Raylase boosts additive manufacturing with four units in parallel

07 Nov 2017

Latest AM innovations including deflectors and controllers to be launched at Formnext expo in Frankfurt, next week.

Raylase's highlight at Formnext will be its integrated design of four AM Modules.

Laser beam components developer Raylase will present its new range of laser deflection units that make laser additive manufacturing (AM) "significantly more productive" and make new applications possible. The units will debut at Formnext, Frankfurt, the international expo on next-generation manufacturing technologies, between 14-17 November.

The new AM-Module Next Gen series is a development based on Raylase's established AM-Module range. Additive manufacturing of ultra-high precision components in the aerospace industry, automotive manufacturing and medical engineering are all typical applications for these modules.

The company said that the two integrated sensors in the associated Sensor Module “enable customized quality control, as well as process monitoring with autonomous focusing”. The AM-Module Next Gen is designed to achieve uniform power distribution across the workpiece, optimal beam position stability and dynamic beam guidance.

Four integrated modules

The highlight at Formnext is said to be the integrated design of four AM Modules. “Visitors will be able to see a demonstration of how using several modules simultaneously can produce a massive increase in productivity,” said the company’s press release.

In addition to this will be Raylase’s Axialscan-30 Digital 3-axis laser deflection unit, also designed for laser additive manufacturing. This deflection unit is flexible because it allows processing of fields from 100x100mm through 1800x1800mm with the smallest laser spot sizes.

The Axialscan-30 Digital comprises the 2-axis Superscan IV and the company’s new digital linear translator module, the LT-II-15. The key features it offers are ultra-high speed, maximum precision and dynamic responses, the company says, adding: "The LT-II-15 ensures a high degree of stability and low drift values at 20 bit position resolution".

The lower power loss in the electronics and reduced heat development mean that the need for water cooling can be eliminated. The Axialscan-30 Digital can be configured with tuning options for specific requirements. A large number of mirror substrates and coatings are available, as well as input apertures of 10, 15 and 30mm. A 20mm size will also be available as of the end of November 2017.

The SP-ICE-3 control card is a universal solution from Raylase for all laser systems using deflection units. “With the 20 bit protocol RL3-100, the SP-ICE-3 can control up to five axes in the AM-Module Next Gen. This makes it ideal for additive manufacturing and other challenging laser applications. It can also be used as an external control card via Gigabit Ethernet,” the company stated.