Coherent creates “Center of Excellence for Fiber Lasers” in Tampere, Finland
Coherent (Santa Clara, CA) has expanded its fiber-laser operation in Tampere, Finland, designating the facility as a “Center of Excellence for Fiber Lasers.” Fiber lasers themselves have been produced at this location since 2003; now, to further streamline the production flow, Coherent will combine stand-alone fiber-laser source assembly and testing at the same site with the manufacture of fiber laser components, laser engines, and combiners.
The Center of Excellence for Fiber Lasers will become the source for all lasers in the Coherent HighLight fiber-laser series, comprising industrial high-power fiber lasers with output powers ranging from 1 to 10 kW and a wide range of beam qualities – including single-mode, multimode, and adjustable ring mode – for welding tasks. Coherent says it will place particular focus on a new generation of lasers that offer additional benefits including full range of adjustable output powers (from 1% to 100% of rated power) and a dual-beam ring mode with independent center beam and ring beam power control.
The Center will bring together Coherent’s fiber laser manufacturing and testing capabilites into 5000 m2 of production floor space, including 1000 m2 of cleanroom devoted to fabrication of critical optical components. The location will also house an applications lab containing the full range of Coherent's fiber lasers, industrial welding heads, and related state-of-the-art analysis tools for weld seams.
“The fiber laser business is becoming increasingly competitive, so Coherent is pursuing this expansion to ensure that we deliver high-quality products while also reducing costs,” says Jarno Kangastupa, the newly appointed managing director of the Tampere site. “Specifically, having the entire production process at one location is designed to reduce cycle times and give us better control over quality and reliability. For the customer, the intended benefit is the ability to get high performance, customized, and cost-effective fiber lasers on a shorter timeframe.”
Source: Coherent
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John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.