Not only is the need for fixed tooling eliminated, but robot vendors such as Fanuc and Motoman have been optimizing their hardware and software for laser cutting, with an especial emphasis on cutting hydroformed tubes. All of which is to say that the use of lasers for cutting hydroformed tubes is allowing design engineers with greater freedom, and even the ability to make changes latter in the program than are economically allowed with hard tooling. Brennan says that lasers have been proven to perform reliably in frame plants. Imagine a situation, however, where there is not really an issue with changing the lamps for a YAG laser. Imagine that the life of what is standing in for lamps is on the order of 10,000 hours.
Diodes are solid-state devices.
They are used in such things as CD players. In order to get the sort of output used for industrial lasers, there are stacks of diodes built up. One of the issues with diodes is that compared with flash lamps, they are pricey, even though during the last decade the price per watt has plummeted. But this price penalty relates to the initial investment cost. The Leading Edge Surface treating with a laser is an area that Dr. Mazumder thinks will grow in importance.