b'due to intense thermal damageered laser, particularly if they donttheir laser cutting capacity and have been major obstacles for in- have enough work to load their cur- are looking to add a shift should dustrial applications of laser ma- rent laser cutting machine. If laserconsider a high-powered laser. This chining composites, Naeem said. cutting work is not expected tois especially true if they use old Prima Power Laserdyne has usedgrow and consumes just half a work- laser technology. At a time when fiber lasers to machine CFRP. Heshift, then paying for a more power- shops struggle to find reliable, ex-said the big advantage of a fiberful laser to reduce the workload to aperienced operators, investing in a laser is its high-quality beam, whichquarter of a shift likely wont deliverfast, efficient fiber laser also may re-results in a very small focal point,a good return on investment. duce the number of needed laser allowing composite material to beBut shops that have maximizedoperators.CTEprocessed with minimal thermal damage to the matrix.Surface texturing composites is a viable replacement for mechani-cal abrading, enabling better con-trol over the final structured sur-face. This ability to machine on a mi- PUT YOUR MACHINE TOOL INcroscale could create a role for fiber lasers in the aerospace industry as a new tool for laser milling fine struc-tures involving CFRP.Naeem said it is possible to use the new generation of fiber lasers for both the macroapplication of laser cutting and the microapplica-tion of laser surface texturing.The cut-edge quality compared with mechanical cutting is superior, though surface damage may remain an issue, he said. Work is in prog-ress to reduce this damage further and increase the cutting speed.Who Needs It?Not all shops need a high-pow- SERIESElectric Spindles Affordably Boost Your contributors Machine Tool Speed and Productivity Transforms CNC Machines into High Speed ELECTRIC SPINDLES FOR Machining CentersCoherent Inc. MACHINING CENTERSLimits Wear on Machine Spindle800-527-3786Ultra-Precision Ceramic Bearings for www.coherent.com HES510: 50,000 RPM MAXHES810: 80,000 RPM MAXHigh Speed PerformanceHH PhotonicsIntegral Motor and Spindle Construction603-320-4629Emergency Break-Away Connectorwww.hhphotonics.comAir-Cooling System Small Diameter Drilling and MillingIPG Photonics Corp. BT/CTNT ITHSK ALarge Variety of Tapers Available877-980-1550www.ipgphotonics.comPrima Power Laserdyne LLC763-433-3700www.primapowerlaserdyne. www.NSKAmericaCorp.com|Phone: (847) 843-7664|Toll Free: (800) 585-4675comctemag.com/cteguide.com47LaserMachining.indd 47 6/16/20 11:22 AM'