Laser system delivered to EBTEC has the capability to drill a wide range and size of parts and products range from sheet metal combustors to nozzle guide vanes.

Prima North America has announced that Laserdyne Systems, the world leader in precision multi-axis laser machining systems, delivered a Laserdyne 790XL BeamDirector Nd:YAG drilling system to EBTEC Corporation, Agawam, Massachusetts. Dr Paolo Cigna, president and CEO of PRIMA North America, announced the shipment saying the delivery was made to EBTEC to expand their capacity for laser drilling with the latest system technology. 'We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide this system to EBTEC, a pioneer in high energy beam processing.' stated Dr Cigna.

'EBTEC has over 40 years of experience providing parts for the aerospace, medical, defense, power generation and commercial industries.

We are grateful for their positive evaluation of our system technology and the Convergent P50L laser, another product of Prima North America.

Laserdyne products are in use in aerospace and turbine engine manufacturing sites around the world.' stated Dr Cigna.

EBTEC Corporation is owned by Aquasium Technology, Cambridge, England, and has been a supplier of electron beam welding and laser processing services to North American industry since 1963.

As an early user of these processes it has developed an expertise in the supply of difficult to weld and drill components.

According to John Leveille, president of EBTEC Corporation, the Laserdyne 790XL system was purchased as the first new laser system outlined in an equipment phase replacement plan.

The 790XL was chosen over other systems primarily for overall processing versatility.

The 790XL system is a 6-axis system with a 2m x 1m x 1m (40in x 40in x 40in) work envelope with a 25in diameter high accuracy rotary table and Laserdyne's latest software features including Optical Focus Control (OFC) and BreakThrough Detection.

OFC complements the 790 BeamDirector's patented Automatic Focus Control (AFC) and BreakThrough Detection has been shown to not only produce parts with a shorter cycle time but with a better flow consistency.

This will enhance EBTEC's capability to provide precision drilling of cooling holes in thermal barrier coated turbine engine components.

An additional feature of the EBTEC system is the ability to drill parts programmed for Laserdyne's new 450 systems on the 790 as a result of the Part Surface Coordinate, or PSC, programming feature of the Laserdyne control.

Laserdyne products have become the technology standard for the aerospace industry and are used in turbine engine manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Asia.

A laser galvo head control has been added to a software based motion and machine control platform to produce a single integrated development platform for laser applications.

Aerotech's PC based A3200 software machine control system combines 1 to 32 axes of Firewire distributed motion control with HMI, PLC and vision control modules and is now available with the Nmark galvo control package for vector and graphics based laser marking applications. OEMs and machine builders of laser marking systems are able to significantly reduce application development time and cost by controlling industry standard XY2-100 protocol galvo scanning heads and additional axes of servo based linear and rotary motion with other machine control functions within a single, integrated programming environment. Two versions of Nmark are available - the Nmark VCT (vector) suits vector laser marking applications where lines, arcs and circles define the marking path, and the Nmark GRC (graphic) is available for raster-scan based marking.

Both versions are supported with a comprehensive range of programming commands and parameters that are used in conjunction with the A3200 Digital Automation Platforms' powerful software to achieve complete control of multi-axis laser machining applications including marking 'on-the-fly' for continuous web processes and Z-focus height control for 3D processing.

All Nmark galvo motion and functional parameters can be controlled in synchronisation with motion and machine control commands directly from within the Automation 3200 program space, providing a single integrated program development environment for the complete application.

Galvo based laser marking provides a fast and convenient means of coding and identification, and is used extensively in the aerospace, automotive, industrial, and medical industries.

Galvo's can also be applied to other medium accuracy marking and machining applications such as micro-hole drilling and decorative work on a range of thin metal and non-metal substrates.

Aerotech's Nmark products use the industry standard XY2-100 serial protocol to communicate with galvo scanning heads from a wide range of manufacturers.

Aimed at laser marking, cutting, welding, sealing and ablation applications, the Nmark VCT is programmed from the A3200 in the industry standard RS-274 G-code language with Aerotech's own AeroBASIC command extensions for laser and I/O control.

As all major CAD/CAM suppliers support RS-274 output, a direct conversion path from CAD to galvo motion is available.

The Nmark VCT is used in conjunction with a PCI interface board and via a Windows DLL, is able to access all commands, status and diagnostic information from the galvo head in real time.

The Nmark GRC is targeted at applications such as barcoding, engraving, serialisation, and character scribing.

Laser marking projects are created using a simple Windows tool that is used to import and manipulate bitmaps, graphics and barcode images and store the resulting marking profile in a project file.

Straightforward AeroBASIC commands within the A3200 are used to download the file at run time and additional commands are available to manipulate the properties of objects such as text strings or barcode values during the marking process for serialisation applications.

Commands are also available to scale, rotate and change the orientation of the object.

Aerotech's A3200 Digital Automation Platform is a powerful PC based, software-only machine control system combining a high-performance, 1 to 32 axis motion engine with decentralised drives interfaced via Firewire with other machine control function modules such as HMI, Vision and soft PLC.

A 10/100 Base-T Ethernet interface is also available to add third party I/O and PLCs for a completely integrated solution.

Typically used with Aerotech's extensive range of high performance direct-drive, linear and rotary positioning stages and digital servo drives, the A3200 based motion and machine control system includes a wide range of advanced motion and machine control commands aimed at increasing and improving the finished quality and throughput performance for demanding applications.

Direct-drive, brushless linear and rotary motion platform that includes automated workpiece handing and tooling platforms is intended for cylindrical laser machining applications.

Aerotech's LaserTurn combines high performance, direct-drive brushless linear and rotary positioning stages with automated workpiece handling and provision for customised tooling - for a completely integrated motion solution for high-throughput cylindrical laser machining applications. The new LaserTurn series is the result of Aerotech's dedicated research and extensive experience to provide improved productivity, industry-specific motion sub-systems, for high-throughput manufacture and test applications. The LaserTurn series features direct-drive brushless linear and rotary stages with non contact encoders for high speed, zero backlash performance with micron level precision and repeatability.

The integrated linear and rotary design allows a low machine centre of gravity that reduces the potential for dynamic pitch error under rapid acceleration and reversal conditions - offering a vast performance improvement over separate linear and rotary stages.

Other benefits include superior productivity, higher rigidity, smoother motion with faster settling times, and consistently improved high quality of the laser machined part.

Available in two sizes for workpiece diameters up to 30 mm with a choice of 200mm or 300mm linear travel, the smaller LaserTurn 2 has an ER16 collet supporting tube and bars from 0.5mm to 10mm diameter.

The LaserTurn 5 has a larger width footprint and is available with options of an ER25 or ER40 collet for 0.5 to 16mm and 16mm to 30mm workpiece diameters respectively.

In addition the larger model may be fitted with a three-jaw gripper.

All workpiece handling may be pneumatically automated and includes a clear aperture for product feed through.

The linear stage includes a hard top design with side seals for full protection and the complete assembly is fully protected against laser machining debris.

As well as motor power and encoder wiring, pneumatics and customer specific cabling is routed through an e-chain cable management system with interfacing connectors provided.

This greatly simplifies machine design and commissioning time and ensures high reliability and a long maintenance-free life.

For custom fixtures such as workpiece alignment supports and automated material advance, the LaserTurn's front facing end-plate provides a tooling platform with a matrix of M6 holes on a 25mm square pattern.

As this tooling interface is an integral part of the linear stage, a common reference is guaranteed for maximum system stiffness.

An optional rear tooling platform may also be specified and customised mounting patterns or additional fixtures may be provided upon request.

With a choice of linear encoders, overall accuracy of +/-5 micron is achievable, alternatively a 'Halar' calibrated option provides for +/-1 micron accuracy over the full travel range.

Positional repeatability is within +/-0.5 micron and straightness and flatness is within a total deviation of +/-1 micron.

Maximum linear speeds are up to 2m/s.

For both models, rotary stage accuracy is +/-15 arc-sec with repeatability at +/-3 arc-sec for the smaller LaserTurn 2 and +/-6 arc-sec for the LaserTurn 5.

Axial and radial runout and wobble specifications correspond with the overall high precision of these assemblies and rated speeds for the smaller and larger models are 2000 rev/min and 600 rev/min respectively.

Complementing the performance capability of LaserTurn laser machining systems, Aerotech's A3200 Digital Automation Platform is a powerful PC based, software-only, machine control system combining a high-performance, 1 to 32 axis motion engine with decentralised digital servo drives interfaced via a high-speed Firewire network.

The A3200 has integrated machine control function modules such as HMI, Vision, soft PLC and a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet interface for third party I/O and PLCs.

It includes a wide range of advanced motion and machine control commands aimed at increasing and improving the finished quality and throughput performance for demanding applications.

An example is the acclaimed Position Synchronised Output or PSO command that maintains precise, 'on-the-fly' synchronisation of the laser's pulse, power level and firing pattern with the exact position of the multi-axis positioning system typically moving the work piece undergoing laser feature generation.

Aerotech are able to meet and often exceed a customers' performance requirements by providing engineered systems with fully tested and calibrated mechanical stages and associated control and drive equipment.

This reduces the overall cost of ownership when compared to individual design, purchase and assembly of motion control components.

Typical systems include all motor power and encoder cables plus performance and calibration related documents to help integrators with their own system documentation.

All motor parameter set-up data for system configuration is included, making commissioning straightforward.

These features are standard for every Aerotech product and with full product training and comprehensive on-line technical support, the true cost of ownership is extremely competitive.