Electromobility and medical technology are among the most important
revenue generators for the German laser industry in the coming years. At
least that is the current forecast of the VDMA. It was presented at the
"Laser World of Photonics" trade fair in Munich.
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Photo: trumpf The copper elements installed in the Stators of electric motors can first be de-coated by laser and then welded precisely. |
The corresponding development was faster than expected. "In our automotive
sector, 20% of sales already come from electromobility," said Christian
Schmitz, Managing Director of Trumpf Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH and at
the same time Chairman of the Working Group "Laser and Laser Systems for
material processing" in the VDMA.
Schmitz spoke at the annual press conference of the working group of an expected "exponential growth" in e-mobility. This is particularly beneficial for laser technology, since meaningful mass production is only possible with it. In concrete terms, this is primarily concerned with the components that are new to the electric car, such as the battery, electric drive and high-performance electronics.
"A focus in the field of electromobility is technologies for welding highly conductive materials such as copper, copper alloys and aluminium," says Schmitz. For example, Trumpf relies on the specially developed green laser, which has been optimised for use in industrial environments, especially for the welding of copper materials. Especially in battery technology, the manufacturing process is increasingly being followed by consistent process monitoring for consistent quality management. Within the narrow process windows, more and more artificial intelligence is also being used.
Christoph Ullmann, Managing Director of Laserline GmbH and Vice-Chairman of the Working Group, also sees "new potential" for blue diode lasers. Among other things, they enable the melting of copper material in heat conduction mode, which results in splash-free, smooth seams even with very thin materials. Due to the high seam quality, the process is also very suitable for applications in electrical engineering, especially in the production of components in power electronics, where the joining points must be particularly temperature-resistant, says Ullmann. In the competition of technologies, it is now a matter of finding the optimal application.
The working group also sees growth opportunities in the biophotonics and medical technology market. According to Thomas Merk, Executive Vice President Industrial Lasers and Systems ILS at Coherent Munich and Vice Chairman of the VDMA Working Group, developments in biophotonics are becoming increasingly important. One of its most important tasks is, for example, to maintain the health of a globally ageing society or to combat chronic diseases. With the use of optical technologies, it is now crucial to find new cost-effective and effective solutions for diagnostics and treatment and to meet trends such as personalised medicine, explained the machine builder.
One example is laser-assisted flow cytometry. It allows the analysis of cells using fluorescent dyes. Depending on the structure, shape, and coloring of the cell, different effects are created from which the properties of the cell are derived. The quantified and highly analytical recording of cells and their interactions is a prerequisite for their functional understanding. This understanding, in turn, makes it possible to break new ground in transplantation and oncology.
DNA cytometry enables significantly faster analysis by detecting individual tumor cells and provides the prerequisite for personalized medicine in cancer therapy.
Gerhard Hein, Managing Director of the Working Group (AG) Laser in the VDMA, presented the latest figures on the laser industry in Germany. As a result, the manufacturers represented in the AG have increased the production value of laser production plants at the German site to € 1.06 billion. This applies to plants with CO2, solid-state and diode direct lasers and corresponds to an increase of around 13%. Order intake in 2018 was €1.31 billion, roughly the same as the previous year's level. A whopping 82% of orders came from abroad.
The realized export of laser systems rose to € 950 million (+23 %), with growth mainly due to the export of equipment with solid-state lasers.
Schmitz spoke at the annual press conference of the working group of an expected "exponential growth" in e-mobility. This is particularly beneficial for laser technology, since meaningful mass production is only possible with it. In concrete terms, this is primarily concerned with the components that are new to the electric car, such as the battery, electric drive and high-performance electronics.
"A focus in the field of electromobility is technologies for welding highly conductive materials such as copper, copper alloys and aluminium," says Schmitz. For example, Trumpf relies on the specially developed green laser, which has been optimised for use in industrial environments, especially for the welding of copper materials. Especially in battery technology, the manufacturing process is increasingly being followed by consistent process monitoring for consistent quality management. Within the narrow process windows, more and more artificial intelligence is also being used.
Christoph Ullmann, Managing Director of Laserline GmbH and Vice-Chairman of the Working Group, also sees "new potential" for blue diode lasers. Among other things, they enable the melting of copper material in heat conduction mode, which results in splash-free, smooth seams even with very thin materials. Due to the high seam quality, the process is also very suitable for applications in electrical engineering, especially in the production of components in power electronics, where the joining points must be particularly temperature-resistant, says Ullmann. In the competition of technologies, it is now a matter of finding the optimal application.
The working group also sees growth opportunities in the biophotonics and medical technology market. According to Thomas Merk, Executive Vice President Industrial Lasers and Systems ILS at Coherent Munich and Vice Chairman of the VDMA Working Group, developments in biophotonics are becoming increasingly important. One of its most important tasks is, for example, to maintain the health of a globally ageing society or to combat chronic diseases. With the use of optical technologies, it is now crucial to find new cost-effective and effective solutions for diagnostics and treatment and to meet trends such as personalised medicine, explained the machine builder.
One example is laser-assisted flow cytometry. It allows the analysis of cells using fluorescent dyes. Depending on the structure, shape, and coloring of the cell, different effects are created from which the properties of the cell are derived. The quantified and highly analytical recording of cells and their interactions is a prerequisite for their functional understanding. This understanding, in turn, makes it possible to break new ground in transplantation and oncology.
DNA cytometry enables significantly faster analysis by detecting individual tumor cells and provides the prerequisite for personalized medicine in cancer therapy.
Gerhard Hein, Managing Director of the Working Group (AG) Laser in the VDMA, presented the latest figures on the laser industry in Germany. As a result, the manufacturers represented in the AG have increased the production value of laser production plants at the German site to € 1.06 billion. This applies to plants with CO2, solid-state and diode direct lasers and corresponds to an increase of around 13%. Order intake in 2018 was €1.31 billion, roughly the same as the previous year's level. A whopping 82% of orders came from abroad.
The realized export of laser systems rose to € 950 million (+23 %), with growth mainly due to the export of equipment with solid-state lasers.
The picture is not so positive for laser beam sources: the production value
only reached the €429 million mark, which is a decrease of 4%. New orders
amounted to only € 418 million, which is 12% less than in 2017. This is due
to a significant decrease in international orders. However, the share of
external demand in the total volume of orders was still around 70%. Exports
increased by almost 2% in 2018 to € 318 million.
Hein continued to be optimistic when looking to the future. There is a sustained "technology push", especially for short-pulse applications and highly flexible systems. In addition, there is an increasing transfer from research to industrial application. From the point of view of the working group, the diversity of the beam sources remains and is even increasing. In addition, additive manufacturing, which is often laser-based, is further developing towards series production.
Hein continued to be optimistic when looking to the future. There is a sustained "technology push", especially for short-pulse applications and highly flexible systems. In addition, there is an increasing transfer from research to industrial application. From the point of view of the working group, the diversity of the beam sources remains and is even increasing. In addition, additive manufacturing, which is often laser-based, is further developing towards series production.
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