We are helping to shape the future of safer, more efficient, and more autonomous vehicles for decades.
The automotive industry is one of continuous evolution, with development not only feeding off consumer demand but also reacting to a shifting landscape of legislation on safety, performance, and environmental impact. A driving force in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient gasoline and diesel engines, has been a reduction in the size of fuel injector orifice size, opening the door to laser drilling as an alternative to conventional technologies.
Laser micromachining helps to push processing capabilities beyond what is possible by other machining techniques, removing feature size and precision as a barrier to improvement.
Laser is also a key enabling technology in a new generation of requirements, in sensors and actuators, custom instrument displays, and the production of components required for navigation and communication for more autonomous vehicles. Applications include:
- Fuel system component drilling, for precision micro-holes of exceptional quality
- Laser processing can be controlled to give cylindrical or tapered holes and can be drilled at and angle relative to the component surface
- Laser texturing of a material is used to alter the surface properties, for example, to retain more oil for lubrication, or to change the aerodynamic performance
- Laser micromachining is used to process features that are virtually invisible unless viewed with a backlight, or from a specific angle
- A range of sensors and actuators use laser micromachining, either directly via hole drilling or similar, or in the creation of optical fiber-based sensors
- OpTek supplied laser processing tools used in the manufacture of RF antennae for applications such as GPS
- OpTek machines are used in the manufacture of fuel cells and other power generation/power storage technologies
We deliver industrial laser machining equipment to manufacturers and their suppliers and contribute to automotive evolution through collaboration with our industrial partners.
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