FOCUS ON INNOVATION
Ultrashort pulse lasers for large components
A paradigm shift is underway in manufacturing . A research team with staff from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen on its roster has broken new ground by using numerous laser beams as tools to structure surfaces . This accelerates the process and opens the door to new applications . The Stifterverband für Verbundforschung , a donors ’ association for joint research , has acknowledged the efforts of these researchers with its Science Prize .
Ultrashort pulse lasers can serve to apply functional microstructures and nanostructures to any surface . This type of laser machining is usually done by just one beam from a single source . However , instead of a lone ultrashort-pulsed laser beam roaming the surface , the laser energy is now split into 200 partial laser beams of equal power . A special optical system controls these beams individually and modulates their power . This has created a new digitally-driven tool . With so many of these tools working the surface simultaneously , this process is many times faster than conventional laser machining . It is , says Fraunhofer , the first affordable option for machining large components .
It takes a sophisticated beam guidance system to split the laser beam without losing energy or compromising beam quality . The researchers developed a capable laser and the required optics to this end and adapted the technology on the process side . With simulations providing insight , they were able to get a better picture of the process . Developed in a joint project called MultiSurf , this technology ’ s founders have been singled out to receive the Science Prize from the Stifterverband für Verbundforschung for their efforts .
“ We ’ re practicing something akin to the art of tool cloning here ,” said Gillner , head of department at Fraunhofer ILT . “ This marks a paradigm shift in manufacturing given that it was always just one tool that was used in the past .”
Above : For the laser structuring of surfaces , a research team is using a large number of laser beams as tools simultaneously for the first time . © Fraunhofer / Banczerowski .
Above : Martin Reininghaus , Dr . Arnold Gillner and Dr . Johannes Finger ( from left to right ). They received the science award from The Stifterverband für Verbundforschung for joint research . © Fraunhofer / Banczerowski .
Minimising risks in the supply chain
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the economy hard . What lessons can be learned from this experience ? And what is the best way for companies to protect themselves against this kind of crisis in the future ? The answer will certainly involve a combination of different approaches – but new mathematical methods developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM look likely to be a very promising piece of the puzzle . These methods aim to calculate how the risks posed by supply shortages can be reduced significantly at very little extra cost .
International suppliers can also be paralysed by all kinds of unforeseen factors , from natural disasters to strikes or other unexpected political developments . If a company chooses to rely on just one supplier for its production needs to reduce costs , this can have devastating consequences that may even bring production to a complete standstill . It can take a very long time for other suppliers to
There have been frequent shortages of toiletry products during the pandemic crisis . © Fraunhofer . ramp up their production and start delivering the required products .
“ The algorithms analyse how diversified the supply chains are in different areas of the company and therefore how great the risk is of running into critical supply problems in an emergency , in other words in the event of regional or global disruption ,” said Dr . Heiner Ackermann , deputy head at the Department of Optimisation at Fraunhofer ITWM in Kaiserslautern . “ The question is how can companies minimise the risk of supply shortfalls without incurring significant additional costs .”
Companies must also get the balance right between risk and costs . If a company chooses to rely solely on the cheapest supplier , it is taking a major risk . But if it procures a raw material from multiple suppliers at the same time , that risk drops significantly .
“ And , in this case , the difference in cost is much lower than the difference in risk ,” said Ackermann . In other words , the risks fall dramatically even when a company increases its costs by just a few
per cent – so it is possible to eliminate much of the risk by accepting just a slight rise in costs . Companies can use the algorithm to discover what would work best in their particular situation .
“ This method lets companies optimise their supply chains based on multiple criteria , helping them to find the optimal balance between costs and risks ,” said Ackermann . “ The underlying algorithms work equally well whether you are dealing with supply shortages caused by an earthquake or a virus . So , unlike existing software solutions , we don ’ t try to make assumptions as to the likelihood of any particular scenario .”
With this new method , a company starts by entering various parameters – for example , areas in which they think disruption could be likely and how long that disruption might last . The algorithms then calculate various cost / risk trade-offs for this exact raw material , including the possible allocations of suppliers that would correspond to each point on the scale . They even take into account options such as storing critical products to cushion any temporary supply shortfalls .
Another option that the algorithms consider is whether a raw material could potentially be replaced by different materials in the event of a supply bottleneck . Essentially , the method calculates the costs and risks of different courses that a company could follow vis à vis their suppliers .
16 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR March 2021