O.R. Laser develops compact portable IQ Laser with inline laser repair
O.R. Lasertechnologie GmbH, Dieburg, Germany, has developed the IQ Laser with compact Nd:YAG laser welding equipment, inline laser repair, and a basic footprint of 0.2 sq.m.
Eitan Reznik, sales manager, says the prototype of the IQ Laser with the concept of inline laser repair was presented in December 2009 at the EuroMold fair. Since "a small void or mold flash often results in complete shutdown of the entire production process, it is here that the IQ Laser is used for local laser welding and can show its strengths as a successful addition to mobile equipment."
“It takes a lot of effort to weld a 10-ton injection mold in a conventional way,” Reznik explains. "Investigations have shown that around 15 hours are needed for mold demounting, transport, handling, actual welding, post-welding work, the spotting press and mold remounting. In addition to all of this, there is the downtime of the injection molding machine, as well as costs of transport, etc."
Reznik says that everything goes much faster with repair by the IQ Laser. He says that it takes 15 minutes to position the IQ Laser directly at the injection molding machine. Laser treatment lasts 30 minutes, post-welding work is directly at the injection molding machine. Restarting the machine takes a further 1.5 hours.
With an average power of 55 W, peak pulse performance of 6 kW, and pulse energy of 60 Joule, the compact IQ Laser finds its classic use in mold and toolmaking, but inline laser welding in aircraft construction or in the energy sector are also applications for the equipment.
The focus can be set between 0.2 and 1.2 mm directly on the hand-held welding head. Pulse time can be varied from 0.2 to 30 milliseconds, depending on the 1.0 to 20 Hertz pulse frequency. The full range of laser welding wires in diameters from 0.2 to 0.5 millimetres can be used. The welder watches the work as it progresses via a 10-inch touch-screen display on which all laser parameters are displayed. The camera image has 10 X magnification and shows the operator the precise point of contact of the laser via a crosshair in the display.
The IQ Laser complements the O.R. Laser range of products. There are a total of five different sizes of the Nd:YAG (solid state) laser available, and the largest equipment has laser power of 300 W.