9 Reasons to Choose a Laser Processing System With Fully Integrated Control

George Wilkes, PhD

Oct 15

4 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

An older analog flight deck crowded with dial instruments beside a modern flight deck built around a few large integrated displays — Flight decks made this shift decades ago: the same information, consolidated onto fewer surfaces.

If developing a laser process means moving between multiple software packages, you may be spending more time coordinating tools than refining the process itself.

In my years running applications development, the hardest part of a new laser process is rarely the physics. More often it's getting the laser, stages, scanner, and camera to cooperate when each one runs on its own software. I've seen customers arrive with a promising process spread across separate programs: one for the laser, one for motion, one for the scanner, and one for vision. They were spending more time keeping those tools in sync than improving the process. That experience is a big part of why we built TLS Software the way we did.

I've seen customers arrive with a promising process spread across separate programs: one for the laser, one for motion, one for the scanner, and one for vision. They were spending more time keeping those tools in sync than improving the process.

Illustration of four separate software windows, labelled motion, camera, laser and scanner, each controlling one device in its own interface

An illustration of the separate programs a typical setup involves: motion, camera, laser and scanner, each in its own window.

TLS Software with the recipe tree, 3D machine view of a wafer, stage joystick and laser marking parameters together in a single window

One recipe in TLS Software: laser, stage, scanner, camera and focus driven together.

A laser process is more than a toolpath. The laser, motion stages, scanner, vision system, and sensors each have a role, and their timing and position need to stay coordinated. At TLS, we’ve developed software to bring those controls together, making it easier to build recipes, see what the system is doing, and move a process from development to production.

Here are nine reasons to consider an integrated software platform when choosing a laser machine.

1. An All-in-One Interface

Motion, optics, vision, scanners, and laser controls all affect the process. TLS Software brings them into one interface, making it easier to develop and run a recipe without switching between separate programs for each device.

2. WYSIWYG Visualization vs. “Debug by Running”

A graphical interface lets engineers and operators see the steps in a recipe, while active device monitoring shows what the system is doing. Without that visibility, a team may find a problem only after running the machine and scrapping a part. That visibility can help teams identify issues during setup before committing time and material to a full run.

3. Simplicity

When devices share commands and variables, recipes can be easier to read and adjust. A job that would take pages of machine code becomes a short, readable recipe.

4. Seamless 3D CAD Integration

Importing part geometry directly into the software can shorten the path from design to process development. TLS Software can slice 3D geometry into layers for laser processing without requiring a separate post-processor or hand-written machine code.

5. Faster Throughput

Better coordination between vision, motion, and laser control can affect both placement and throughput. In one customer application, initial results showed average processing time falling from six minutes to three minutes per part, while the number of parts processed at once increased from nine to 40. Results will vary by application.

6. It Talks to Your Hardware, Not Just Ours

TLS Software supports more than 18 laser sources from manufacturers including Light Conversion, Amplitude, Coherent, Ekspla, IPG, TRUMPF, Luxinar, and Spectra-Physics. It also supports more than a dozen stage controllers, including ACS, Aerotech, and Physik Instrumente, and scanner families such as SCANLAB RTC and XL SCAN, Raylase, and Newson. If a process needs another laser, stage, or camera, TLS can integrate it.

7. It Plays Well with the Rest of the Floor

A laser machine may need to exchange information with other equipment on an automated line. Remote control, digital I/O, serial, database, and OPC UA capabilities help connect the laser process to the broader production workflow.

8. Metrology and Calibration Come in the Box

Integrated 3D metrology and built-in routines for stage, scanner, and device-offset calibration help keep measurement and processing in the same workflow. That reduces the need to move to a separate tool and transfer offsets by hand.

9. Five-Axis Coordination

For complex parts, TLS Software can coordinate stage, scanner, and laser motion across up to five axes to produce features such as full cuts, bevels, rounded chamfers, and micro-channels.

TLS laser machines come with TLS Software, so the software and machine are designed to work together from the start. The aim is to give teams one place to develop, monitor, and run a process, while retaining the flexibility to choose the hardware and production connections their application needs.

If you’re looking to get the right tool for the job, the endless options in the market can be daunting. Our tool solution is designed to be optimal for your application. By thoroughly understanding your needs, providing a technology roadmap including systematic design-of-experiments crafted for your needs, our experts can take you from research, through experimentation to manufacturing success — avoiding development-pitfalls and saving you business time and resources.