Latest Developments in Industrial Applications of Lasers

Abstract

The use of lasers for different purposes in our country and around the world is increasing every day. The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and related developments in automation systems make laser technology indispensable. Laser systems, first used in the 1960s, were not widely preferred in the industrial sector initially. However, lasers developed in the 1970s were used for cutting, drilling, and measuring purposes and entered industrial applications for the first time. Considering the latest developments in laser technology, increasing needs, time, mass production and other factors, developments in laser technology have accelerated significantly in recent years. Particularly in industrial applications, laser use involves cutting, drilling, and welding operations, and the industry has accumulated certain knowledge and experience in these areas. However, inadequacies are still observed in surface treatment, coloring, and automation applications. Similarly, the polymer and composite industry, particularly in automation applications, needs to become acquainted with laser technology. Lasers bring significant cost and time savings to industrial applications. However, laser safety, which this technology brings with it, is an issue that requires great attention in applications.

1. Introduction

The stimulated emission theory proposed by Albert Einstein in 1916 forms the basis of the laser. According to Einstein's theory, when an atom at a higher energy level is stimulated, it must emit photons as it drops to a lower energy level, and the emitted photons produce a light beam of the same direction, same intensity, monochromatic, and polarized. As a result, energy is produced. The historical development of lasers, based on Einstein's proposal, accelerated with Rudolph W. Landenburg proving the existence of stimulated emission in 1928, Valentin A. Fabrikant's 1940 work on the possibility of population inversion, and Willis E. Lamb and Rutherford's successful first demonstration of stimulated emission in 1947 [1-4]. The term laser was derived in 1957 by Gordon Gould and introduced to the scientific world. It means light amplified by stimulated emission. The English term "Laser" is an acronym composed of the first letters of "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation" [1, 2]. Rarely used in the industrial sector until the late 1960s, the laser became established in cutting, welding, drilling, and marking operations, measurement, and many other areas by the mid-1970s. In subsequent years, dye lasers, excimer lasers, and iodine lasers were discovered and developed, and laser technology today is used in many fields ranging from defense industry to industry, from medicine to communications, computers, and even entertainment [4, 5]. Today, many lasers with different properties exist.

Figure 1. Types of lasers [32]

 

Figure 2. Some industrial application areas of lasers

2. Industrial Applications of Lasers

Since the invention of the laser in 1958, lasers have been used in many different fields. Laser technology has shown rapid expansion in our country over the last 20 years. In the industrial sector, laser cutting, laser drilling, laser marking, laser welding, and laser surface treatment applications have considerable application areas. Industrial applications by sector are led by automotive, defense industry, industrial applications, and others. Figure 3 shows a visual representation of laser system operations used in the automotive industry.

Figure 3. Laser manufacturing methods in the automotive sector [6].

3. Safety in Lasers

The increase in industrial applications of lasers brings safety problems along with it. In this regard, it is especially necessary to train laser operators. Laser beams can cause serious damage to the eyes in particular, and this damage can lead to loss of vision. Similarly, if appropriate precautions are not taken for laser beams, skin and burn injuries can occur. The foundation of laser safety was first established in the 1973 when the American National Standard Institute published Safety Standards for Safe Use of Lasers (ANSI Z136.1). Later, the International Electrotechnical Commission introduced the IEC 825 standard on laser use and safety [7, 8].

Figure 4. Hazard classification of laser devices [7-9].

ANSI Z131 and IEC 825 standards are currently used worldwide, but no such study has yet been conducted in our country. However, as a result of regulating laser standards globally, lasers have been classified into various hazard classes to ensure work safety [7, 8].

Figure 5. Health and safety signs according to laser hazard classes [7-9].

4. Recent Developments in Industrial Applications of Lasers

The increase in the use of lasers in our country and around the world and the resulting increase in the importance of laser technology has caused developments in laser technology to accelerate significantly in recent years. Accordingly, laser system requirements are increasing day by day in industrial laser applications. In recent years, micro-drilling operations on polymer or plastic-based materials that are mechanically difficult to perform are among these innovative applications. Particularly in multilayer manufacturing, the importance of the laser micro-drilling method in industry is increasing every day. The ability to perform micro-level drilling and channel opening operations that are mechanically inaccessible or difficult to implement through laser technology brings significant advantages to many sectors in our country and worldwide, particularly in industry [9]. The Laser Technologies Research and Application Center (Latarum) established within Kocaeli University in our country was founded in 2005, and current solutions are produced at the center on laser technology issues, training is provided, and scientific research and projects are conducted. It is the first and only center in our country that provides solutions to industrial problems. As a result of technologies developed at the center, it has been demonstrated that lasers can be used in metal surface cleaning, surface hardening, micromachining, rust removal, and paint removal. Research and development work continues on this subject. In the near future, we will see that lasers can be used for the applications mentioned above in addition to their known applications in industry. Additionally, experimental work continues at the center on micro-drilling with lasers, laser cutting, welding with metals, and other operations on polymers, plastics, and polymer-based composite materials. Polymer-based materials, which are affected much more by thermal effects than metallic materials, will benefit significantly from opening micro-sized holes through laser technology in the production and shaping of polymeric materials. Polymer work performed with lasers is quite promising from a technological applications perspective. Different laser applications are shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 6. Processes performed with lasers on metal surfaces.

Figure 7. Micro-drilling operations with lasers on polymer materials and polymer-based composite materials (PE1000 and CTP materials were used.).

Prof. Dr. Ersin Kayhan Department Chair, Electro-Optical Systems Engineering Kocaeli University Deputy Director / Latarum (Laser Technologies Research and Application Center) Mehtap Türkmen Electro-Optical Systems Engineering Kocaeli University Mechanical R&D Polin Waterparks Serçin Basut Mechanical R&D Manager Polin Waterparks   Levent Candan Electro-Optical Systems Engineering Kocaeli University Senior Researcher Latarum (Laser Technologies Research and Application Center)  

References 1. Asyalı M.H., Kara S., Yılmaz B., Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering, Chapter 17, Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık, 978-605-133-943-6, 2014. 2. Naqavi I., Z., Conduction and Non-Conduction Limited Laser Heating Process Mathematical Simulation, Master of Science Thesis, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, College of Graduate Studies, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2001. 3. Dahotre N B., Sudarshan T S., ISBN: 0871706652, ASM International, Lasers in Surface Engineering, Ohio, 1998. 4. Tunç M., Investigation of the Effects of Cutting Parameters on Surface Roughness in CO2 Laser Cutting Machines, Master's Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karabük University, Karabük, 2015, 405899. 5. Erdoğan Ş., Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Processing Parameters on Hole Quality in Laser Drilling, Master's Thesis, Graduate School of Science, Gazi University, Ankara, 2007, 201077. 6. Özden H., Laser Manufacturing in the Automotive Sector, TMMOB-Engineer and Machine, Issue: 596, pp: 38-42, ISSN-1300-3402, September 2009. 7. Başak F., B., Candan L., Kayahan E., Makinatek, Issue: 238, August 2017. 8. Kaçar E., II. Occupational Health and Safety Symposium, Ankara, 2015. 9. Chen, Y. H., Zheng, H. Y., Wong, K. S., Tam, S. C., Excimer Laser Drilling of Polymers.