Lasers less ordinary
Laser technology is firmly anchored in many industrial applications. Examples range from laser welding in battery production and laser cutting of sheet metal in mechanical engineering to the marking of components in assembly and laser drilling of needles in medical technology.
In addition to these well-known applications, there are plenty of new possible uses for which laser technology paved the way. Made by Laser presents the most stunning examples.
- Art meets technology in the LZH – Laser works by Susanne Specht
- Blue laser in the fight against plastic packaging
- Paper bonding with CO lasers
- Blue lasers joining the fight against biofouling
- Detect cell changes faster
- Unique eyewear design with thinnest wires
- The Brake for Less Fine Dust
- Laser - an alternative to chemical weed control?
- How to get the virus cleanly into the egg?
- First mass flambé of a dessert classic
From surface to space – this is the theme, the artist Susanne Specht realized with Matthias Schrader, technician at the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH), with large format paper. While she had worked with a small laser cutting instrument before, at the LHZ she could cut papers with a length of 2 to 3m.
In two intense work days, several long format paper works were created. Suspended freely in the room they become sculptures to be looked at from all sides, opening new perspectives all the time depending on the location of the spectator. Delicate lines point through the cuts to the “behind” in three dimensional space, smoke traces underline the powerful line design and individual elements seem to bend forward or backward at points where directions change or run opposite, creating a minimal spatiality.
A safe and sustainable labelling alternative with a positive CO2 footprint for retailers and the food industry:
In the natural branding process, a cold marking process, a blue laser light system removes the top pigment layer of the natural skin of the food and impregnates the desired lettering directly onto the food by means of a focused light beam. The advantages: high absorption, good processing efficiency and low energy output AND without any loss of freshness, fragrance, taste, aroma, or shelf life. And best of all: With natural branding, retailers can save tons of plastic and significantly improve their CO2 emissions.
More details on the sustainable and resource-efficient marking process
Fraunhofer IWS and Papiertechnische Stiftung PTS are jointly creating the basis for a binder-free paper joining process. The novel process of combining laser irradiation with high-energy, short pulses of a CO laser and subsequent hot pressing allows, among other things, the production of corrugated board that can be easily recycled.
In the past, fouling on maritime surfaces was mainly treated with coatings and mechanical cleaning albeit with only moderate success. Environmental damage often had to be accepted, not to mention the damage to surfaces. A new process using Laserline’s blue diode lasers could now change all this. This is currently being tested in Helgoland.
