Rofin has introduced its new StarCut Tube Femto system, which offers cold laser cutting for medical device manufacturing.
Femtosecond lasers process materials faster than energy can diffuse within the atomic lattice, meaning that very little heat is transferred to the surrounding material, eliminating any recast and burr. The StarCut Tube Femto integrates an innovative, compact laser source with field-proven high reliability and long-term stability - properties which are essential for industrial manufacturing, but have been hard to find in ultra-fast laser sources until now.
In addition to working with stock nitinol tubing, bio-absorbable polymers like polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid suffered from can be machined by the system. The low melting points of these polymers make them difficult to machine with traditional cutting lasers. The StarCut Tube Femto mechanics are adapted to the specific requirements for handling thin-walled, mechanically fragile semi-finished products.