nLIGHT, Inc, a leading provider of high-power semiconductor and fiber lasers used in the industrial, microfabrication, aerospace, and defense markets, announces the production launch of the Corona AFX-2000, a two-kilowatt laser with proprietary beam shaping technology proven to significantly boost productivity in laser powder bed fusion processes for metal additive manufacturing.
The AFX-2000 has undergone successful commercial validation with a leading customer supporting the aerospace, defense, and automotive end markets. Using aluminum alloys, this customer is now achieving print speeds up to three times faster when compared to today’s leading large-format printers.
Using dynamic laser beam shaping, the AFX-2000 can successfully deliver twice the amount of available power compared to current state-of-the-art lasers while maintaining a stable process. The increased power that AFX-2000 provides results in higher productivity and lower cost per part, while maintaining the stability needed to produce high quality parts.
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“The exclusive beam profiles of the AFX-2000 have brought L-PBF print speeds to exciting new levels while maintaining precision, control and material quality for laser powder bed fusion,” said Rob Martinsen, Chief Technology Officer of nLIGHT. “The dynamic beam shaping technology in these lasers allows for productivity-optimized switching between profiles ideal for fine-scale features and contour exposures, to extremely fast and highly reproduceable build rates using ring beam profiles, making it the most versatile and efficient laser available for metal AM. We anticipate the AFX-2000 to be widely adopted for highly reflective alloys such as aluminum and copper, materials that benefit greatly from stable, high-brightness laser processing. The AFX-2000 will enable our customers to meaningfully reduce part costs for high-volume manufacturing.”
Now in production, the AFX-2000 is offered in nLIGHT’s modulus™ platform, an integrated multi-laser sub-system designed for ultra-high-productivity laser powder bed fusion printers. The feature-rich modulus platform greatly simplifies the integration, control, and serviceability of multi-laser printers, while enabling new levels of machine utilization and reproducibility of production parts.
nLIGHT will be unveiling the AFX-2000 at the leading global additive manufacturing trade fair Formnext, in Frankfurt, Germany, 19 – 22 November. As part of the event, nLIGHT is hosting a multi-day Powered by Beam Shaping seminar series with speakers from industry-leading OEMs such as 3D Systems, Aconity3D, AMCM, DMG Mori USA, EOS, and Nikon SLM Solutions.
SOURCE: Businesswire