Advances in CO2-laser technology for industrial applications

At the time being CO2-lasers are widely used in industrial applications. The increasing number of demanding applications as well as market needs are defining several trends in laser development. For welding and cutting of heavy steel sections as well as high-speed surface treatment, lasers with high output power are needed; well above 5 kW, which is the maximum for most applications now. Increasing the beam quality is a second trend, which can be observed. High beam-quality systems are essential for sophisticated applications in the field of quality controlled and precision processing such as fine cutting, high speed cutting and high speed welding. Along with these technical considerations the market development is demanding CO2-lasers which can be produced at much lower prices compared to conventional systems in order to be wordwilde competitive and to open new applications and markets for CO2-lasers.