Materials, Advanced Design
&
Manufacturing
90
2.1
Laser engineering
Keywords
Deposition, forming, structuring, surface treatment,
drilling, cutting, welding, micromachining
Expertise
Lasers are widely used to join, cut, form and surface-
texture engineering components. They are also an ideal
tool for precision measurements, and the analysis and
diagnosis of materials and defects. Lasers are also used
widely in the construction of multimaterial structures with
novel properties and uses. The University provides access
to some of the most cutting-edge, advanced lasers in the
world, working with partners to create new applications
and processes that power the innovation so essential in a
competitive market.
Our lasers are suitable for new applications in welding,
cutting, forming and surface treatments as well as laser
deposition. Fast pulsing lasers can be used for micro-
machining and precision drilling. We also have an optical
laser tweezer facility which is ideal for biomedical and
microengineering tasks.
Application areas include: additive and subtractive
technologies for printed electronics; laser ablation in
solar cell production; polarisation control for enhanced
quality laser micromachining; internal structuring of
optically transparent materials; microstructuring for
control of surface properties (including wetting), and
laser ignition in IC engines.
Capabilities and facilities
•
High-power carbon dioxide laser systems for cutting,
welding, surface treatment, laser forming and direct
laser deposition from powder of prototype and
functional metallic components
•
Nd:YAG and low-power carbon dioxide laser systems
for laser cleaning, laser marking, laser peen forming,
laser direct write of micro and nano based inks and
laser ignition of IC engines
•
Picosecond laser systems for micromachining,
plasmonic surface structuring, laser cleaning
•
Femtosecond laser system for internal structuring of
glass and dielectrics, precision drilling and micro-
machining, including novel spatial light modulator
technology for multiscale parallel processing
•
Optical laser tweezer facility for biomedical and
microengineering applications
•
Atomic force microscopy and white light interferometry.
Relevant centres and groups
•
North West Laser Engineering Consortium
•
Lairdside Laser Engineering Centre.
The North West Laser Engineering Consortium is
a joint initiative of the universities of Liverpool and
Manchester. It develops novel, laser-based
applications of microtechnology. Its KE-LAS
programme is specifically designed to assist
companies across the North West of England
to use lasers to improve or advance their
manufacturing processes.
2.
Manufacturing technologies
APPLICATION AREAS
•
Aerospace and automotive
•
Energy
•
High value manufacturing
•
Electronics and electrical systems
•
Nanotechnology and advanced materials
•
Energy
•
Sustainability
•
Biotechnology
•
Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
•
Food supply
•
Defence and security
•
Fine and bulk chemicals
•
Information and communication
technology (ICT)
•
Shipbuilding
