Laser the disk advantage: while no single piece of equipment is ideal for everything, those looking for a better way to perform production welding ought to consider these solid-state laser systems for speed, efficiency, and effectiveness.(FEATURE)

Although TRUMPF Inc.'s laser division (trumpf-laser.com) has a full array of industrial laser types-[CO.sub.2], disk, fiber, diode, rod-and while David Havrilla, manager of Products and Applications there believes that there are appropriate tools for appropriate tasks, when it comes to high-power applications typical of both OEM and supplier welding operations (think in the context of 4-to 6-kW requirements; typical cutting tasks are performed at lower power, say 1 kW), the disk laser oftentimes provides the sorts of advantages that cannot be readily overcome by the other types of lasers in their portfolio.

And yet before taking a look at the characteristics of the disk, it is worth noting that Havrilla is bullish about the potential of the direct-diode laser. He considers it to be "disruptive technology," and that it will quell the debate that currently occurs in laser circles between partisans of the disk and fiber …