Elliot
Scientific has been signed by Oxford Lasers to promote its Alpha table-top
Laser Micromachining System. Cutting, milling and drilling operations are
carried out by sophisticated yet easy to use software on metals, ceramics or
polymers within a compact Class 1 enclosure.
Alpha is suitable for R&D applications and for the small scale production
of parts up to 8 inches in diameter. It has been designed to aid process
development, small-scale production and sample preparation within university
labs or prototype shops.
The micromachining centre is complemented by Oxford Lasers' 'Cimita'. A
simple but powerful software interface that brings vision, motion and laser
control together to give Alpha many features found only in larger, more
expensive systems.
Alpha is a flexible system: the initial combination of laser, scanners,
stages and trepanning heads being determined by the properties of the material,
and the complexities of the shapes to be machined. These parts can be easily
upgraded or changed as requirements expand.
Oxford Lasers was founded in 1977 by physicists from Oxford University whose
research had been directed towards the study of new, yet practical, laser
devices. Initially the company focused on the manufacture of Excimer lasers and
Copper Vapour Lasers. Since 1990 they have manufactured laser-based systems
incorporating lasers of all types, with an increasing emphasis on solid state
lasers.