Rostock, Germany—LTTZ/SLV Mecklenburg-Vorpommerm GmbH becomes the first commercial user of a 10 kW fiber laser from IPG Photonics GmbH (www.ipgphotonics.com, Burbach, Germany) as part of a project funded by the European Community. According to the manufacturer, this is the highest-power industrial laser, operating in the 1-micron range, ever delivered with a low order mode.
The laser will be utilized in cooperation with commercial companies and other German institutions, under the direction of SLV M-V for applications such as ship and aircraft building, pipeline welding, hybrid welding, tailored bank welding, and cladding. Additionally, it will be used to investigate new applications possibilities where the combination of high power and beam quality is important.
The IPG laser has a beam quality of 11.5 mm x mrad over the entire power range to 10 kW with wallplug efficiency of 25%, with power densities to 20MW/cm.
Professor Seyffarth of SLV M-V states, "Fiber lasers are the future in laser technology, and it is truly incredible how quickly (five weeks) IPG manufactured such a high-performance and record-setting system."