The Use of Ferranti Lasers in Industry
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057272 |
| Published date | 01 July 1982 |
| Pages | 28-30 |
| Date | 01 July 1982 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
The Use of Ferranti Lasers
in Industry
The past decade has seen the laser progress from being a
sophisticated laboratory instrument to becoming a viable
and versatile industrial tool. Lasers are now capable of
performing a wide range of highly complex and exacting
tasks such as cutting stainless steel, welding titanium and
refixing a detached retina to the human eye.
In this evolutionary progress, the Laser Group of the
Ferranti Professional Components Department in Dundee
has established a powerful international reputation as a
leader and pioneer in applied laser technology for useful
industrial and scientific purposes. For example, in 1963,
the Group became the first European manufacturer to pro-
duce a commercially available gas laser—a 1½mW helium-
neon laser. In 1971, production began of the highly suc-
cessful MF400, 400W multi-fold carbon-dioxide (CO2)
laser, which received the 1975 Design Council Award for
Engineering. Now in worldwide use, the MF400 is under-
taking such tasks as cutting sheet metal, plastics and
plywood and machining quartz tubing.
The Ferranti MF400 Laser
The Ferranti MF400 laser is considered to be setting a
world standard of stability, reliability and low running
costs.
Employed mainly as a sheet material cutting tool,
the optical head is robust and light enough to be moved
mechanically over the workpiece. Systems have been in-
stalled, mainly in Europe, for use in such widely diverse
applications as die-board cutting for the carton industry,
reclamation work on depleted nuclear fuel cells and cutting
sheet plastic into letters and symbols for the sign industry.
...undertaking such tasks as
cutting sheet metal, plastics and
plywood and machine quartz tubing
A Ferranti MF400 laser provides a continuous output
beam at a wavelength of 10.6μm with a power output of at
least 400 watts, but typically
450
watts.
These power values
were selected to be utilised for the largest single market for
industrial lasers—the cutting of sheet materials such as
plastics, metals and wood. The stability of the power out-
put is ±5 per cent after an initial half-hour warm-up
period. The laser head consumes 35 litres of mixed gases
per hour when running continuously plus up to
35
litres for
each start from cold. These properties all point to a
reliable, economical method of processing certain
materials.
The Ferranti MG400 Laser is no longer classified as an
experimental unit; it is a proven workshop tool with a well
established record as an industrial machine. The laser light
beam does not require any physical contact with the
material being processed, eliminating clamping and its
associated damage to surfaces. The intense cutting power
gives a heat affected zone of less than 0.55mm, which,
when coupled with a cutting width of only 0.5mm, reduces
material waste to a minimum. Operating costs for gas,
electricity, spare parts and regular service work are
estimated to be in the region of £1.25 per working hour,
based on a 2,000 hour working year and calculated at 1980
prices.
Instructions for the movements of the
laser beam are punched on to paper
tape and fed through the control system
Two good working examples of the use in different in-
dustries of the Ferranti MF400 laser are Arden Dies Ltd of
Marple, Cheshire, who manufacture die-boards for the
carton manufacturing industry, and Northern Neon Lights
(Blackpool) Ltd, who make signs and who now also have a
separate subsidiary, Lascut, to utilise their spare laser
capacity.
Laser Heads Controlled by Computer
Arden Dies now have two MF400 lasers. The first was
installed almost three years ago and the second followed
late last year. These two lasers are now being used to cut
narrow slots in large pieces of plywood, ready for knives
and scorers to be mounted. The finished die resembles a
pastry cutter for cutting out cardboard cartons, with addi-
tional implements to mark the fold lines for the cartons.
Until the installation of the first laser, these slots were cut
with much less precision by traditional drills, nibblers and
routers.
The complete cutting system comprises the two com-
puter numerically controlled (CNC) laser heads, the cut-
ting tables and a separate room where the programmes are
created. The instructions for the movements of the laser
beam are punched on to paper tapes and fed through the
control system. There is also a similar tape reading unit
which uses a pen, mounted and controlled similarly to the
laser, to verify that the tape produces exactly what the
customer ordered.
In many cases, a manufacturer needs to produce the
same shaped carton in several different sizes to accom-
modate different quantities of the product; this is achieved
by merely instructing the computer control unit to multiply
the design by the required dimension. The used paper tapes
28 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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