The single-mode YLS-2000-SM laser with a rated power of 2kW can process iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) parts. It is easy to adapt to handle parts with different diameters and grooves of different depths (up to 30μm). The maximum power consumption is 5.5kW. Different groove angles can also be achieved. The quality and productivity of the tank are greatly improved compared to traditional technology.
The senior director of laser pointer products and technology of the American company described the modularity and internal operation of the company’s kilowatt-level CW fiber laser product line. “Our basic building block is a double-clad fiber, single oscillator module with an output power of more than 2kW,” he explained. “Several of these modules can be combined to provide significantly higher power through a single beam. Our fiber lasers are mainly used for 2D metal sheet cutting, including low carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper and brass and other materials. They can also be used for metal welding, brazing and cladding applications.”
The 2kW fiber laser module is composed of a single fiber oscillator; the single fiber oscillator is end-pumped by the company’s ST series of high-brightness, fiber-coupled laser diode arrays. Zucker said that the pump laser was also designed and manufactured by their company. .
Each pump source generates 140W of output power from a 106μm core diameter fiber, and the electro-optical conversion efficiency is higher than 50%. “He explained, “Multiple pump fibers are spliced with a single fiber, and then spliced to one end of the oscillator. The fiber Bragg grating defines the cavity and output coupler. Since 2kW of power is generated from a single module, the beam parameter product (BPP) is very small, usually 0.8mm-mrad. This allows a small spot diameter with a large depth of field to be focused on the surface of a workpiece for metal cutting applications, which in turn produces very high strength, resulting in an extremely effective cut. ”
Using the 2kW output of the company’s fiber laser, it can cut 25mm thick mild steel, while the 4kW CO2 laser can only cut steel with a maximum thickness of 22mm. Small BPP brings fast cutting: For example, 4kW power can cut 1mm thick aluminum at a rate of 75m/min; and 6kW power can cut 1mm thick aluminum at a rate of 94m/min.
Japan is a R&D partner and customer of the company, and the company integrated 2kW green laser pointer into its cutting tools. The small BPP of the 2kW laser enables the part to have a feature called ENSIS, allowing dynamic electrical adjustment of the spot size on the workpiece. For automatic cutting work, Zucker said that ENSIS can adjust from thin to thick metal cutting without operator intervention, increasing the productivity of the processing shop.