Lasers in manufacturing
About
Lasers are one of the most popular tools in the manufacturing industry with benefits that include:
- Increased accuracy
- Ease of Automation
- Fast cutting and welding
- Enabling technology for metal additive manufacturing
- Wide range of other processes including surface engineering, marking
- Flexibility
- Environmental
The webinar will focus on opportunities in Manufacturing arising from new developments of laser technology, including, for example, handheld lasers for welding and cleaning. It will include a keynote presentation on the use of Laser Technology in Manufacturing, present and in the future, and will illustrate the potential and benefits of this technology by the inclusion of specific case studies.
The webinar will give attendees a broader view of how lasers can have a significant impact for manufacturing processes and to think about how they will be able to utilise this technology in their own manufacturing operation.
The webinar will be held jointly with the Robotics and Mechatronics TN and the Manufacturing Management Group of the Merseyside & West Cheshire LN. It will be scheduled to precede the Industrial Laser Applications Symposium (ILAS) to be held 26th-27th March 2025 in Kenilworth, UK.
1
Continuing Professional Development
This event can contribute towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as part of the IET's CPD monitoring scheme.
04 Mar 2025
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Organiser
- Manufacturing TN
Speakers
Dave MacLellan
Executive Director - Association of Industrial Laser Users (AILU)
Dave MacLellan has a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Manchester University and more than 30 years of industrial experience. Initially working in power electronic design of welding sources, then optimising manufacturing for CNC lathes and machining systems, he joined the laser industry at Lumonics, Rugby in 1990. Moving to Baasel Lasertech in 1999 (which became ROFIN-Baasel UK) he served as Sales Manager for the UK Micro Division. In 2014 he established Anode Marketing, providing digital marketing services to laser and motion system clients and has been Executive Director of AILU (the Association of Industrial Laser Users) since 2015.
Matt van den Braak
Robot and Mobile Robot Related Business - SICK UK
My name is Matt van den Braak. I am responsible for Robot and Mobile Robot Related Business at SICK UK. I have worked at SICK in a variety of roles over the past 12 years and have worked in the industry for nearly 20. SICK are one of the world’s leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial automation applications. SICK are based in Waldkirch, South West Germany and employ over 12,000 employees worldwide with global sales of 2.3 billion Euro in 2023.
Louise Geekie
Director - Croft Additive Manufacturing
Louise Geekie joined the team at Croft Filters Ltd as Project Manager in 2013. Her role is to support and develop innovations at Croft to improve filtration solutions. They identified metal additive manufacturing as a manufacturing process to produce filter designs and other products that cannot be manufactured conventionally. Croft took delivery of their AM machine in April 2013 and Louise was invited to become a Director of Croft Additive Manufacturing in 2014. Louise currently operates and runs the AM manufacturing processes and co-ordinates the approach to maximise the technology’s capabilities and product specifications. She believes that the extensive capabilities of metal 3D printing can create new opportunities for industrial processes across many industrial sectors. Her project management and delivery skills were developed as a Researcher in Biomedical Sciences at University of Edinburgh.
Sinan Bilgin
Director - SS Laser Solutions Ltd
Sinan Bilgin earned his degree in mechanical engineering in 2004. Following valuable experience in research and development, he transitioned into the sheet metal processing machinery market. Over the years, he contributed to both Turkish and Dutch companies before founding SS Laser Solutions in the United Kingdom, where he and his family have since made their home. Starting as a one-person operation with no initial customers in the UK, SS Laser Solutions has grown to employ four team members and serve hundreds of clients across the UK and globally. The company specializes in laser technologies for sheet metal processing, including welding, cutting, cleaning, and marking, as well as offering laser consumables, press brake tools, clamping systems, laser and plasma slat cleaning machines, press brakes, punching tools, laser services, and spare parts.
Reasons to attend
CPD
Unique opportunity to learn directly from active and experienced professionals in their respective fields
Comprehensive overview of subjects with latest industry trends, developments, and challenges
Q&A to allow you to explore specific, related issues
Programme
Keynote: Dave MacLellan
The laser was originally invented in 1960, one year before the silicon chip, and the development and industrialisation of laser technology has carved a parallel path in transforming the world in ways that could not have been imagined in the 1960s. Industrial lasers are well-established tools for manufacturing, and the UK has a strong focus on research and innovation in lasers and photonics with a number of indigenous companies that are world leaders in laser technology and the supply chain which exploits lasers for manufacturing.
With a proven track-record in reliability, efficiency and versatility, the industrial laser is no longer only to be found in research institutes and universities. Global brands like Apple, Audi, BMW, Gillette, Hewlett Packard and Rolls Royce rely on laser technology to make their products more attractive, efficient and commercially successful.
This presentation includes numerous examples of laser applications and components made possible by industrial lasers. Used in welding, cutting, drilling and engraving of virtually any material, the laser can be attached to a set of simple optics, a CNC machine tool or robot arm to achieve impressive performance in a range of applications which can be further leveraged to improve the efficiency, productivity and profitability of manufacturing. Laser processing has come a long way but there is an exciting future with new innovations in the pipeline.
Talk 1: Sinan Bilgin, Director – SS Laser Solutions Ltd
When to choose laser welding? Do I need handheld laser welding or robotic laser welding?
Sinan and SSLS team focuses into specific laser welding solutions for years and implemented dozens of projects in different industries. These experiences showed that even though fabrication market wants to invest for laser welding but generally initial they are either inclined by the laser power they see on the paper or the price which makes them end up with WOI (waste of investment) rather than ROI. Therefore Sinan wants to talk about,
- When do you need laser welding?
- Do I need handheld laser welding or robotic laser welding?
- How to choose these systems?
- Can we convert our existing laser welding systems to automated systems?
Talk 2: Where Additive Manufacturing has taken us-the journey of an SME, Louise Geekie, Director, Croft Additive Manufacturing Limited
Croft identified the potential of additive manufacturing to create complex filtration design that added value through an increased efficiency during the filter’s end use. The company engaged in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership to explore this potential and after a successful project they invested in metal AM technology. The steep learning curve in using this technology as an SME and how engaging with open innovation with academic and industrial partners was essential as an SME to develop their processes to successfully deliver products to market will be described.
Talk 3: Lasers in Manufacturing – Use in Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR’s), Matt van den Braak, SICK UK
Synopsis: Lasers are used widely in mobile robotics, specifically with the current trend for Autonomous Mobile Robots to aid flexible manufacturing.
Introduction to SICK – Innovator in Laser Detection
- What is LiDAR?
- What is SLAM? (Where is this technology used and why?
- Use Case 1 – Localisation: (picoScan100 - Precise 2D LiDAR measurement data for diverse applications
- Use Case 2 – Virtual Line Guidance (on board)
- Use Case 3 – Safety Rated Anti-Collision (Human): Use Solutions for Mobile Robots
- Use Case 4 – 3D Object Detection (Anti-Collision): multiScan100 – reliable 3D environment perception (rosbag replay)