Manufacturing Technology Centre gets Europe’s most powerful laser 27 May 2014

A new laser-based research and development cell, installed at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Ansty, West Midlands, has been equipped with Europe's most powerful non-military laser.

The 20kW rare earth Ytterbium fibre laser, which has a four-way beam switch, was supplied by automation and laser specialist Tec Systems, of Loughborough.

The firm built the bespoke system – which is aimed at keeping British manufacturing at the forefront of assembly, fabrication and joining technologies – in consultation with MTC's research teams.

The system includes a high-performance data acquisition and control system, based on a Mitsubishi Electric iQ-controller, which manages the laser, a six-axis test piece handling robot and multiple points of distributed I/O over a Profibus digital plant-level communications network.

The system has been integrated with a GOT touch screen HMI (human machine interface), which displays information on parameters, including welding gas flow, cutting gas flow, robot position, laser power and safety functions

"As well as collecting performance data, [the iQ-controller] functions as a master controller for the whole cell, so is often processing multiple data streams simultaneously," says Chris Nelms of Tecm who built the control system.

"We have also included a data logging module in the controller's backplane which backs-up real time data for added reliability."

Ken Young, technology manager at the MTC says: "This new laser cell is a combination of state-of-the-art equipment, which will be used to provide UK industry with an unparalleled environment for the development and demonstration of advanced laser materials processing."

Brian Tinham

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Mitsubishi Electric Europe BV

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