Wolfgang Gries | Europe as a key innovator for industrial laser applications

Europe as a Key Innovator for Industrial Laser Applications

BERLIN

17th & 18th of June 2014

Wolfgang Gries - DirectPhotonics

INDEX

1. Historical Development of Industrial Lasers

2. Micro-Material Processing

3. Macro-Material Processing

4. The Dilemma

5. Outlook

Hist. Development of Gas Lasers

Dinosaurs live longer

• CO2 still maintains the majority of lasers used for industrial

manufacturing

• Simplicity in design

• Lowest capital cost

• Range from Watts to kWatts

• Wavelength advantages

I4MS: FOSTERING DIGITAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION IN EUROPE

• Wavelength advantages

• European/Asian suppliers took over from US-

suppliers

• Excimer Laser

• Established application in annealing and

ophthalmology are difficult to replace

• German technology is a success story hardened by

US-capital

• Argon-Ion Lasers

• Still around in bio-med apps

• Threatened by DPSS/Diode

Hist. Development of Solid-State Lasers

• Lamp-pumped SSL first to substitute CO2 in industrial

manufacturing (Automotive)

• As GaAs-technology matured diode-pumped SSL became

disruptive and created new apps and markets

• Wavelength conversion

From LPSSL through fiber to direct diode

• Wavelength conversion

• Pulses from µs to femto

• European leadership in industrial apps

• US still strong in semicon apps

• Disk-laser the first real thread to kW CO2 too slow to market

• Telecom bubble gave birth to fiber laser takes over 50% from CO2

• Direct-Diode moves from hardening to cutting


Micro - Material Processing

• Semicon: Dicing, scribing, inspection, LDI still disruptive to

mechanical techniques but cyclic.

• PV was a big bet but dead now

• Automotive wants to drill – if you continue to buy Diesel

Nano moves to Femto – DPPSS/Fiber hybrids

• Automotive wants to drill – if you continue to buy Diesel

• Smartphone/Display manufacturing drives demand for ultra-fast

• Demand on platforms extremely diverse – either niche or catalog

business

• Mainly a European technology drive but US-consolidation going on


Macro - Material Processing

• Cutting biggest market in metal processing but only 20% done by

lasers (2005)

• Behind the scene CO2s have always been used for cutting and

marking – never fully tracked by market research

Lasers changed the value chain of manufacturing

• In Europe lamp-pumped and disk-improved flexible

manufacturing and traceability (Automotive, pioneered by VW)

• Fiber laser disruptive for all laser based processing in macro and

increases market share of lasers against mechanical methods

• Direct-Diode coming into play due to increased chip brightness


• IPG successfully turned fiber focus from telecom to material

processing

• Built on decades of research in optical fiber from former

Soviet Union

• Fiber laser development suffers from weak supply chain

on critical components

• European fiber/component develop-ment 5 years behind

• Fiber laser suppliers not focused on single business plan

The Dilemma

Fiber Lasers - only one shop to go?

• Unmatched cost structure through pragmatically simplified

architecture and one wavelength diodes

• Verticalization supports cost structure and speed on platform

variations

• Fiber laser suppliers not focused on single business plan

(internal cannibalization, internal market versus external,

company structure dis-advantage)

• US-Laser companies too diverse don’t own industrial

manufacturing


But the customer wants more market on fiber-guided lasers with the features of fiber lasers

• Fiber lasers are hip today but at the end the user only cares about the values and not the platforms

• Photonics will become increasingly integrated (light source and optical chain) and continue to substitute conventional methods in

industrial manufacturing

• Platforms for Macro will become more diverse - beam shaping, wavelength, pulsing…

Outlook

Photonics will continue to go industrial as a commodity – the driver is flexibility

• Platforms for Macro will become more diverse - beam shaping, wavelength, pulsing…

• Let’s talk about China…


• Europe needs to maintain leadership in industrial manufacturing through

• supporting next generation technologies and applications

• collaboration on all parts of the value chain is a key

The European Union makes a difference

[email protected]

Max-Planck-Str. 312489 Berlin - Germany+49 30 6392 87240

THANK YOUTHANK YOUFOR YOUR ATTENTION

Wolfgang Gries | Europe as a key innovator for industrial laser applications

Technology

Transcript of Wolfgang Gries | Europe as a key innovator for industrial laser applications