A look at four developments in laser manufacturing that caught my attention this week — from precision motion for medical-device manufacturing to very-high-power cutting, semiconductor processing, and an interesting new approach to machining sapphire. Precision Motion Targets Medical Tube Laser Cutting Aerotech’s new LaserTurn280 motion platform is designed for cylindrical laser processing applications such as … Read more
By William Kane | Manufacturing with Light (MWL) When people start discussing a new laser cutting system, the conversation usually starts with the laser. How much power do we need? Fiber or ultrafast? What wavelength? What spot size? What material thickness? Those are important questions and should be worked out in an applications lab before … Read more
When people begin sizing a motion system for a laser-cutting machine, the conversation often starts with familiar numbers: Those questions matter, but they do not tell the whole story when the machine must cut small features at high production rates. A motion system can move very quickly across a large work area and still struggle … Read more
Modern motion controllers are amazing. In laser processing, advanced algorithms can smooth corners, reduce vibration, improve path following, synchronize laser firing, and help squeeze more performance out of a machine. Features such as input shaping, look-ahead, contour smoothing, and frequency-response-based tuning are real tools that can make a good machine much better [1][2][3][4]. But they … Read more
Setup, ACSPL+ structure, simplified examples, GSP integration, and a robust fixed-pulse-width M-code For current ACS Motion Control users with programming experience Initialize the LCI and establish a repeatable startup sequence Understand the most useful structure fields and operating modes Use PWM, fixed-distance pulsing, and segment gating Expose LCI functions to … Read more
In high-end laser material processing, the motion controller is not just moving axes. It is helping determine how energy is delivered into the material. That distinction matters. Whether the process is laser cutting, welding, drilling, micromachining, cleaning, cladding, or scanner-based processing, the controller must coordinate motion, laser timing, process I/O, recipes, sensors, and recovery logic. … Read more
