The organizers of the biggest photonics event in Europe – Laser World of Photonics in Munich, and Europa Science have announced, the shortlist of the Innovation Award nominees. Among them is EKSPLA with zero-maintenance, industrial femtosecond 50 W laser with innovative waterless cooling, in the category of Laser Systems for Industrial Production Engineering.
The Innovation Awards are hosted every two years, parallel to the LWOP Munich exhibition and its events. It is the fourth time the commemorative ceremony will be held celebrating most innovative products and technologies emerging from the photonics industry. The 20 finalists were selected out of 70 applicants by an expert panel of judges. They all are competing for recognition in their individual categories and a prize sponsored by Europa Science, the publisher of Electro Optics and Imaging and Machine Vision Europe.
As quoted in Electro Optics, Warren Clark, CEO of Europa Science, stated: “This year’s Innovation Award shortlist showcases the extraordinary depth of creativity and technological advancement in the photonics industry. From quantum technologies to medical engineering, these 20 finalists represent the cutting edge of innovation, demonstrating why photonics continues to be one of the most dynamic and transformative fields of our time.”
EKSPLA’s entry was selected for its unique application of well-tested and efficient cooling technology to regulate equipment temperature.
Typically, high-power industrial femtosecond lasers are water-cooled, which often leads to issues such as reliability concerns, frequent maintenance and risks to expensive equipment due to leaks. Approximately 50% of all industrial laser failures are caused by the cooling systems, with the most frequent failure being the water pump.
To address these challenges, our engineers have employed a vapor compression direct expansion cooling method, also known as Direct Refrigerant Cooling (DRC). By using this method, excess heat from the laser head is transferred via easily detachable cooling plate, which is cooled by a refrigerant agent directly. This system has already been employed in military applications, demonstrating “bulletproof” reliability – MTBF (mean time between failure) of the DRC system exceeds 90,000 hours. The laser cooling system can work 24/7/365 for more than 10 years without any downtime. The lifetime of the compressor in a DRC system is 3 to 5 times longer compared to water pumps.
The cooling plate is detachable from the laser head.
As a result, femtosecond laser FemtoLux features output up to 50 W, making it the only laser in its power class with such a compact footprint. Additionally, the FemtoLux delivers outstanding performance, including power stability < 0.5% RMS over 100 hours and superior beam quality with M² < 1.2.
Visitors to Laser World of Photonics Munich are welcome to explore more of EKSPLA’s laser and laser electronics solutions on June 27–27 at booths No. B3.216 in the Industry Hall, and No. A2.203 in the Science Hall.
