4-kW fiber laser for metal cutting and welding

Dahv A. V. Kliner; Kwang Chong; Justin Franke; Thomas Gordon; Jeff Gregg; Wolfgang Gries; Helen Hu; Hiroaki Ishiguro; Vincent Issier; Boris Kharlamov; Andrea Kliner; Masanao Kobayashi; Kai-Hsiu Liao; Juan Lugo; Johnny Luu; David Meng; James J. Morehead; Martin H. Muendel; Lawrence E. Myers; Kelvin Nguyen; Hiroshi Sako; Kyle Schneider; Jeff Segall; Katherine Shigeoka; Raman Srinivasan; Derek Tucker; Dirk Woll; David L. Woods; Hongbo Yu; Chris Zhang

doi:10.1117/12.877691

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21 February 2011 4-kW fiber laser for metal cutting and welding

Dahv A. V. Kliner, Kwang Chong, Justin Franke, Thomas Gordon, Jeff Gregg, Wolfgang Gries, Helen Hu, Hiroaki Ishiguro, Vincent Issier, Boris Kharlamov, Andrea Kliner, Masanao Kobayashi, Kai-Hsiu Liao, Juan Lugo, Johnny Luu, David Meng, James J. Morehead, Martin H. Muendel, Lawrence E. Myers, Kelvin Nguyen, Hiroshi Sako, Kyle Schneider, Jeff Segall, Katherine Shigeoka, Raman Srinivasan, Derek Tucker, Dirk Woll, David L. Woods, Hongbo Yu, Chris Zhang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7914, Fiber Lasers VIII: Technology, Systems, and Applications; 791418 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877691
Event: SPIE LASE, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We have developed a commercial 4-kW fiber laser consisting of seven, 600-W modules whose outputs are combined with a fused-fiber combiner. The system architecture has several practical advantages, including pumping with reliable single-emitter diodes, monolithic fused-fiber construction (no free-space beams), and end pumping using a 91:1 pump combiner (eliminating the need for complex pump/signal combiners). Typical results at 4-kW output power are a beamparameter product of 2.6 mm-mrad, 8-hr power stability of < 0.5% rms, central wavelength of 1080 nm, and linewidth of 1.2 nm FWHM. These lasers have been incorporated into Amada machines used for cutting metal sheet and plate and have been used to cut aluminum, mild steel, stainless steel, brass, titanium, and copper with a thickness up to 19 mm. A world-record cutting speed of 62 m/min has been demonstrated for 1-mm aluminum sheet metal.

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Dahv A. V. Kliner, Kwang Chong, Justin Franke, Thomas Gordon, Jeff Gregg, Wolfgang Gries, Helen Hu, Hiroaki Ishiguro, Vincent Issier, Boris Kharlamov, Andrea Kliner, Masanao Kobayashi, Kai-Hsiu Liao, Juan Lugo, Johnny Luu, David Meng, James J. Morehead, Martin H. Muendel, Lawrence E. Myers, Kelvin Nguyen, Hiroshi Sako, Kyle Schneider, Jeff Segall, Katherine Shigeoka, Raman Srinivasan, Derek Tucker, Dirk Woll, David L. Woods, Hongbo Yu, and Chris Zhang "4-kW fiber laser for metal cutting and welding", Proc. SPIE 7914, Fiber Lasers VIII: Technology, Systems, and Applications, 791418 (21 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877691

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