IPG Offers Retrofit Services
Fiber laser maker IPG Photonics Corp. of Oxford, Mass., has introduced laser retrofit services at its operations in the US, Germany, China and Japan. At each location, IPG’s team of engineers familiar with systems integration will replace older, “clunker” CO2 and YAG lasers used for cutting, welding or cladding with IPG’s fiber, to make the devices up to 30 times more electrically efficient (The potential energy savings can be determined via the calculator at www.ipgphotonics.com). “We have had many companies approach us about replacing their CO2 and YAG laser sources on existing production lines so they can enjoy the tremendous benefits that fiber lasers provide,” said Bill Shiner, vice president, industrial markets. In addition to lower maintenance costs, less downtime and no diodes to replace, switching from old laser technology to fiber can also mean rebate money from utilities or state governments, IPG said. Retrofit customers may also take advantage of accelerated tax depreciations provided in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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Published: September 2009
Glossary
- cladding
- The low-refractive-index material that surrounds the core of an optical fiber to contain core light while protecting against surface contaminant scattering. In all-glass fibers, the cladding is glass. In plastic-clad silica fibers, the plastic cladding also may serve as the coating.
- cutting
- The process of forming a lens to a given pattern, or of cutting a piece of glass along the line of scratch.
- diode
- A two-electrode device with an anode and a cathode that passes current in only one direction. It may be designed as an electron tube or as a semiconductor device.
- photonics
- The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
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