Tokyo, Japan - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has developed a laser micromachining system that it calls the ABLASER, representing its first product in the laser processing machine business. The company will commence sales activities within the current fiscal term ending March 2015, and looks to attract broad-based demand for the ABLASER by proposing solutions for a wide array of diverse machining situations.
The ABLASER adopts a high-quality laser source that continuously irradiates an ultra-short pulse laser with a pulse duration below 10 ps. It features a laser head that employs a high-precision lens, prism, and other components to refract and rotate the laser beam at will. Thermal affection on the processing surface is reduced by ablating the machining area with high peak power. When used for drilling, the ABLASER achieves dimensional accuracy exceeding that of electric discharge machining, enabling fast machining of difficult jobs such as negative tapered holes (in which the bore widens conically as the hole deepens), oval-shaped holes, and others.
Granite is applied to the ABLASER's major structural components to maintain its anti-vibration effect and minimal thermal displacement. A precision scale is also installed in the positioning component. Adoption of 5-axis control as found in advanced machine tools facilitates machining onto curved-surface, complex shapes.
In April 2014, in preparation for commercialization, the company's Machine Tool Division set in place a system for one-stop development of proprietary laser machines, bringing together its relevant world-class technologies cultivated in-house over many years. The ABLASER was developed as a commercial product under this new system, working in liaison with the company's various domains, divisions, and research and development centers.
The company will be exhibiting the ABLASER at the 27th Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF 2014), to be held at Tokyo Big Sight (Ariake) from October 30 through November 4. Drilling and other machining samples will be introduced, offering visitors new proposals for adoption at their workplaces. The company will also present its other proprietary laser-related technologies developed in-house, including its hybrid laser welding system that coaxially performs arc welding by atmospheric discharge and its high-efficiency laser cutting head that achieves clean, highly efficient cutting optically.