Das Bild zeigt eine Zusammenstellung verschiedener KarosserieBauteile von GF Casting Solutions für unterschiedliche Hersteller.
Lasers for a market worth billions
The Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the most important sales and procurement markets of the future for laser technology. GF Machining Solutions is in the process of expanding there, winning new customers and revolutionizing the way they manufacture.
The laser industry has been experiencing a tremendous growth in recent years, and GF has played a key role in this development through its innovative laser technologies. In the Asia-Pacific region, however, the industrial use of laser ablation – the removal of material through laser radiation – is not yet widespread. GF Machining Solutions is set to change that and convince customers in the region to embrace a new way of machining. The Asia-Pacific region includes Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan, as well as Australia and Oceania. It is home to more than 4.6 billion people. That’s almost 60% of the world’s population. Adrien Rodrigues, Advanced Manufacturing Business Development Manager at GF Machining Solutions in Singapore, is responsible for the region. The 35-year-old regularly travels to support local sales and technical teams: “We’re improving our customers’ production workflows here by introducing laser technologies that simplify manufacturing processes for precision parts,” he says.
New business asset
While older technologies will continue to be used, newer technologies such as laser solutions bring additional value by way of improved efficiency, performance and capabilities. The process with traditional technologies can be expensive, with the risk of defects and scrap – for example, machining carbide parts by die-sinking EDM, which is tedious and complex. In certain cases, laser technology achieves significant improvements when machining hard metals such as carbide, reducing production times from days to hours. Also, increasing demand from the electronic components and watchmaking industries for ceramics and silicon carbides, for example, cannot be met with conventional machines. Moreover, companies in Asia-Pacific have a difficult time attracting young talents if they do not utilize digitalized processes and software-controlled machines.
© GFAdrien Rodrigues
Position: Advanced Manufacturing Business Development Manager for the Asia-Pacific region
Division: GF Machining Solutions
Location: Singapore
Joined GF in: 2013
© GFLaser technology is the solution to these challenges, and a way to fulfill GF’s strategy of achieving profitable growth with sustainable solutions. In the future, laser technology will help to exploit new business opportunities – for example, in the world of electronics. Since 2009, GF has been looking to introduce the technology in the Asia-Pacific region, Adrien says. “The technology deployment took some time, but it has greatly evolved to meet the specific needs of our customers in processes such as texturing, blasting, engraving and now pure machining. In the early days of the technology, we didn’t focus on the processing of materials, because the technology didn’t meet customer expectations. But this is the core need of customers in the region. We listened to our customers and learned from them – the technology is now fully developed and poised to bring significant changes to the market.” Personal exchange is everything, Adrien says. “If we explain to customers face to face that we have what they need to solve their problems, we attract a lot of interest as this is an innovative way to change their process for their future success.”
Unprecedented flexibility
© GFGF femtosecond technology operates at a wavelength equivalent to both green and infrared laser wavelengths in the same machine, making it suitable for processing materials such as carbide steel, aluminum, silver, nickel, glass, polymers, ceramics, gems and silicon carbides. The new flexibility offered by lasers appeals to customers, Adrien says. “I was very surprised at how excited they got when we explained that our technology can minimize certain processes and open up new business ideas for operations.“ For customers, the stakes are high. “In all markets around the world, when customers introduce this kind of technology in their process, they have to significantly change their manufacturing processes. Customers have to recalculate and reorganize everything, including how they design, how they organize the manufacturing flow, how they operate, and the costs of manufacturing – but we are here to support them.” GF supports customers every step of the way. “Of course, we are competing with others in the market. But only a few of them can provide on-site customer service as we do with our colleagues based in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, India and Southeast Asia. “Our expertise in mold making and machine tool business allows us to understand customers‘ needs, guide them to the best technology and bring new opportunities and benefits,“ says Adrien.
The LASER P 400 U series from GF
Laser engraving, texturing and marking processes using lasers from GF offer quality, efficiency and femtosecond laser technology. They are specially designed for machining precision parts for watches and jewelry, inserts, cutting tools and micro- machined parts.
© GFThe femtosecond laser is well suited for the functional texturing of precision parts.
