Where Are All the Lasers?

I’ve been thinking a lot about lasers lately. First, I recently attended a materials joining conference sponsored by the Edison Welding Institute (EWI, Columbus, OH), where many of the presentations focused on laser technology. Then, the other day, I read an obituary in the newspaper for Theodore Maiman, the inventor of the laser.

While pondering that coincidence, I began wondering if anyone is really using lasers on the plant floor for applications other than cutting metal? My suspicions were aroused by a recent report from the Laser Systems Product Group of the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT, McLean, VA). Its quarterly market watch revealed that fourth quarter 2006 shipments of industrial laser equipment and systems for North America were down 20 percent from a year ago. Specifically, demand for CO2 lasers dropped 75 percent, while Nd:YAG lasers plummeted 84 percent.

Lasers hold tremendous potential for assembly applications. But, the main argument against them has always been the steep price tag. I’ve seen small applications of laser technology-primarily for part-marking and alignment tasks-but nothing on a large scale.

Is anyone out there really using lasers to join parts together? When will lasers become a more common sight on assembly lines?

Austin has been senior editor for ASSEMBLY Magazine since September 1999. He has more than 21 years of b-to-b publishing experience and has written about a wide variety of manufacturing and engineering topics. Austin is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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