By Geoff Giordano
ORLANDO, FL, May 12, 2014 – Some new names will join familiar faces teaching the basic and master courses at the Laser Institute of America’s fourth-annual Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) in Schaumburg, IL, in September. And four expert keynote speakers will again provide big-picture analysis of how and where lasers can improve profitability for firms that bring them into their production lines.
LME 2014 will touch on everything from the right lasers to buy, the proper way to incorporate them into efficient manufacturing systems, how to realize maximum return on your investment, to what applications are best suited for the technology.
Not only will attendees hear from the most knowledgeable experts in the laser field, but they will hear short presentations and case studies from top industry players during LME’s unique Laser Technology Showcase theater right on the exhibit floor.
LIA past President David Belforte will kick off the keynote addresses on Tuesday, Sept. 23, when he discusses The 2014 Market for Industrial Lasers and Applications. His past presentations — always standing-room-only events — cover the use of lasers in everything from agricultural equipment and aerospace to electronic devices and energy generation. Later that afternoon, Mitch Van Zuiden of Bystronic will address advances in laser metal cutting.
Two more speakers will present Wednesday’s keynotes. Tim Biermann of Fraunhofer ILT will enlighten attendees on the revolutionary arena of additive manufacturing and 3D printing, while successful job shop founder Ron Schaeffer of PhotoMachining in Pelham, NH, will spotlight the manufacturing benefits of ultrafast lasers.
In addition, a pair of 90 minute tutorials — one each day — will focus on design for welding, presented by TRUMPF’s David Havrilla, as well as an overview of laser additive manufacturing systems.
Returning to kick off the proceedings is Tom Kugler of Laser Mechanisms, who will again present his comprehensive review of laser systems for the most common manufacturing applications. Geoff Shannon of Miyachi America will give an overview of laser welding, while LIA’s own education director Gus Anibarro talks about best practices for the safe use of industrial laser systems. Finally, TRUMPF’s Patrick Grace will expand on his 2013 presentation on the economic justification for laser applications.
“This is a really good show (and) a really good venue,” Grace enthused after last year’s LME. “We got a lot of good leads and a lot of good projects. There’s a value here; this is going to lead to selling lasers.”
Unlike other shows, LME offers a concentrated experience “where you can walk through and go right from the people doing advanced development and R&D — people like Fraunhofer and EWI — then see every ingredient you need to put a laser into manufacturing, including the robots, the chillers and the coordinate machines,” explains Bill Shiner, vice president of industrial market sales at IPG Photonics in Oxford, MA. “You can go through and in a very short period of time understand not only what you need but get an opportunity to talk to people about applications and see what the equipment looks like.”
To learn more about LME 2014 and to register to attend, visit www.laserevent.org.
About LIA
The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety serving the industrial, educational, medical, research and government communities throughout the world since 1968. www.lia.org, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Ste 128, Orlando, FL 32826, +1.407.380.1553.