RAYLASE GmbH

In additive manufacturing, efficiency of the production line and AM equipment is the key to success. The goal is to keep the costs per part as low as possible and thus remain competitive with existing manufacturing methods. To achieve this, all aspects of the AM machine are trimmed for high exposure speeds and high reliability at the same time. After all, when a machine is down, it doesn't earn money.

This is precisely what we kept in mind when designing the AM MODULE III. A dust-proof housing and manufacturing in an ISO Class 7 clean room allows the use of more powerful lasers and consequently higher scanning speeds in powder. And with the integrated zoom function, the high laser powers can be optimally used to fill areas with increased spot diameters at constant power density in a time-saving manner. As a result, additive manufacturing becomes a real competitor to existing manufacturing methods and can be used for a wide range of applications.

Combined with the integrated design and the resulting high reliability in the industrial production environment, this increase in performance enables AM users to take the next step: The step from rapid prototyping to additive production!
 

HIGH PERFORMANCE FOR AM-PRODUCTION

The AM MODULE III is designed for additive production. This means reliability and process safety were basic ideas in the development of the system. Precise and pre-aligned integrated collimation and scanner optics allow to use lasers with best beam quality. The additional zoom function ensures that the focus shape is always maintained, even when working with dynamically enlarged spot diameters. And it can also dynamically compensate for possible variations in energy density in the image field.

The philosophy of production and reliability is reflected in various aspects: for example, the digital scanners allow a convenient read-back of position data, which can then be easily merged with measurement data from the coaxial process light or camera port. This enables precise process monitoring and control. In addition, the housing is also designed for productivity: It enables low-maintenance operation, thanks to its optimized dust-proof housing design and innovative RAYVOLUTION DRIVE technology. And with its scalable design, multiple lasers can work simultaneously on one component, enabling even the shortest production cycle times in demanding production lines.

A precisely calibrated process field is absolutely essential if the machine and laser are to work hand-in-hand and do their job perfectly. The laser system’s optical and mechanical tolerances lead to deviation between the theoretical correction file and the real process field. If high demands are placed on the laser beam’s positioning accuracy on the workpiece, these deviations need to be measured with extreme precision and the correction file needs to be updated with the precisely measured values.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

We have developed the new SCAN FIELD CALIBRATOR for the laser processing of large components that are particularly in demand in additive manufacturing and electromobility. It is making the transition from manual to automated calibration of laser process fields – even those of larger dimensions. At the same time, it offers unrivalled accuracy and enormously reduces the time and expense required previously: Agonisingly long measurements that take up staff resources become a thing of the past, at the same time quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness in laser material processing increase.

UNRIVALLED PRECISION AND QUALITY

The average correction accuracy in the 600 x600 field is in the range of ± 15 µm under the right conditions, so it’s advancing into accuracy ranges that couldn’t be achieved with previous methods. Overlapping scan fields can also be precisely aligned with one another. The average measurement accuracy is ± 4 µm with a standard deviation of 2 µm. The more accurate the measuring system, the better your end product.

EXTREME SAVINGS IN TERMS OF BOTH TIME AND EFFORT

Automation means that many steps are no longer needed in contrast to manual calibration. There’s no need to manually enter the measured values in calibration tables or to manually measure the measuring points with a magnifying glass / ruler. There’s no need to manually align overlapping scan fields to one another or further iterations. Just 1 x laser, 1 x scan, 1 x correction file update – and that’s you done. What’s more, no more measuring resources are required. And no specialists are tied up either. The duration of the complete correction process is particularly impressive: with the SFC, it’s usually only approx. 10 – 20 minutes in contrast to several hours with manual calibration.

ADVANTAGES AND BENEFITS

The SFC can calibrate fields measuring up to 600 x 600 mm² with a scan field correction accuracy in the 
10-20 µm range. Even overlapping scan fields are automatically aligned to each other. The complete calibration process is performed with just a few quick clicks via a user interface (SFC GUI). The data is read out digitally and transferred to the SFC software. There is no media discontinuity, eliminating the need for the staff to have specific knowledge of the interface. All the measurement results are fully reliable, and the handling is very user-friendly due to Plug & Play. With regard to sustainability, you save costs since no additional measuring equipment is needed and you avoid waste, too.

Whether laser welding, cutting or cleaning, thanks to its dust-proof housing and integrated collimation optics, the AXIALSCAN FIBER RD-30 is the ideal deflection unit even under harsh production conditions. The focus here is all on dynamics and productivity. 

Thanks to our highly dynamic z-axis with RAYVOLUTION DRIVE technology, the AXIALSCAN FIBER RD-30 can use the full dynamics of its XY scanners without losing the z-position of the focus. This makes the AXIALSCAN FIBER-30 RD ideal for processing very thin materials such as battery foils or bipolar plates for fuel cells. Here, a stable penetration depth and a uniform focus are particularly important in order to avoid damage to the bipolar plate and to obtain a uniform cutting result.

Thanks to its high power compatibility of up to 6kW, the AXIALSCAN FIBER RD-30 is well suited for welding battery housings or cell connectors of prismatic cells. Due to the large processing fields, the AXIALSCAN FIBER RD-30 also enables hairpin welding of electric motors without the need to move the motor or the deflection unit.

HIGHEST DYNAMICS, EASY INTEGRATION

Thanks to its optimized dust-proof design, lightweight mirrors and the innovative RAYVOLUTION DRIVE technology, the AXIALSCAN FIBER RD-30 offers the ideal combination for maximum dynamics in industrial production environments. This focus on production is reflected in various aspects: For example, the digital electronics of the scanners enable convenient read-back of position data, which can then be easily merged with measurement data from the coaxial process light and camera port. This enables precise process monitoring and control. And also the housing is designed for productivity: Thanks to “quadruple design” with 100% overlap across the build area, 4 lasers can work simultaneously on one component, enabling even theshortest cycle times in demanding production lines.

The SP-ICE-3 control card is the universal solution for every laser system with deflection units. With its multiple individually configurable ports it fits everywhere, even at highly specific requirements. Thanks to the .NET programming environment and the flexibility of the SP-ICE-3 control card a broad variety of applications can be solved quickly. 

PRECISE CONTROL WITH FEEDBACK

The SP-ICE-3 controls up to 2 deflection units via the SL2-100 or RL3-100 protocol with 20 bit position resolution and 10 μs step period. It can log up to 24 million measurements from the deflection unit. This allows for system optimization during development an continuous monitoring during operation.

With its 1 GB RAM and a 32 GB MicroSD-card users may upload and store numerous highly complex laser programs to the card at once. Five configurable I/O-ports with up to 24 bit, two quadrature decoders, a USB 2.0 and a RS232 interface make the SP-ICE-3 your central control unit for laser processes.