Fiber laser performs cutting, welding, surface treatment

Coherent has introduced the HighLight FL 10000, a 10-kW fiber laser that delivers the power required for a variety of metal cutting, welding, and surface treatment tasks involving high throughput and thick materials. The machine is based on a fourth-generation source that combines the output of four individual 2.5-kW lasers into a single output fiber at a wavelength of ~1 µm.

The customer-specified output fiber on standard models ranges from a 150-µm core, step index fiber (BPP ≤4.5 mm x mrad), to core diameters of up to 1 mm (with higher BPP values). The laser can be operated either CW or pulsed, at repetition rates of up to 5 kHz. These output characteristics make the laser suitable for metal sheet and tube processing in automotive, white goods, energy, and other heavy industrial applications.