Finland-based Coherent Inc (www.coherent.com) has expanded its fibre laser operation in Tampere and designated the facility its Centre of Excellence for these machines. The company has been producing fibre lasers at this location since 2003; to streamline the production flow, it is now undertaking stand-alone fibre laser source assembly and testing on the same site as the manufacture of fibre laser components, laser ‘engines’ and laser combiners.

This Centre of Excellence will now be the source for all series of Coherent HighLight fibre lasers, comprising industrial high-power machines with outputs ranging from 1kW to 10kW and a wide range of beam qualities –— including single-mode, multi-mode and adjustable ring mode — to ensure ‘superior results’ in a variety of welding tasks.

Coherent will also place particular focus on a new generation of lasers that offer additional benefits; these will include a full range of adjustable outputs (from 1 to 100% of the rated power) and dual-beam ring mode with independent centre beam and ring beam power control.

The new facility will have more than 53,000ft² of production floorspace, including more than 10,000ft² of clean-room space devoted to the manufacture of key optical components. It will also house an applications laboratory featuring the full range of Coherent fibre lasers, industrial welding heads, and analysis tools for weld seams.

Jarno Kangastupa, the newly appointed managing director of the Tampere site, said: “The fibre laser business is becoming increasingly competitive; this expansion will ensure that we deliver high-quality products, while also reducing costs.

“Having the entire production process at one location will reduce cycle times and give us better control over quality and reliability. For the customer, the intended benefit is the ability to get high-performance, customised and cost-effective fibre lasers on a shorter timeframe.”