Fraunhofer highlights at Laser 2003

Titanium teeth while you wait! Or perhaps you' re looking for a high-gloss non-slip marble surface? These are just two of the interesting topics you can find out more about by visiting the Fraunhofer stand at Laser 2003, the world' s leading trade fair for laser technology, which takes place in Munich from June 23 to 26.

You'll be given a first-hand look at innovations by the Fraunhofer Institutes for Laser Technology ILT, Material and Beam Technology IWS, and the Fraunhofer Patent Center for German Research, who are sharing 160 square meters of exhibition space at the fair. ,Dental prostheses are a typical case of customized mass production. At present, dental technicians mold and cast each prosthesis individually in a time-consuming manual process. In the future, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) will shorten the production cycle from a week to two days. What's more, the rapid prototyping process ensures a perfect fit and optimum tensile strength. Generative manufacturing processes, which involve building up components layer by layer on the basis of CAD data, are already being used successfully in tool- and mold-making. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen has joined forces with two private companies, Trumpf and BEGO Medical AG in Bremen, to adapt the process to the specific needs of dentistry.
As a rule, dental technicians have to employ a time-consuming manual method to shape the metallic frame used to support ceramic bridges and crowns. The steps of this conventional process - plaster casting, articulation, wax modeling, embedding, casting - can take up to a week. The new SLM process allows the technician to concentrate on his or her core expertise in creating the ideal dental prosthesis for the specific customer. As before, dental technicians will receive a patient bite mold from the dentist's office, which is then used as the basis for a plaster model of the implant. This is the point at which the digital process sequence introduced by BEGO takes over. The lab uses an optical scanner to produce a digital, three-dimensional image, which the technician can then use to fashion the bridge or crown for the individual patient at the computer. This virtual model is then electronically forwarded to BEGO, where the metal frame is produced in a few hours using the ILT's SLM process. The frame is returned to the dental technician's lab for the ceramic coating. The SLM process not only saves time, but also enhances the quality of the metal-ceramic bond. Unlike in conventional methods, the technician no longer needs to roughen the surface of the frame before applying the coating. At Laser 2003, the ILT and BEGO will be making their first joint presentation of the results achieved.
A further innovation highlight presented at the Fraunhofer stand concerns the production of non-slip stone surfaces using laser technology. The shine and color of the material are perfectly preserved. The reception areas of hotels, banks, railroad stations and airports are often laid out with a floor covering of polished granite or other natural stone. The glossy floor may create an attractive visual effect, but all too often its shiny surface is transformed into an icerink by the rain and mud brought in from outside during the fall and winter season, causing innocent visitors unwillingly emulating the likes of Charlie Chaplin in a spectacular bananaskin routine. To avoid such mishaps, the floor needs to be made less slippery.
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden have developed a process that produces non-slip stone surfaces, without altering their visual appearance. By comparison with conventional chemical treatment processes, this laser alternative is both more ecologically sound and less limited by the surrounding built environment. A pulsed laser beam is directed onto the surface by two scanner reflectors and a special optical configuration. Up to 15,000 micro-craters are produced per second. Different grades of non-slip surface can be produced by varying the distance between the individual indentations and their size. There is only a marginal loss in the brilliance and color of the surface following such treatment. While the first fixed-installation units went into production as early as 1997, the Fraunhofer IWS will be presenting the prototype of a mobile unit at Laser 2003. This systems allows stone floors to be given the non-slip treatment even after they have been laid.
The mobile laser unit for this non-slip treatment of natural stone surfaces makes use of the very latest laser beam sources available on the market. The manufacturer of this INNOSLAB laser is EdgeWave GmbH, a Fraunhofer spin-off company based in Aachen. At the trade fair, EdgeWave will premiere a new generation of diode-pumped solid-state lasers. These offer enhancements in comparison with conventional solid-state lasers for a host of existing applications, such as in the surface structuring of glass, ceramics and metals. Furthermore, they open up completely new fields of application, including deep drilling in glass. The advantages offered by INNOSLAB lie in its combination of high precision and quality, accompanied by outstanding pulse variability and high levels of power and efficiency. The units are also extremely compact, which facilitates their integration into existing plant. EdgeWave will present three different INNOSLAB systems covering respectively the infrared, green and ultraviolet wave spectrums.
The Fraunhofer institutes also plan to showcase newly developed laser beam sources in various configurations that are adapted to different applications in the manufacturing industry. Among these are the compact carbon dioxide lasers being marketed by the Patent Center PST on behalf of a freelance inventor, and the innovative diode lasers and diode-pumped solid-state lasers from the Fraunhofer ILT. This includes the presentation of prototypes of multifunctional annular diode laser beams for use in joining applications, and a fiber-coupled high-power slab laser generating 1 kW output over a fiber with a diameter of only 0.1 millimeter. There are also interesting discoveries to be made at the Fraunhofer stand with respect to laser applications. For system manufacturers and laser users alike, the Fraunhofer institutes offer tailor-made solutions from a single source, from compact hybrid welding heads for use in laser hybrid arc welding, and optics for the treatment of inner contours in laser-beam deposition welding, to prototype units for the simultaneous welding of plastics with diode lasers, as well as equipment for inductively coupled laser-beam welding and compact laser hardening units.
Should you wish to find out more, please pay us a visit at Laser 2003, in Hall B2, Stand 141, or simply give us a call.

For further information:,Dipl.-Phys. Axel Bauer,Telefon: +49/ 2 41 / 89 06-1 09,Fax: +49/ 2 41 / 89 06-1 21,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Institut fur Lasertechnik ILT,Steinbachstra?e 15,D-52074 Aachen
Dr. Ralf Jackel,Telefon: +49/ 3 51 / 25 83-3 24,Fax: +49/ 3 51 / 25 83-3 00,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Institut fur Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS,Winterbergstra?e 28,D-01277 Dresden
Dr. Alrun Straudi,Tel: +49/ 89 / 12 05-1 67,Fax: +49/ 89 / 12 05-4 98,E-mail: [e-mail]
Fraunhofer-Patentstelle fur die Deutsche Forschung PST,Leonrodsta?e. 68,D-80636 Munchen

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