Lasers & Sheet Processes Group

Laser Equipment

TWI has a variety of lasers, with power ranges suitable for different applications.

Nd-YAG Lasers

Nd-YAG lasers are particularly suited for welding C-Mn steels, coated steels, stainless steels, aluminium alloys, titanium and molybdenum, for a variety of products.

Trumpf lamp-pumped 4kW and 3kW laser sources
Beam combiner unit with 8kW single fibre delivery capability
Three integrated processing cells
6 and 7 axis robotic manipulation
Twin-spot welding capability
Laser based vision seam tracking and adaptive control

Click here for a knowledge summary for Nd-YAG lasers

High Power Yb-Fibre Laser

Fibre lasers are suitable for cutting as well as welding

IPG Photonics 7kW Yb-fibre laser with near Nd:YAG wavelength of 1070nm
High speed communication with 6 axis articulated robot arm.
Dual process capability offering 2 x 3.5kW simultaneous processing

Click here for more on the Fibre Laser

Laser Direct Metal Deposition

The DMD unit allows powders to be laser melted and rapidly solidified as a deposit

Based on Trumpf 2kW CO ₂ laser
Additive manufacture technique for repair, original part build or metallic rapid prototyping.
2m x 1.1m x 0.75m work envelope for large and complex component processing
5 axis beam manipulation for maximum flexibility.
Closed-loop feedback control using three IR cameras to ensure uniform build-up.

Click here for the DMD website

Diode Lasers

TWI has a range of direct diode lasers for plastics welding and smaller applications:

50W, 940nm scanning laser, with a 100mm x 100mm working area
300W, 940 and 808nm dual wavelength laser, attached to a 2-axis moving table
500W, 940nm laser manipulated by a 6 axis robot

Click here for the knowledge summary on diode lasers.

TWI has pioneered the use of lasers to join thermoplastics and thermo-plastic based fabrics, particularly using near infra-red (780-1500nm) lasers. Research and development is continuing based on conventional through-transmission laser welding and on the Clearweld process.

CO ₂ Lasers

CO ₂ lasers are another range of commonly used industrial lasers.

Click here for a knowledge summary for CO ₂ lasers.