AMADA WELD TECH adds motorized focus to its SIGMA LS femtosecond laser subsystem

AMADA WELD TECH has updated its SIGMA LS Laser Micromachining Subsystem with a motorized beam delivery head and a choice of vertical or horizontal mounting orientations. The company says the changes are aimed at machine builders and system integrators fitting femtosecond laser micromachining into production lines and dedicated work cells.

The optional motorized focusing feature positions the focal point under software control, rather than requiring a manual adjustment. This allows the system to handle multi-level feature geometries, varying material thicknesses and recipe-based process changes, and the company says it increases throughput and reduces setup time.

Vertical and horizontal formats can be specified to match process flows and machine designs. The subsystem can be mounted above or beside fixtures and processing zones, or integrated into larger systems, enclosures and automated production lines. The company says the formats suit both new machine builds and retrofits that add femtosecond capability to an existing platform.

Femtosecond pulses deposit energy faster than heat can conduct into the surrounding material, so little heat spreads beyond the ablated area. That matters on brittle or heat-sensitive parts, as thermal damage from longer-pulse lasers can distort geometry or crack the material. Shorter wavelengths also focus to smaller spot sizes, so the wavelength choice sets the finest feature the system can produce.

SIGMA LS comes as a single package containing the femtosecond laser, beam delivery optics, a scan head or cutting head, focus lens, camera, controller and software. Laser power options run from 5 W to 80 W, and users can specify IR, green or UV wavelengths. The subsystem performs precision milling, selective ablation, drilling, surface texturing and scribing.

Source: AMADA WELD TECH