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 CO₂, Nd-YAG and excimer laser sources are already making their contribution to the manufacturing process.