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SPI innovates to address new applications

With so many companies entering the fiber-laser market at Laser 2007, established fiber-laser manufacturers could be forgiven for lamenting the loss of the near-monopoly status they once enjoyed. Not so David Parker, CEO of the UK’s SPI Lasers, who believes that increased competition in the fiber-laser space will open up new applications and drive future growth.

Not that SPI Lasers is standing still. At Laser 2007 the company is introducing its first high-power fiber laser modules for use in OEM applications. Each module produces up to 400 W, but they can be stacked together to create much higher power outputs. “The module is extremely thin to allow full scalability from 400 W to a few kiloWatts,” Parker told optics.org. “We’ve taken our technology to create a building block for OEM manufacturers.”

According to Parker, fiber lasers now offer a more viable solution for industrial processing applications. “Fiber lasers were more costly than flash-lamp lasers, and potential purchasers were wary of the risk associated with adopting new technology,” he said. “Long-term reliability has now been demonstrated in the field, and CAPEX has also fallen.”

Parker acknowledges that fiber lasers are challenging and replacing traditional laser sources in some material processing applications, but points out that SPI’s products are also being used in new applications that will expand the overall laser market. “Medical aesthetics as a market didn’t exist before fiber lasers,” he said. “We can’t predict what new applications we will find for our products over the next few years.”

Indeed, SPI has achieved much success in the medical market with its 10 W fiber-laser module, and has now introduced a 20 W module operating at 1565 nm that will increase the processing speed and open up new applications for the product. SPI is also launching a range of 100 W and 200 W water-cooled fiber lasers for micro materials processing, and is previewing two new 300 W products – due to be introduced early next year – that will be optimized for cutting and welding applications.

Posted by Susan Curtis on June 20, 2007 6:38 PM | Permalink