The laser beam has good monochromaticity, coherence, and directionality. The spot diameter can be as small as micron, and the action time can be as short as nanoseconds and picoseconds. It is suitable for precision machining. Important indicators for the use of lasers include output power, frequency distribution, and pulse width. The output power is the amount of laser output energy per unit of time and represents the intensity of the laser. The frequency distribution characterizes the intensity of different frequency components in the laser. Pulse width refers to the duration of the laser energy output. According to the output pulse width, the laser can be divided into nanosecond, picosecond, femtosecond and other different levels of lasers. In the laser processing process, the above parameters need to be adjusted according to different processing needs. The core and difficulty of laser application lies in the control of related parameters. At the same time, the laser is easy to guide, focus and realize the direction change. Compared with the traditional processing methods, the laser beam is easier to control and easy to combine with the numerical control system to achieve high-precision, high-efficiency processing. At present, the precision of laser processing has been developed to the micron and nano level, and the action time can reach nanoseconds and picoseconds, which can meet the precision processing needs of photovoltaic cells, electronic products and other industries.
Laser processing is usually accomplished by optical components, mechanical parts, pneumatic components and numerical control systems. Laser advanced technology level (such as laser pulse frequency), laser processing equipment automation level is the key to laser processing production efficiency. The precision characteristic advantage of laser processing has prompted the industry to break through the bottleneck of astronomy laser pointer processing efficiency by developing more advanced lasers, optimizing mechanical design, improving automation level or optimizing control software, and gradually realized the large scale laser processing production demand.
Laser processing equipment is a highly skilled and professional precision product. It has become one of the key technical equipment to develop new industries and transform traditional manufacturing industries. The laser equipment industry is huge and widely used. At present, a complete and mature industrial chain has been formed. From the industrial chain distribution of laser industry, it can be seen that the laser industry chain mainly includes: the upstream material and the component industry, mainly including the optical, mechanical, electronic control, pneumatic parts manufacturing, and the research and development of the related control platform and software system, the laser processing equipment manufacturing industry in the middle reaches of the laser processing equipment. Industry, mainly including laser processing in the automotive, steel, ship, aerospace, consumer electronics, high-end materials, semiconductor processing, machinery manufacturing, medical beauty, electronics industry and other industries.
Laser processing technology is a new processing technology for non-contact processing using directional energy. It is essentially different from the traditional contact processing. It can be fused with many other technologies, gestation of new technologies and industries, and will have a great impact on many traditional processing industries. With the gradual maturation and industrialization of picosecond and femtosecond laser technology, laser will be more widely used in the precision processing of comprehensive screen, ceramic, metal, alloy and other materials, supporting the development of consumer electronics, new energy, high-end manufacturing and other industries.
Now, the laser processing precision reaches the micron and nanoscale level, and can meet the industrialization large-scale automation production requirements of laser etching technology and other advanced technology has become an important direction of the future development of laser processing industry. 3D printing technology is a new processing technology which combines laser technology, automation technology and AI technology effectively. As a new manufacturing technology, 3D printing has advantages in its application, especially in sophisticated technology fields such as aero engine, rocket vehicle, automobile engine and so on. With the decline in the price of 3D printing materials and printing equipment, the 3D printing market is expected to expand rapidly and become an important means of processing. In 2017, the global 3D printing market exceeded US $6 billion.