New 4kW Fiber Laser Marks Entrance into High Power Fiber Laser Market
Milpitas, Calif., July 26, 2010 –JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU and TSX: JDU) today announced that it has collaborated with Amada, a leading manufacturer of machine tools for metal fabrication, to develop a new high-power 4 kilowatt (kW) fiber laser. The fiber laser has been integrated into a new sheet metal cutting system that Amada plans to start selling to the Japanese market in May 2011, followed by a global market introduction in June 2011. According to Amada, the new system will provide the fastest linear cutting speed available worldwide.
The new 4 kW fiber laser provides the ability to cut materials such as copper, brass, titanium and non-metals that cannot be cut effectively with traditional carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers. Combined with the Amada high-speed linear drive system, thin sheets of stainless steel and aluminum will be cut at a linear speed that is 2.5 to 3 times faster than cutting speeds achieved with traditional CO2-based cutting systems.
Metal processing is one of the largest markets for lasers, with fiber lasers gaining traction in recent years. Industry analyst firm Strategies Unlimited estimates that the laser market for kilowatt materials processing will grow to more than $1 billion by 2013.
Fiber lasers offer several additional benefits over CO2 and solid-state lasers for sheet metal processing applications, including:
- Flexible beam delivery via a process fiber
- Significantly reduced electrical power consumption
- Reduced footprint
- Low maintenance costs
- Ability to focus the beam effectively from a long working distance
“Amada’s long-standing machine tool design and manufacturing expertise combined with JDSU’s telecom-grade diode and fiber laser technology have enabled us to design a fiber laser that is not only cost effective, but that also provides industry leading performance and reliability,” said Ken Lo, vice president and general manager of Commercial Lasers at JDSU.
“The strong collaboration and complimentary expertise of the teams at Amada and JDSU have been instrumental to developing the new 4 kW laser,” said Mr. Naoki Orita, corporate officer and director of the Research Laboratoryat Amada.
Amada plans to preview its new sheet metal cutting system including the new 4kW fiber laser at the EuroBlech Sheet Metal Exhibition www.euroblech.com/english/ in Hannover, Germany from October 26 – 30, 2010.
To view a video of an Amada sheet metal cutting system that includes a fiber laser based on JDSU technology, please go to: www.jdsu.tv/video/FOL-Ftest.mov.
About JDSU
JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU; and TSX: JDU) enables broadband and optical innovation in the communications, commercial and consumer markets. JDSU is the leading provider of communications test and measurement solutions and optical products for telecommunications service providers, cable operators, network equipment manufacturers, enterprise customers, and mobile operators. JDSU is also a leading provider of innovative optical solutions for medical/environmental instrumentation, semiconductor processing, display, brand authentication, aerospace and defense, and decorative applications. To learn more about JDSU please visit www.jdsu.com/, www.jdsu.tv/, and follow JDSU on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jdsu.
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JDSU
Press: Noël Bilodeau 408-546-4567 or noel.bilodeau@jdsu.com
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