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Date Announced: 10 Apr 2012
LASYS 2012: The latest generation of laser processing machinery – Motion systems increase productivity – Ultrashort-pulse laser processes new material.
“Whether in the manufacture of medical instruments or implants, the laser works quickly, is reproducible and meets the highest standard of quality. Without lasers, devices such as pacemakers or stents would not be possible,” explains Lothar Kugler, Managing Director of Kugler GmbH. “The advantages of ultrashort-pulse laser material processing are also being utilised,“ continues Dr. Erwin Jäger, Managing Director of TOPAG Lasertechnik GmbH.
That the laser has since become a very important tool for the medical technology sector will also be seen at LASYS 2012, the international trade fair for laser material processing. Taking place every two years, the exhibition will be opening its doors from 12 to 14 June 2012 for the third time at the new Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre.
Here, the focus will be on machinery, processes and services, as well as laser-specific machinery sub-systems. LASYS 2012 will be addressing almost all industries, which includes the mechanical engineering and automobile sector, the optical industry, the metalworking industry, plant and apparatus engineering, the electrical and electronics industry, the medical technology sector, precision engineering, plastics and semiconductor industry, as well as the most varied of material applications.
“Many companies who are not involved in the medical technology sector, one that boasts a strong and stable growth market, have the feeling they are neglecting an important field,” says Gerhard Hein, Managing Director of the VDMA Working Group for Lasers and Laser Systems for Material Processing. According to VDMA, by the end of 2012 its global market volume is estimated to reach between 100 and 220 billion US dollars. The scope of laser applications in this market segment is correspondingly varied:
“Processes such as laser cutting, structuring, welding, drilling and marking are already frequently used in the manufacture of medical products, for example in the production of medical saw blades, eye scalpels, surgical needles and much more,” explains Dr. Siegfried Pause, Managing Director of LLT Applikation GmbH. With seam welding and the labelling of cameras for endoscopy, the cutting and welding of retractors, the spot welding of catchers, the labelling of hip joint sockets and gas-tight welding of pacemakers, the list of applications goes on. One thing is clear, however: medical technology places the highest of demands on material processing.
Not only are the products becoming increasingly smaller, they also need to make as small a thermal influence as possible, be sterilisation- and corrosion-resistant, have smooth and non-porous surfaces, as well as allow for cost efficient manufacture with as little reworking and cleaning effort required as possible. Added to this is the large variety of medical technology products, not to mention the often small batch sizes. Several exhibitors at LASYS 2012 will be successfully demonstrating that, despite the stringent requirements, laser systems are predestined for use here.
“The right combination of laser beam source, material and machine is required for optimum laser cutting or laser welding seams in the micrometre range,” says Kugler. Kugler GmbH will be presenting 3- and 5-axis laser micro-processing machinery at LASYS 2012, capable of working with several different laser beam sources or carrying out machining work in the same process.
“This allows the manufacturer to process very complex components in a single clamping step using the same machine. For example, this new generation of machinery allows for the welding, cutting and identification of complex micro components – each processing step with a different beam source,” explains Kugler. According to him, product identification, traceability and counterfeit protection are also extremely important for the medical technology sector.
“In addition to the classic Nd: YAG lasers, fibre lasers and disc lasers are gaining in popularity as they are particularly suited, due to their superb beam quality, to precision and micro processing,” explains Dr. Pause.
At LASYS 2012, LLT Applikation will be presenting the improved laser precision cutting machine precicut 50/35, designed specifically for the manufacture of precision flat parts, such as implants, medical saw blades, glasses frames, as well as rotationally symmetric parts such as bone drills. According to LLT, it is designed for the highest of stiffness and vibrational stability, facilitates cutting speeds of up to 10 metres/minute and production accuracy to hundredths of a millimetre.
With up to 5 NC-axes, the machine is suitable for both 2D and 3D processing and the modular concept allows for the integration of the most varied of laser beam sources. A high-resolution camera system identifies the location of prefabricated parts on the processing table and automatically corrects the cutting programme. For the even greater accuracy required by parts with tolerances in the µ range, LLT has further precision machines on offer.
There is plenty to indicate that the future of the material processing laser for the medical technology sector lies with the femtosecond (fs) laser. Lasers with pulse lengths in the pico and femtosecond ranges are also known as ultrashort pulse lasers. “Due to the short light pulse, there is a new standard of quality achieved in the physical interaction of light and material.
Cold cutting is talked of here, because there is almost no heat transferred to the material as a result of the extremely short light impulse,” explains Dr. Jäger. The cut surfaces are ideally smooth and completely clean, and the material removal is restricted to the area of the focussed laser beam which can be very accurately set. “Stents result, for example, from a heat-sensitive nickel-titanium alloy with shape memory.
Conventional laser processing often has a negative impact on material properties, requiring extensive mechanical reworking. The thin-walled stents can thus be easily damaged. With the ultrashort lasers, these problems can be avoided. It is also possible to process new bioabsorbent stents,” continues Dr. Jäger. They are made, for example, from polymer materials which dissolve in the body after a certain period.
Dr. Jäger adds: “Stents such as these cannot be produced using traditional laser technology.“ TOPAG will be presenting two fs laser series at LASYS 2012: The Pharos with an output of up to 20 watts and the Carbide with approximately 4 watts. The pulse length for Pharos is even below 200 fs for certain models, thus offering, as TOPAG will point out, unequalled possibilities. With a minimum electrical consumption of just 300 watts, Carbide boasts a compact design and cost savings.
“The medical technology sector demands the highest standard of quality across the entire system, with the handling of parts and process validation, in addition to the right laser, crucial for series production,“ explains Dieter Mairhörmann, Medical Industry Sales Manager at ROFIN-BAASEL Lasertech GmbH. The LASYS 2012 exhibitor established itself as a supplier of complete systems from very early on.
The company’s portfolio includes systems with new beam sources for avoiding undesirable burr formation in the laser cutting of stents: “Fibre lasers, for example, have been developed with special pulse properties which result in significantly better melting behaviour than is the norm with standard lasers and allow for the cutting of shape memory alloys such as Nitinol quickly and with less burr at thicknesses of up to 1 mm.
Cutting with femtosecond lasers means absolutely no burr formation, however at a slightly slower speed,” continues Mairhörmann. The laser sources StarFiber and StarFemto are incorporated simply into the StarCutTube system in order to cut tubular semi-finished products with kerf widths of less than 20 µm. “With femtosecond lasers integrated into StarCutTube systems, a reliable industrial processing of bioresorbable materials is now possible,” concludes Mairhörmann.
Laser machinery used for the manufacture of stents also requires highly accurate motion systems. “Particularly in the highly competitive market of stent production, the constant increase of production output is gaining in importance,” says Stefan Köcher from the technical sales department at Aerotech.
In order to meet these high requirements, Aerotech, also exhibiting at LASYS 2012, is offering a fully integrated motion system with VascuLathe. It combines automatable material handling with directly driven linear and rotation units for the very highest performance ranges. “In contrast to the more traditional solutions, throughput increases that are up to five times greater are possible,” continues Köcher. At the same time, the experts maintain that the production tolerances are further reduced to the submicrometre range, securing or even improving on a consistently high quality.
Kugler and Dr. Pause also see the integration of ultrashort-pulse lasers as one of the future challenges for laser material processing machinery in the medical technology sector. “With these beam sources, the limits to production in terms of accuracy and processing quality can be stretched once again,” says Dr. Pause, revealing that “this year, LLT will be launching machinery that uses ultrashort-pulse lasers.“
Future micro laser processing machinery, according to Kugler, must also boast extremely high process dynamics of the NC axes in order to guarantee corresponding production accuracy. Measures thus need to be taken, for example, to increase stiffness while reducing machine sizes.
Further information on this will be provided at LASYS 2012, an event that provides a unique intersectoral and cross-material presentation and communication platform focussing on laser material processing. A high-quality programme of accompanying events provides the perfect setting for further training and an international exchange of information. 200 exhibitors are expected to attend LASYS 2012.
Source: LASYS (Messe Stuttgart)
E-mail: via web site
Web Site: www.lasys-messe.de
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