IPG Photonics launches 'record- breaking' ultra-compact laser series

17 Jul 2020

Company has developed various improvements in performance on its flagship YLR fiber laser range.

IPG's new YLR-U Series: "the smallest kilowatt-class fiber laser in the world".

The company says the YLR-U series are “the world’s highest performance industrial-grade kilowatt-class continuous wave ytterbium fiber lasers,” adding, “With the smallest size and lowest weight in the industry, these lasers deliver unmatched performance in an ultra-compact form factor with a record power to volume ratio.”

This new fiber laser series, covered by several patents and patents pending, is available with CW power up to 4 kilowatts currently and 8 kilowatts in the near future. The YLR-U series includes what IPG describes as “a world first for rack-mounted mid power 1 μm lasers” – the unrivalled combination of high CW power and an exclusive High Peak Power option.

'High wall plug efficiency'

These capabilities are in addition to the ideal beam quality, unsurpassed reliability and high wall plug efficiency that IPG provides across its portfolio of laser products. The YLR-U family of lasers are specified to operate in the harshest of environments, including over 90% relative humidity, thanks to their hermetically sealed rack design. For YLR-class devices, this capability has not been available on the world market before, the developer adds.

The YLR-U series also features IPG’s latest developments in industrial pump diode packaging technology. A range of remote control options includes Analog, RS-232 or Ethernet, and built in self-diagnostics with Internet connectivity, the rack mount configuration is the most cost effective and adaptable solution for easy integration into production lines, enabling industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing.

“With the launch of our new ultra-compact YLR-U Series, IPG is once again raising the bar for leading-edge performance in the industrial laser sector,” commented Trevor Ness, IPG’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing.

Like the previous YLR series from IPG, YLR-U lasers are designed to handle a variety of metal cutting, welding and drilling applications. IPG customers have benefited from the High Peak Power option for fast and clean repeatable piercing and drilling in thicker materials, precision quality cutting, additional pulsed welding capabilities, and cutting and welding of highly reflective metals, all with increased process speed and quality.