« Older Entries

The Revised ANSI Z136.3 Standard is Here!

January 23rd, 2012

ORLANDO, FL, Jan. 23, 2012 — In response to the extensive adoption of lasers for medical procedures, the Laser Institute of America announces a significantly updated guideline for the use of such devices beyond the highly regulated hospital environment.

The revised “ANSI Z136.3 Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care” publication defines the parameters of safe laser use in clinical, hospital, dentistry and veterinary facilities. The revision released this month includes new guidelines and information on:

• Wavelengths employed in medical environments.

• The duties of laser safety officers involved with rented or borrowed laser equipment.

• Audit requirements and procedures.

• Clinically relevant terminology.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags:
Posted in Laser Editorials | No Comments »

Laser-Based Production of Thin Wear Protection Films

January 18th, 2012

By: Dominik Hawelka

Friction creates a loss of energy and reduces component lifetime. According to the scientific community concerned with friction, wear and wear protection the overall costs related to these issues amount to 4 % of the Gross National Product of industrial countries, a staggering sum. Despite the fact that wear protection coatings are already deployed to improve the life-time of highly stressed components, limiting costs due to tribological loss mechanisms poses a great challenge in many industrial sectors. In particular, within the automobile sector, a high throughput of parts needs to be protected every year. As a consequence there is a strong demand for low-cost production processes for wear protection coatings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: ,
Posted in Laser Editorials | No Comments »

Aluminum Welding with High Brightness Diode Lasers

January 18th, 2012

By: Silke Pflueger
Laserline Inc., Santa Clara, CA

Why is Aluminum Welding such a Hot Topic?

New CAFE standards demanding an average fleet gas mileage of 54.5 mpg by 2025 will not only require radical engine improvements, but also drastically weight reduced cars. Using aluminum instead of steel can decrease the weight of a car body up to 50%, as shown in the Audi A8, which was 239 kg lighter than its steel predecessor when it was introduced in 1994.

Joining aluminum initially represented quite a challenge, but is now mainly solved with riveting, MIG welding, and to a large extent by laser welding, enabled by new laser technologies.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,
Posted in Laser Editorials | No Comments »

LIA’s Industrial Laser Safety Officer Training- Puts Your Laser Safety Program on the Right Course!

December 20th, 2011

ORLANDO, FL, Dec. 20, 2011 — With lasers making unprecedented inroads into the manufacturing processes of various industries, the Laser Institute of America’s two-day on-site laser safety officer courses are a big hit as a unique resource for learning hazard prevention.

LIA held its most recent on-site Industrial Laser Safety Officer (ILSO) course Dec. 13-14 at IPG Photonics in Novi, Mich., with attendees learning the duties of laser safety officers (LSOs). Laser-based cutting, welding, drilling, and marking applications are being adopted with greater frequency, and manufacturers are scrambling to appoint and educate LSOs to ensure the safety of their personnel.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in LIA News, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Laser World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2012

December 19th, 2011

LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2012, the leading laser and photonics trade show in Asia, is going to open on March 20-22, 2012 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. For steady and new customers alike, the 7th LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA is going to offer a more diversified exhibition range covering laser systems for production engineering, laser and optronics, fiber communication, optics, machine vision, IR and test and measurement, displaying a most comprehensive and international platform for laser and photonics applications as well as industry trends. TRUMPF, Rofin, IPG, Unity Prima, Miyachi, Han’s Laser, SIASUN, SPI, Delphi, II-VI, Coherent, Newport, Qioptiq, Raylase, Leoni, Physik Instrument, Huagong and Chutian amongst others, have already decided to participate in LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2012.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in LIA News | No Comments »

LAM 2012: 21st Century Strides

December 19th, 2011

By:  Geoff Giordano

ORLANDO, FL, Dec. 19, 2011— The fourth-annual Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop in Houston takes a bold leap forward in 2012 as the Laser Institute of America creates a special slate of instruction focused exclusively on rapid manufacturing.

Whereas the two-day session has centered primarily on laser-based rapid prototyping and powder and wire cladding to repair corrosion and wear, LAM 2012 will spend one day on those traditional applications and devote a full day to 21st century strides in sintering and 3D printing. The Feb. 29 – March 1 workshop convenes in Houston once again because of the laser’s vital role in the region’s oil and gas industries.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in LAM News | No Comments »

LSO Attendance Record December 2011!

December 13th, 2011

ORLANDO, FL, Dec. 9, 2011 — Reflecting the increased importance of lasers in manufacturing, medicine and research, the Laser Institute of America’s three-day course for safety officers has bucked recessionary trends to set an attendance record.

A record number of attendees from a broad range of disciplines participated in the Dec. 6-8 workshop created and taught by LIA Education Director Gus Anibarro. The course drew representatives from the Army, Halliburton, SeaWorld, Disney, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and a handful of small laser job shops.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in LIA News | No Comments »

ICALEO 2011 Wrap-up: From Attoseconds to Zettawatts

November 15th, 2011

ORLANDO, FL, November 7, 2011  — From attoseconds to zettawatts, the 30th-annual International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics looked once again to the future with another powerful conference packed with cutting-edge research from around the world.

The message of the Laser Institute of America’s premiere conference — which returned to LIA’s hometown of Orlando — was clear: The power of the laser is being leveraged enthusiastically and with great success in everything from micromachining to carbon nanotube-based cancer therapies to railway repair and concrete cutting. The next-generation applications are upon us, as lasers are being used with increasing precision to modify more and more delicate materials or tackle huge manufacturing and repair tasks. They’re not only cutting and etching stents, iPhone components and flexible glass substrates, they’re also repairing mining equipment. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in ICALEO News | No Comments »

The Long Awaited Revised Z136.3 is Coming! Reserve Your Copy Today!

November 7th, 2011

Revision of the Z136.3 was driven by the movement of the widespread use of medical lasers – from hospital operating rooms to the office and/or clinic environment.  In an effort to acknowledge the diversity of laser therapy applications and practice setting locations, the title of the standard has been changed to “Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care.”

The revised Z136.3 is recognized as the definitive document on laser safety in all health care environments. Whether the laser is used in a hospital, clinic or alternative health care setting, the newly revised document is a must read for every LSO and facility providing laser based therapy. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in LIA News | No Comments »

Coherent Introduces First Multi-Watt, Solid-State Laser at 514 nm

October 18th, 2011

Santa Clara, Calif., October 11, 2011 – Coherent Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) (Nasdaq: COHR) has expanded its Genesis family of multi-watt visible lasers for life sciences with two new models offering 2 Watts and 4 Watts of output power at 514 nm.  Based on Coherent’s unique optically pumped semiconductor laser (OPSL) technology, the Genesis CX 514 is the first solid‑state laser to provide multiple watts of CW output at this legacy wavelength.  Both the 2W and 4W models feature low (<0.1%) output noise, TEM00 beam quality, and full CDRH compliance making them ideal for both OEM and demanding stand-alone research applications.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in LIA Corporate Member Product Releases | No Comments »