DMG Mori LASERTEC 50 Shape Femto

The DMG Mori LASERTEC 50 Shape Femto uses an ultrashort-pulse femtosecond laser to ablate material at the molecular level without generating thermal damage in the surrounding substrate. Conventional nanosecond and picosecond lasers leave heat-affected zones that change material properties at the edges of the cut. Femtosecond pulses are so short that the material vaporizes before heat can conduct into the workpiece. The result is burr-free, crack-free surface texturing and micro-machining with sub-micron precision.

The machine is built on a 5-axis CNC platform with X/Y/Z travels of 500 x 350 x 250 mm (19.7 x 13.8 x 9.8 in). The B-axis tilts +/-100 degrees and the C-axis rotates 360 degrees continuous, giving full access to complex 3D geometries. Positioning accuracy sits at 2 micrometers with repeatability under 1 micrometer.

The femtosecond laser source delivers average power from 5 W to 50 W depending on configuration, with pulse durations under 500 femtoseconds. The system handles wavelengths in the infrared (1030 nm), green (515 nm), and UV (343 nm) range. Repetition rates run from single shot up to 2 MHz. A galvo scanner head provides high-speed beam positioning for texturing applications.

Typical applications include texturing injection molds to replace chemical etching, micro-structuring medical implant surfaces for improved osseointegration, laser-marking hardened cutting tools, and creating micro-channels in semiconductor tooling.

The CELOS control interface integrates CAM software for programming ablation strategies. DMG Mori offers application engineering support. Competing systems from GF Machining Solutions and Kern Microtechnik target similar applications. Pricing typically falls in the 00,000 to ,200,000 range.