As new lower-cost laser technology becomes more readily available to consumers, laser safety experts at the Laser Institute of America (LIA) are concerned for the public’s safety.

Recently released to the public and promoted as the world’s first 445 nm direct blue diode portable laser with output powers of up to 1 Watt, an internet retailer is selling this Class 4 laser product for under $300. “Our concerns are for the consumers, uninformed of the hazards, who may operate the device placing themselves and others at risk of injury,” stated Peter Baker, LIA’s executive director. Read the rest of this entry »

The 6^th Annual LSO Workshop was held July 27-29, 2010 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in Berkeley, Calif. Hosted by Ken Barat, this year’s workshop promised to provide “presentations on topics not found in standard laser safety training and solutions to real-world safety issues.” Read the rest of this entry »

Coherent Inc. has expanded its revolutionary PowerMax™-USB/RS series of laser power measurement products with the addition of several new sensors.  PowerMax-USB/RS sensors, first introduced in December, 2009, were the world’s first to integrate a sensor head with complete meter electronics that are miniaturized within a USB 2.0 or RS‑232 cable connector.  The original product offering included optical and thermopile sensors that enabled laser power measurement up to the tens of watts range.  Now, new PowerMax sensors extend this into the kilowatt range.  Specifically, these include new water cooled thermopile sensors, suitable for measuring laser power from 1W to 1 kW, anywhere over the 250 nm to 10.6 μm spectral range.  The 1 kW sensor is available in a post mounted configuration, suitable for lab use, as well as a more compact form specifically intended for ease of integration in embedded, OEM applications. Read the rest of this entry »

Newport Corporation, a worldwide leader in laser and photonic solutions that Make, Manage, and Measure Light^®, announces the OTSE Integrated Overhead Shelf, the newest product in the SmartTable OTS^™ optical table system family.  The OTSE is an integrated overhead shelf that connects directly to the SmartTable-OTS frame so the entire system has a smaller footprint, more rigid design, and provides more accessibility to the table than other competitive shelf systems.  This integration makes moving even the most complex system easy.  The overhead shelf features a 23.5-inch deep surface and 300lb load capacity to provide sufficient room and stability for even the largest instruments.  For added convenience, Newport’s new OTSE version features a blank front panel for use in applications that may be sensitive to the electrical fields generated by power outlet strips. Read the rest of this entry »

LAM 2011

February 16-17, 2011 • Houston, TX USA

Join us for LIA’s third annual Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM) 2011 to learn from industry specialists from around the world with the goal of applying this state-of-the-art process (cladding & rapid manufacturing) to today’s manufacturing challenges. LAM 2011 offers quality technical sessions and networking opportunities to discuss equipment and applications with vendors and your peers. Read the rest of this entry »

Laser Institute of America – Your Laser Safety Authority

Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the international society dedicated to fostering laser, laser applications and laser safety worldwide. Today, this unwavering dedication continues to propel LIA forward as we meet the growing demand for continuing education and safety training. LIA trains more Laser Safety Officers than any other organization in the world, and as the secretariat of the ANSI Z136 series of laser safety standards, the foundation of laser safety programs nationwide, LIA has assisted laser users in developing and implementing safety programs for over 40 years. Read the rest of this entry »

The TRUMPF Group, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, is a world market and technology leader in the area of industrial lasers and laser systems. With 60 subsidiaries in more than 26 countries, TRUMPF Group has about 8,000 employees and generates sales in excess of $2.28 billion. TRUMPF Inc., headquartered in Farmington, Conn., is the North American subsidiary of TRUMPF GmbH +Co. KG, and with approximately 700 employees is the largest subsidiary within the TRUMPF Group and is one of the largest manufacturers of fabricating machinery in the U.S. TRUMPF Inc. is dedicated to serving the American, Canadian and Mexican market needs of fabricating machinery, OEM laser and laser marking. TRUMPF’s Laser Technology Center in Plymouth, Mich., is part of TRUMPF Inc. The Laser Technology Center specializes in pulsed and continuous wave (cw) solid-state lasers and CO2 lasers for multi-axis laser systems, stand-alone and integrated OEM lasers. Read the rest of this entry »

A new Ti:Sapphire ultrafast laser amplifier from Coherent, Inc. delivers over twice the power of any comparable product.  Specifically, the Legend Elite Duo-HP offers over 15 Watts of output power, and the highest pulse energy (up to 10 mJ) currently on the market for a kHz class, thermoelectrically (TE) cooled amplifier.   Legend Elite Duo-HP can be configured to provide output pulse durations of <25 fs, <35 fs, <130 fs, or 0.5 ps to 2 ps with repetition rates in the range 1 kHz to 10 kHz. Read the rest of this entry »

Newport Corporation, a worldwide leader in laser and photonic solutions that Make, Manage and Measure Light^®, announces the new SinguLYS^™ family of single-axis air bearing stages.  The new stage and bridge configurations combine high performance with modularity, making them ideal for single axis, split XY, and gantry applications.

The SinguLYS S-370 stage is manufactured from silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic components, similar to Newport’s popular DynamYX^® and HybrYX^™ stage product families.  The body’s extremely rigid and compact footprint with 3-point mounting allows this stage to be used in tight spaces typically reserved for mechanical bearing designs without the need for large, lapped mounting surfaces to maintain precise trajectory. The lightweight carriage features integrated pressure-vacuum air bearings which are guided by a precisely-lapped SiC body.  Newport’s new high precision stage is ideal for tasks with very high duty-cycles that require low angular deviation, tight velocity regulation, and high cleanliness standards. Read the rest of this entry »

LASYS Increases Number of Visitors and International Character

3,870 visitors came to the second LASYS – More visitors from a larger catchment area – Demand for multiple material solutions

3,870 specialist visitors came to the second LASYS, international trade fair for system solutions in laser material processing, which took place from 8 to 10 June 2010 in Stuttgart. Satisfactory: In spite of the still tense economic situation, more interested parties attended the event than two years ago (2008: 3,444). The 186 exhibitors, of which 38 percent came from outside Germany, showcased laser manufacturing systems for micro and macro material processing, processes (laser applications, product solutions), as well as system periphery and components of laser production technology. The catchment area for LASYS has continued to expand in comparison to the first event. A total of 40 percent of visitors traveled more than 300 kilometres to the event. The visitors came from 39 countries. Switzerland came in 1st place, followed by France and Italy. The percentage of visitors coming from outside of Germany rose from 24 to 30 percent, which also included many foreign visitor delegations. “We are pleased that even in these hard times we managed to more or less retain the number of exhibitors and increase the number of visitors and international character,” commented Meike Mayer, Project Manager of LASYS, on the result. Read the rest of this entry »