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
I4MS: FOSTERING DIGITAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION IN EUROPE
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
I4MS: FOSTERING DIGITAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION IN EUROPE
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
I4MS: FOSTERING DIGITAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION IN EUROPE
• 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
I4MS: FOSTERING DIGITAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION IN EUROPE
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…
I4MS: FOSTERING DIGITAL INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION IN EUROPE
• 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
THANK YOUTHANK YOUFOR YOUR ATTENTION
