AFX 360 Beam Control Technology

Learn more about lasers built for series production of Metal AM from Dahv Kilner, VP of Fiber Laser Technology for nLIGHT & Chris Luetjen, Sr. Product & Systems engineer. Our AFX fiber lasers enable on-the-fly tuning of the beam shape, from single-mode (Gaussian) to a ring beam, directly from the fiber with no free-space optics. AFX’s optimized beam shapes and rapid tuning provide previously unattainable build rates with excel-lent material quality, paving the way for high-productivity L-PBF tools. We describe the technology that underlies AFX’s unique performance and show the resultant beam characteristics that are important for AM. We also discuss the flexible interfaces that facilitate integration of AFX into industrial tools.