Modern manufacturing industry is focusing its interests on the potential offered by the laser, in combination with other new technologies such as optical fibres, automation, computing and flexible manufacturing systems, to give new and powerful methods for non-destructive testing, in-process quality assurance, laser material processing and process control, and laser robotics.
The greatest opportunities for the laser are in those areas where flexibility, automation, CAD/CAM integration, precision, cost reduction, and time to market are important factors. The examples covered here are mainly drawn from the automotive industry, where all these factors are imperative, and where the CO 2 , Nd-YAG and excimer laser sources are already making their contribution to the manufacturing process.

Inhalt
I. Laser Materials Processing: Tutorials.- Topics in High Power Laser Processing.- High Average Power Solid State Lasers for Materials Processing and Fiber Transmission.- Laser Process Automation.- II. Theoretical Foundations.- Modeling of Laser Materials Processing.- Analytical Model for Aberrated Diffraction in High Power C.W. Laser Beam Trains: Laser Cavity to Work Piece.- Analytical Model for Evaluating Dual Co-Axial Repetitive Pulsed and C.W.Lasers in Drilling and Machining of Materials.- III. Laser Cutting and Welding Applications.- Laser Machining of Composite Materials.- Characteristics of Laser Heating of Materials.- Laser Assisted Machining.- Heat Processes in Pulsed Laser Action.- Recent Development to Increase the Efficiency and Flexibility of Laser Materials Processing.- Laser Welding Technology for Joining Different Sheet Metals for One Piece Stamping.- Laser Applications for 3-D Components: Beam Delivery Systems and Robotics.- Laser Blank Welding and Stamping of Sheet Metal Parts.- Robotic Laser Welding Systems in Automotive Operations.- Robotic Laser Cutting Systems.- Development of Laser Material Processing in Romania.- IV. Other Applications: Stereolithography, Surface Hardening, 3-D Surface Patterning, Manufacturing and Repairing.- The Role of the Laser in Rapid Prototyping.- Laser Surface Melting of Bearing Steels.- Laser Beam Lithography for 3-D Surface Patterning.- Laser Techniques in Power Plant Component Manufacturing and Repairing.- V. Laser Measurement Techniques.- Video Speckle Interferometry: An Optical Measuring Tool for Industry.- Adaptive Profilometry for Industrial Applications.- Electrooptical Systems and Techniques for Dimensional Measurements for Industry.- Laser Velocimetry for Combustion.- Industrial Applications of Holographic Interferometry.- VI. Laser Safety.- Laser Safety Devices for High Power CO2 Laser Systems.- VII. Index.