Market Trends of Global High Power Laser Systems Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the High Power Laser Systems Market according to our research experts:
Welding Segment is Expected to Hold a Major Market Share
- Welding has always been considered a highly-skilled and labor-intensive activity, and in many respects, it is. One cannot assume the quality of a weld by appearance. The quality of the weld is demarcated by material and gas interactions during the molten phase and the bonding of the materials during the cooling phase.
- With the increasing use of specialty alloys (e.g., boron steel, high-strength nickel alloys, chromium alloys, and titanium alloys), new challenges arise because the processing parameter window for these materials may be narrow. The welding process can be tightly controlled with high-power laser systems.
- Further, High Power Fiber laser welding continues to evolve as a preferred process with enhancements in weld quality, reliability, and performance, as several fiber laser welding applications are autogenous, where the weld is formed entirely by melting parts of the base metal, and no additional filler wire or powder is used. The enhancements include better joint fit-up tolerance (air gaps, mismatch, etc.) of the parts to be welded, elimination of solidification cracking during the welding, and modifying the weld metal's chemical composition or microstructure to obtain suitable mechanical properties, etc.
- Also, high-power laser welding is gaining popularity in the automotive industry. It is now commonplace for many automotive applications, including large-scale welding of body frames (body-in-white), door frames, trunks, auto hoods, chassis, and laser plastic welding for front and backlights and electronic housings. Sometimes forgotten as the welds are internal to automobiles and sometimes very small in size, laser welding is also widely used for metal welding of many sub-components, including airbag initiators, motor coil windings, and battery tab-to-bus bar connections for vehicle electronics, and electrical interconnections within an automobile build.
- With the global upsurge in the demand and production in the automotive industry, the studied market is anticipated to encounter lucrative opportunities. For instance, according to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), in 2021, approximately 80 million motor vehicles will be produced worldwide. This figure translates into an increase of around 3%, compared with the previous year. China, Japan, and Germany were the largest car and commercial vehicle producers in 2020.
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The Asia Pacific Region is Expected to Witness a High Market Growth
- The Asia Pacific region's laser industry has seen significant growth in recent years, with the continuous improvement of domestic economic conditions. The region has consistently focused on scientific research, technology upgrades, market exploration, and the construction of laser industrial parks, which has intensified the development of the laser industry.
- For instance, with the advancement of the "Made in China 2025" strategy, the manufacturing industry in China is transforming into a high-end, intelligent type. Laser technology has become an indispensable tool in high-end manufacturing due to its high efficiency, low consumables, small material deformation, and strong adaptability to processing objects. High-end laser processing equipment is receiving more and more attention. In current laser processing applications, laser cutting is the most popular, and fiber laser is the most popular light source system.
- In December 2021, China's first 100 kW ultra-high-power laser, jointly developed by Nanhua University and Rayco Laser, was officially used in Hengyang City, Hunan Province. Compared with a traditional laser, the 100 kW ultra-high power laser has a more compact structure, higher electrical and optical conversion efficiency, lower energy consumption, and better beam quality.
- In Japan, the focus is on developing advanced military technologies such as high-power microwave- and laser-based weapon systems to help combat the growing missile threat posed by neighboring countries. Japan's Defense Ministry has planned to develop high-powered lasers to destroy enemy drones until 2025 and will engage with companies for the project.
- Recently, Japan's Furukawa Electric, an electric and electronics equipment company, developed and launched an industrial laser. The company is now further enhancing its fiber laser technology for energy, information, heat conduction, connection, and storage applications.
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