees a long service life and high precision.

Safety and user-friendliness
With the active security measure of the safety enclosure, even large laser outputs of high brilliance are controlled within a small space. Unified operation concept: all laser and machine functions are accessible at one control panel. The TruLaser Cell can be connected with a central server over an Ethernet connection.

A few examples
Laser welding

• Mobile phone case and battery
• Sensor
• Fuel-element holder

Laser cutting

• Bone reamer
• Wrist implant
• Necklace
• Crimp contacts

Laser drilling

• Gearbox part

TRUMPF Maschinen AG
Ruessenstrasse 8
6340 Baar
www.trumpf.com

Demonstration days not to be missed

Formerly Hahn & Kolb Switzerland SA, Zimmerli SA, now has about 20 employees based in the canton of Neuchâtel for Swiss customers. For some years the company has opened subsidiaries in France and Italy, where, more than reseller it is advisor and provider of tailor-made solutions.

For 40 years the company has the habit to organize “demonstration days” twice a year. On these occasions, polyglot machine providers and sales engineers are present throughout the week to bring customers innovations, and exclusivities newly available on the market.

Full-scale tests and numerous partners
These test days are excellent opportunities for customers to develop their processes by testing their parts on the available machines. Next demonstration week will take place from April 24 to 27, 2012.

What will be exhibited?

• The Pero R1, the fastest washing machine in its class
• Elma ultrasonic devices
• LK-Mechanik Washing baskets for small watchmaking parts
• Spinner “DynamicLine”, strength, speed and precision
• Acsys Lasertechnik AG, writing and engraving with Laser

Don’t miss the week of demonstration taking place from April 24 to 27, 2012.

Zimmerli SA
Pièces Chaperon 14
CH-2016 Cortaillod
Tél: +41 32 842 63 33
Fax: +41 32 842 61 63
info@zimmerlisa.ch
www.zimmerlisa.ch

New resistance welding, laser marking and hot bar solutions

Miyachi Europe, the supplier of laser and resistance welding systems and laser marking products, will showcase its new and upgraded advanced resistance welding, laser marking and hot bar solutions at Salon Industrie de Paris 2012, to be held 26-30 March, 2012 at Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Hall 5A Booth#5U12.

On display will be a variety of brand new solutions, including the MFP-25 weld head for the AWS3 active welding system, the MG-3 weld monitor for premium hot bar monitoring as well as the upgraded ML-7340C fibre laser marker. Miyachi Europe has also recently launched the ADAM process analysis tool for Resistance Welding, the Uniflow-4 power supply for hot bar applications and the ML-5060A LD direct laser welder.

Active welding system
Highlighted will be Miyachi Europe’s AWS3 active welding system, an integrated solution providing process control, monitoring and quality analysis all in one. Ideal for high volume resistance welding in the automotive, electronics, battery and aerospace industries, the AWS3 is equipped with the new low force MFP25 servo head with a linear drive, a new innovative modular weld head system concept that now incorporates a wide range of customer-requested variations into standard product configurations, improving efficiency, quality and serviceability.

Real-time dynamic measurement
Miyachi Europe’s renowned MG3 Weld Monitor, rapidly becoming the global standard technology for resistance weld monitoring, provides precision real-time dynamic measurement of all welding variables. The newly introduced MG3-HB process monitor for hot bar applications features precise force, temperature and displacement measurement with an extended process measuring time of 30 seconds. Equipped with all the standard MG3 features, the new MG3-HB model includes two independent measurement channels, oscilloscope functions, full on-screen SPC capability, integrated clock and date for weld reporting and traceability, up to 99 schedules with password protection, and multiple language capability.

High speed laser marking and more
Miyachi Europe’s high-performance 35W Yb Fibre Laser Marker ML-7340C is designed for high speed laser marking, laser engraving, and laser ablation, and provides high contrast marks on both plastics and metals. With all the advantages of fibre technology, user configurable options and unique features, the ML-7340C can be tailored for optimised production. The 35W laser marker has the power to provide distinct, fast, reliable and versatile markings of letters, numbers and graphics. The ML-7340C offers the largest Q switch range of 2-500 kHz, which delivers unparalleled high speed high quality marking on steels and plastics.

For more details on Miyachi Europe’s new and innovative products and systems, visit the company’s website at http://www.miyachieurope.com/fra-fr/.

Visitors can schedule local demonstrations of these innovative new products by contacting Miyachi Europe’s office in Paris. Demos can be scheduled by contacting infofr@mec.miyachi.com or by telephoning +33 (0) 139046430.

Micro welding small parts using fiber lasers

The increasing complexity of micro-electronics, medical and engineering devices has placed stringent demands on assembly techniques. A particular challenge facing manufacturers is how to achieve the power levels necessary to micro weld accurately without distortion.  

.
An effective way to weld very small parts is by using fiber lasers. Research carried out by JK Lasers demonstrates how excellent beam quality, low power (100-200W) continuous wave (CW) fiber lasers with modulation consistently achieve high quality spot welds on thin stainless steel foils (20 μm – 150 μm).

Used in the manufacture of hard disk drive flexure arms, these foils help to hold ferrite readers above spinning magnetic media. The high positioning speed and ultra-close proximity of the ferrite reader mean flexure arms must be accurately assembled. Their design must accommodate resonances, stiffness and overall component accuracy in three planes.

Spatter-free welds are critical to ensuring the reliable operation of hard disk drives. Any brittle oxide or melt spatter on the surface may flake-off and contaminate the drive, rendering it useless.

During JK Lasers’ trials, a single mode fiber laser with Gaussian beam profile produced spatter-free spot welds between 76μm and 175μm in diameter. A flat top beam profile, available as an optional feature in JK Lasers’ fiber laser range, achieved spatter-free welds between 150μm and 270μm in diameter.

The high levels of accuracy achievable using JK Lasers’ modulated CW lasers enable high quality, shallow conduction mode spot welding with excellent top bead profile that are tailored to the target.

For more information
www.jklasers.com
sales@jklasers.com
Phone +44 1788 517800

.

Micro-cutting stents using fiber lasers

Micro-cutting stents is one of the most demanding manufacturing applications in the medical device industry. With tube diameters between 1mm and 10mm and a wall thickness of around 100µm, precision cutting is essential. It is also critical that the cut metal does not have rough edges as the stents are permanently inserted into arteries.

At this year’s BIOMEDevice exhibition, held in San Jose, California, 6 – 7 December, visitors to JK Lasers’ booth discovered how medium power range, single mode fiber lasers can micro-cut medical instruments to produce small kerf widths (20 to 30µm).
Featuring high beam quality and excellent power stability, they deliver dross-free cuts with very high contour accuracy (<5µm). As a result, the amount of post-processing required to achieve a high quality finish is vastly reduced.
Delivering highly concentrated, controlled amounts of heat, the resulting heat affected zone (HAZ) is small. Typical cutting speeds for medical stents with a single mode laser output are around 1m per minute.

Increased productivity
Dr Mark Richmond, Product Manager for JK Lasers, said: “We are finding that medical device manufacturers are under pressure to improve productivity. Precise and highly controlled processing can be achieved using the JK Fiber Laser range, enabling manufacturers to weld and cut quickly without compromising quality. Our lasers also substantially reduce – if not eliminate – the need for further processing to finish parts. This leads to an overall increase in throughput.”

Also on display at BIOMEDevice was JK Lasers’ recently launched 1kW fiber laser (JK1000FL). This high powered addition to the JK Lasers’ range is particularly well-suited for welding hermetic seals on medical devices and for cutting larger surgical tools, such as bone saws.

For more information
www.jklasers.com
sales@jklasers.com
Phone +44 1788 517800

Making Laser marking as easy as printing

Trumpf has become the first manufacturer of laser marking systems to connect a laser directly to SAP R/3 via a standard printer interface. TruMark marking lasers can now be hooked up and integrated with SAP systems just as easily as conventional inkjet and toner printers.

TruMark marking lasers can now be connected and integrated with SAP systems just as easily as standard inkjet and toner printers. Photo: Trumpf Group

The connection is established using the driver interface for printers included in the SAP® Printer Vendor program. The marking laser takes on the role of a printer, with the surface of the workpiece replacing the label or paper. This allows users to work from within the SAP system to apply company logos, model designations, codes and serial numbers to parts using a laser – without requiring any programming skills or additional software. The laser parameters required for a wide range of materials are included as part of the marking software package.

No additional software or hardware
Support for the SAP standard eliminates the need to invest in and maintain additional hardware and software, and direct marking of parts minimizes the use of consumables by applying the labeling information directly to the parts themselves. The surface markings are robust and durable and are designed to last for the duration of the product’s service life.
The decision to use a standard interface hugely simplifies the integration process. Trumpf’s new SAP driver is the perfect tool for customers with business models which use SAP to process orders immediately prior to dispatch, moving from the webshop to the labeling stage without switching between multiple media.

For further information about the company, please visit www.trumpf.com

Trumpf GmbH + Co. KG
Johann-Maus-Straße 2
71254 Ditzingen
Germany

Demonstration days not to be missed

Formerly Hahn & Kolb Switzerland SA, Zimmerli SA, now has about 20 employees. Based in the canton of Neuchâtel for Swiss customer. For some years the company has opened subsidiaries in France and Italy, where, more than a reseller it is advisor and provider of tailor-made solutions.

For 40 years the company has the habit to organize “demonstration days”. twice a year On these occasions, polyglot machine providers and sales engineers are present throughout the week to bring customers innovations, and exclusivities newly available on the market.

Full-scale tests and numerous partners
These test days are excellent opportunities for customers to develop their processes by testing their parts on the available machines. Next demonstration week will take place from November 8 to 11, 2011. (I know it’s early to speak about it, but that way everyone can put the date in their agenda now. I’ll remind this date later to Eurotec’s reader. Cheers – pykohler).

As of today the company plans to show various industrial solutions
Cleaning

• The fully hermetic Pero R1 is the fastest washing machine in its class
• Elma ultrasonic devices and global solution (machine, ultrasound and chemistry)
• Washing baskets for small watchmaking parts

Machining

• Spinner TTC, equipped with main and counter spindle, as well as 2 turrets that can hold up to 24 tools
• Spinner “DynamicLine” machining centres
• Spinner Automation division for all custom solution

Laser cutting and engraving

• Acsys Lasertechnik provides fiber sources solutions to guarantee reliability quality and possibilities for marking, engraving, 3D engraving, accuracy cutting or micro-structuring
• 3D engraving is also a specialty of Acsys; the Barracuda µ is equipped with 5 real axes to access all sections of a any shape and engrave very many structures both fine and clean.

Don’t miss the week of demonstration taking place from November 8 to 11, 2011.

Zimmerli SA
Pièces Chaperon 14
CH-2016 Cortaillod
Tel: + 41 32 842 63 33
Fax: + 41 32 842 61 63
Info@Zimmerli.ch
www.zimmerlisa.ch

CECIMO Seminar: New High Precision Micro-Machining Technologies

The European Association of the European Machine Tool Industries (CECIMO) is organising a seminar about micro-manufacturing technologies at EMO in Hannover.

The seminar will reveal the results obtained from the EU-funded Integ-Micro Project* which focuses on developing new high precision micro-manufacturing technologies. The project aims to enable the eco-efficient and eco-friendly production of complex shape micro parts made of various materials.
Integ-Micro is geared at producing solutions to current challenges in micro-machining operations such as multitasking, productivity and fast reconfigurability. The project strategy is based on the integration of different machining processes on compact setups. Hybrid, reconfigurable, multitasking machines will be developed by combining at least two processes in one workholding configuration:

• Micro-milling/turning + laser process
• Electro-discharge machining + micro drilling/milling/grinding
• Ultrasonic vibration assisted micro milling/drilling/grinding
• Ultra precision diamond and CBN cutting including turning/milling + micro abrasive machining

A comprehensive presentation
Furthermore, other micro-machining problems such as micro-deburring, thermal and dynamic stability, process and control reliability and eco-sustainability will be addressed by fully exploiting some key enabling technologies such as: ultra-high speed dry manufacturing; sensing, measurements, inspection and quality assessment; control techniques; adaptronics and mechatronics; new motion units and guidance systems. The new hybrid machines will enable the machining of various materials such as engineering plastics or ultra high strength metallic alloys with better surface and geometrical quality.

The Integ-Micro technology will lead to greater accuracy, reduced handling and plant area, faster throughput and increased productivity. The target application addresses a variety of key EU markets which currently demand the development of the micro/meso scale production techniques, such as medical and bio-medical, automotive, environmental monitoring, aeronautic and aerospace industries.

Distinguished speakers from renown European institutes will join the seminar, including the BioRobotics Institute – Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Ce.S.I (Centro Studi Industriali), Fraunhofer IPT (Institute for Production Technology), WZL (Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering) – RWTH Aachen University, Fundacion Tekniker and Cranfield University. The seminar will be followed by a roundtable discussion on future research priorities on micro-machining and a networking lunch.

Not to miss the event…
22 September 2011, 10.00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (registration and welcome coffee at 9.30 a.m.)
Seminar: New High Precision Micro-Machining Technologies. The Integ-Micro Project.

Hannover Fairgrounds, Convention Center, Room Frankfurt
Language: English
The seminar program and registration form is available on the CECIMO website www.cecimo.eu (the event is free of charge, but registration is required)
For further information please contact Elisabeth Vilain, CECIMO, Tel.+32 2 502-7090, information@cecimo.eu

.

 

New laser coil cutter for large production

Balliu MTC nv is a company  active worldwide with an extensive sales- and service organisation. Their sole business is developing and manufacturing Laser-equipped machines for all kinds of applications and materials, whether it is a titanium wire frame for sunglasses or turbines  for jet engines. Today they present the new LD1500x500 machine.

24/7 working
The new LD1500x500 is custom made for laser cutting disks out of a 0.6 mm thick coil. This machine is dedicated to produce without operator intervention. The decoiler flattens the sheet material before it enters the cutting zone. Depending on the disk diameter the cutting table is changed. A vacuum under the cutting table ensures that the sheet material stays flat during cutting. The disks are unloaded on a pallet by a suction cup unloading system. Linear motors make this machine extra fast. An operator only has to change the coil and the unloading pallet. This makes the machine suited for 24/7 unmanned production. For most of the Balliu machines there are fiber laser versions available.

The company offers a large range of specialized machines for many operations:

• Laser cutting
• Laser welding
• Laser cutting and welding (combined in a machine)
• Laser cladding (deposit of a hard and corrosion resistant layer by laser melting)
• Handling systems

For more information
Balliu MTC nv
Wolfsakker 8
B-9160 Lokeren
Tel: +32.9.340.66.20
www.balliu.be
info@balliu.be