Featuring 55 talks, some 30 exhibitors and over 60 live presentations on the use of lasers in materials processing, the International Laser Technology Congress AKL’08 will provide laser manufacturers and users from a wide variety of sectors with a central platform on which to exchange information and experiences. The full program for AKL’08, which will be held with simultaneous interpreting in English and German, is now available online at www.lasercongress.org.
AKL’08 enjoys the moral support of the industrial associations EUROM, SPECTARIS, VDA, VDI and VDMA, as well as the Arbeitskreis Lasertechnik e.V., the European Laser Institute ELI and the European Commission. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT), which is hosting the event, expects a turnout of more than 400 participants at the Eurogress conference center in Aachen. In order to cater for the needs of all the different target groups, AKL’08 has been subdivided into several event modules.
The technological program section on May 8 and 9 2008 will be directed at suppliers and customers of laser systems and processes for use in production. It will address laser manufacturers, systems providers and users from different areas of the manufacturing industry. The ‘Laser Technology ABCs’ seminar on May 7 2008 will give a first practical overview to companies that have not previously worked in the field of laser technology, neither as suppliers nor as users. The Technology Business Day, also on May 7 2008, is directed at business managers, marketing directors, sales managers and other executive managers wishing to find out specifically about the status and prospects of today’s laser markets. At the EU Innovation Forum ‘Laser material processing in aeronautics’ (May 7 2008), members of collaborative EU projects will report on the results of their R&D work. In a series of round tables, representatives of the European Commission and experts from industry and science will meet to discuss the current challenges of laser technology in the aircraft industry and develop concepts for new collaborative projects in this area.

AKL’08 Laser Technology Conference (May 8 - 9, 2008)

The following speakers have been confirmed for the Gerd Herziger session on May 8 2008: Dr. Michael Mertin, Chairman of the board of Jenoptik AG (Lasers and Optics in Systems), Dr. Joseph Pankert, CTO of the Special Lighting Applications business unit at Philips Lighting B.V. (Laser-based EUV technology for Next-Generation Microchips), Dr. Eberhard Kroth, Technical Director of Reis Robotics (Status and Prospects of Robot-assisted Laser Systems Technology), Dr. Tony Hoult, Applications Manager at SPI Lasers (Fiber Lasers: Sources and Applications) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schmitt (RWTH Aachen University Cluster of Excellence: ‘Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries’). These talks will be followed by parallel sessions spread over two days, with talks on innovative laser-based devel-opments in both micro and macro processing. The topics covered during these sessions will range from laser cutting, welding, polishing, structuring and generating to precision joining and separation, functionalization, drilling and ablation. At the end of the Laser Technology Conference, participants will be able to continue their exchange of information and experiences at the ‘Laser Technology Live’ session in the applications laboratories of the Fraunhofer ILT, where ILT engineers will display the results of their R&D activities in over 60 presentations.

Technology Business Day TBT’08 (May 7, 2008)

At the Technology Business Day, experts will provide an overview of the status and development of the laser markets in Europe (Dr. Arnold Mayer, Optech Consulting), America (David Belforte, Belforte Associates), Japan (Prof. Dr. Isamu Miyamoto, Osaka) and
China (Henry Peng Ph.D., General Electric, Shanghai). In addition, experienced laser users will explain the production-related challenges to be met by laser technology in Europe, on the basis of selected industry-specific examples. Dr. Dieter Steegmüller (Daimler AG), Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Wischmann (Thyssen Steel) and Dr. Arnold Gillner (Fraunhofer ILT) will address aspects of the automotive, metal-working and microtechnology industries.

EU Innovation Forum ‘Laser material processing in aeronautics’ (May 7, 2008)

At the EU Innovation Forum, members of collaborative EU projects will report on the results of their R&D work. The forum will focus on the topic of laser production technology in the aircraft industry. Introductory lectures will be given by Liam Breslin, Head of the Aeronautics Unit of Directorate-General XII of the European Commission, and Prof. Stewart Williams of Cranfield University. In the three subsequent parallel sessions, participants will discuss the technological aspects of generative, joining and surface pre-treatment laser processes and their application in the production of aircraft components and the provision of MRO services. The objective of the three roundtables is to develop concepts for new collaborative projects designed to tackle hitherto unsolved technological challenges in this field. At the end of the EU Innovation Forum, participants can witness the successful results of the R&D work in a series of live presentations at the applications center of the Fraunhofer ILT.

Laser Technology ABCs Seminar (May 7, 2008)

In this seminar, novices to the laser world will be able to learn in a clearly structured format how laser machining processes work, what type of laser is employed for different applications, which optics are used for laser materials processing, how laser manufacturing processes are monitored and controlled online, which areas of industry employ laser technology, and what development trends have been identified for various aspects of laser technology.

The full program for AKL’08 is available at www.lasercongress.org. For further information, please send an e-mail to akl08@lasercongress.org.

Contacts within the AKL’08 organizational team:
Dipl.-Betrw. Silke Boehr, Phone +49 241 8906-288
Dipl.-Phys. Axel Bauer, Phone +49 241 8906-194