Optis models laser tool
Optis (Toulon, France), a developer and marketer of software used to simulate laser-beam propagation, is creating new beam-modeling software as part of a project in collaboration with five other companies to construct a high-quality-laser metal-cutting tool to be used in the aeronautical, shipyard, construction, and automobile industries. The project`s research and development phase will take three-and-one-half years and will be followed by an 18-month industrialization phase. Properties to be modeled by the Optis software include beam size, mode, and power, as well as interactions with ejecta and surface faults in the material to be cut. An important focus will be the simulation of mechanical deformation of the material due to thermal and other interactions. Optis, which plans to invest FF21 million ($3.8 million) in the project, estimates that the worldwide market for the laser-cutting tool will be FF3 billion ($540 million).