Coherent, Inc. has expanded its fiber laser operation in Tampere, Finland, and designated the facility as a “Center of Excellence for Fiber Lasers”. Fiber lasers themselves have been produced at this location since 2003. Now, in order to further streamline the production flow, Coherent will combine stand-alone fiber laser source assembly and testing at the same site with the manufacture of fiber laser components, laser engines, and combiners. This Center of Excellence for Fiber Lasers will become the source for all Coherent HighLight fiber lasers series, comprising industrial high-power fiber lasers with output powers ranging from 1,000 W to 10,000 W and a wide range of beam qualities – including single-mode, multi-mode, and adjustable ring mode – delivering superior results in a variety of challenging welding tasks. Coherent shall place particular focus on a new generation of lasers that offer additional benefits, such as full range of adjustable output powers (from 1 to 100% of rated power) and dual beam, ring mode, with truly independent center beam and ring beam power control.
This Center of Excellence for Fiber Lasers will bring together Coherent’s fiber laser manufacturing and testing expertise into more than 53,000 ft² (5,000 m²) of production floor space, including more than 10,000 ft² (1,000 m²) of cleanroom devoted to fabrication of critical optical components. The location will also house an applications lab featuring the full range of Coherent fiber lasers, industrial welding heads, and related state-of-the-art analysis tools for weld seams. This facility, together with Coherent’s existing global applications network, helps to ensure that customer requirements are rapidly translated into reliable process recipes and superior customer results, no matter such customer’s location.
“The fiber laser business is becoming increasingly competitive, so Coherent is pursuing this expansion to ensure that we deliver high-quality products while also reducing costs,” notes Jarno Kangastupa, the newly appointed Managing Director of the Tampere site. “Specifically, having the entire production process at one location is designed to 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, customized, and cost-effective fiber lasers on a shorter timeframe.”