From 31 March to 4 April 2025, the business development trip organised by the German-Swiss Chamber of Commerce (AHK Schweiz) in cooperation with the VDMA Working Group Laser and Laser Systems for Material Processing and the VDMA Quantum Technology and Photonics Forum offers German SMEs in the photonics and optics industry the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Swiss tech industry. Companies can present themselves to a high-calibre specialist audience, establish potential partnerships and e...

From September 15 to 19, 2024, the 13th CIRP Conference on Photonic Technologies [LANE 2024] will take place in the Stadthalle Fürth. Organized by the Bavarian Laser Center and the Institute for Photonic Technologies at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, the focus of LANE is on the exchange of current scientific results and developments on the application of lasers in research and production. The VDMA Working Group Laser and Laser Systems for Material Processing is a par...

The Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW) at the University of Stuttgart cordially invites you to participate in the 12th Stuttgart Laser Technology Forum (SLT). The conference in English language will take place for the first time over three days, from 4 to 6 June 2024, in the Kursaal Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. The traditional invited talks will be supplemented by „contributed“ presentations. Experts from science, research and industry will talk about current and future developmen...

For the 14th time, laser manufacturers and laser users from various industries will meet at the biennial AKL - International Laser Technology Congress. In more than 80 presentations over three conference days, participants will be brought up to date with the latest technology and gain an insight into current research topics for tomorrow's production solutions. Together with the exhibition accompanying the conference and the live demonstrations at the Fraunhofer ILT, the AKL has established itsel...

The OPC UA Companion Specification 40530 and the VDMA Standard Sheet of the same name have been revised following a public consultation as a release candidate with the feedback collected and the Joint Working Group has unanimously confirmed the final document. The final document is now available for download on the homepages of the VDMA and the OPC Foundation.
OPC 40430 specifies an OPC UA information model for laser systems. Such a system is regarded as a self-contained unit that includes the...

At the autumn meeting of the VDMA Working Group Laser and Laser Systems for Material Processing (WG Laser), the members held an election to complete the board of directors and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman were confirmed.
Dr Hagen Zimer, Member of the Management Board and CEO Laser Technology at Trumpf, and Nikolas Meyer, Head of Sales and Industry Management and Member of the Executive Board at Weil Technology, were newly elected to the Board. Dr Christoph Ullmann was confirmed as Chairman...

OPC 40430 specifies an OPC UA Information Model for Laser Systems. Such a system is considered a self-contained unit, including the laser source and all required subsystems, such as the control system for the laser source, optics, cooling aggregates and others. Hence, one or several laser systems may be a subcomponent of a larger machine. The goal of this companion specification is to provide a standardized and extendable interface for the integration of laser systems into an OPC UA environment....

Climate protection is an important part of modern industry and sustainability has always been part of the DNA of the laser industry. The machines are designed for longevity, backwards compatible for years and offering spare parts in the long term is a matter of course, because the machines are sometimes in use for decades. In many industrial applications, laser technology is an important enabler towards more climate protection.
An article on the EMO website https://emo-hannover.com/news/lasers-...

At the spring meeting of the VDMA Working Group Laser and Laser Systems for Material Processing (WG Laser), the board elected a new chairman and a new deputy chairman. Dr Christoph Ullmann, General Manager of Laserline GmbH, was elected Chairman of the WG Laser and Dr Ruppik, Vice President and General Manager High Power CO2 Lasers & Profile Welding Systems Coherent, was elected as his deputy.
Dr Christian Schmitz from Trumpf was bidden farewell as Chairman of the WG Laser and thanked for h...

Short-pulse lasers have unique capabilities. Industry uses them for numerous applications. Due to the short exposure time of the laser beam to the material, the heat-affected zone is very small; this is referred to as cold ablation. In this process, the material does not melt, but vaporises. The non-linear absorption of short pulse lasers makes it possible to process almost any material, such as steel, copper, brass, ceramics, various plastics, glass and much more. Our article shows the use case...