TPT July 2009

W elding: L atest D evelopments & M achinery

New peak power for Q-switched solid-state lasers

for solar panel ablation, mould cleaning, coating removal, and surface treatment. “We are happy to offer our customers the new top model, the most efficient Q-switched laser in its pulse range. With our power classes of 500 to 800 watt we were already able to qualify applications with great success, as for example the ablation of aluminium-silicon coatings of high-tensile tailored blanks,” says Mr Markus Rütering, product manager for beam sources at Rofin- Sinar Laser GmbH in Hamburg. “Our experiences show that the lasers of the DQ series make many applications economically or technically feasible for the first time. With short pulses and, at the same time, high energy we gain low thermal load of the material. This leads to excellent

Rofin-Sinar Laser GmbH, Germany, has introduced a new laser to its DQ series with 1kW output power. The launch of this DQ 010 model broadens the already successful high power DQ series of Q-switched solid- state lasers. The high performance lasers of the DQ series are excellent tools for surface applications like ablation, cleaning, insulation and others. Cycle times and operating expenses can be reduced with the 1kW output power, while it is possible to achieve increased pulse peak performances 1,000 times higher than CW powers. Rofin DQ lasers are established in a wide industrial application area. The DQ 010, with its 1,000 watt average power, can be integrated with beam switches or power splitter modules allowing the use of one beam source in several production lines. This means that investment costs are reduced, while the increased efficiency of the beam source lowers the running costs. The high average power makes it an efficient tool for selective material removal. It is ideal

 Surface ablation of coated steels

results, for example at the edge insulation of solar cells.” The lasers of the DQ series can be coupled with fibre optics of 600 or 800μm. Compared to round fibres, square fibres provide efficiency by machining a bigger area per pulse. Combined with an integrated scanner control, ablation rates of up to 100cm 2 /s are possible in diverse applications.

Each DQ laser is equipped with an optical attenuator for constant pulse energy and long-term stability control. This key feature optimises application processes by making the pulse energy constant. It provides best application results for sensitive applications such as the selective ablation of multi-coated surfaces. Rofin-Sinar Laser GmbH – Germany Fax : +49 40 73363 4138 Email : s.mueller@rofin-ham.de Website : www.rofin.com

 Rofin DQ 010 with 1,000 watt average output power

Laser vision system dedicated to wind turbine tower manufacturing

Servo-Robot has developed compact and intelligent technology specifically for non- contact seam tracking and adaptive submerged arc welding of wind turbine tower tubes.   The Autotrac/WT is an intelligent and cost-effective non-contact seam tracker, easily integrated or retrofitted and said to surpass traditional contact probe technology. The Autotrac/WT system benefits from Servo-Robot’s on-going research and development programmes in intelligent 3-D image processing for welding automation. The miniaturisation of all electronics has reduced the equipment footprint while increasing the power and digital convergence of the system. The vision system has no moving parts, yet the digital technology used is not affected by the reflective surface conditions that interfere with other artificial vision techniques. No adjustments are required from the operator to teach the digital laser vision system, which contains its own on-board brain specially adapted to the SAW process applied in wind turbine tower tube welding. Human adjustments for weld joint measurement by the camera are no longer required. Servo-Robot Inc – Canada Fax : +1 450 653 7869 • Email : sales@servorobot.com • Website : www.servorobot.com

TUBETECH CORPORATION LIMITED TUBETECH WUHU MANUFACTURING CO.,LTD

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