LSA Laser Adds Femtosecond Laser Processing Capabilities

Plymouth, Minn.-based LSA Laser has added femtosecond laser processing capabilities for medical device manufacturing. Femtosecond lasers are ideal in micromachining applications for drilling and cutting high-precision holes and shapes free from thermal damage. Femtosecond lasers are ultrafast laser systems which essentially vaporize matter without a heat affected zone.
“This capability creates new opportunities for advanced micro designs, particularly for difficult to process metals that are not feasible with conventional lasers and for composite materials,” said Tom Noll, president of LSA.

According to the company, this new capability also has good potential for the cutting of multiple materials at once or to drill and cut micro shapes, which reduces operations in the manufacturing of medical assemblies such as catheters. The ultrafast laser allows LSA Laser to process a wide range of materials and composites including polymers, platinum, stainless steel, nitinol, and more. Traditional laser processes are limited to cutting one type of material at a time, e.g. metals or polymers. The femtosecond laser allows the cutting of multiple layered materials in one process step. This new system was custom designed to be flexible and suitable for on- or off-axis cutting, research and development or volume applications. It can handle both flat stock and tube cutting on the same system with minimal setup. The shortened pulse from a femtosecond laser decreases the heat-affected zone around the material being cut, resulting in less damage to the surrounding areas and an overall cleaner cut. This allows parts processed with this system to need little to no post process cleaning or other post processing. LSA Laser is a contract manufacturer of medical device components and assemblies with ISO 13485:2003 certification and more than 15 years of experience supplying the medical device industry. LSA Laser operates a 26,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility, and uses 38 laser welding and cutting systems with up to six-axis motion control and computer-aided manufacturing capabilities.

More info: (763) 744-0246; www.lsalaser.com