Trumpf has introduced its new TruLaser Cell 7040 laser system with disk laser, capable of optimal cutting and welding tasks using a single laser light cable. Its inner fibre core has a diameter of 100µm, the outer ring core a diameter of 400 or 600µm. Double cladding provides the beam of the disk laser with the optimal focus diameter and ideal depth of field for each application.
Cutting requires a higher quality beam than component welding, in which optimal results can be achieved with a lower beam quality. To reduce the beam quality, defocusing the laser beam is not enough. That is why, in other systems, the laser light cable has to be replaced when switching processing methods; the laser beam only reaches the workpiece within the necessary parameters if the diameter of the laser light cable is suitable for the respective application.
Trumpf's new 2-in-1 fibre, developed for the TruLaser Cell 7040 with the TruDisk, has two concentric fibre diameters housed in only one laser light cable. When cutting, the laser beam is coupled in the inner fibre core with a diameter of 100µm; when welding it is coupled to the outer diameter (400 or 600µm). The 2-in-1 fibre ensures that the laser beam reaches the workpiece at the right depth of field and the right focus diameter.
Users switching processing methods in the TruLaser Cell 7040 with solid-state laser must only replace the processing optic. The system control unit in the TruLaser Cell 7040 identifies whether the machine should weld or cut and then automatically couples the laser beam to the correct fibre core, reducing downtimes.