This mongraph offers an insight into the operation principles of high power laser sources, the phenomenon of interaction of laser beams and materials, and the mechanisms of the various production processes with lasers. Thus enabling production engineers and others to make optimum use of the benfits of laser technology and to understand the technical properties and the physical limitations of this technology, and providing a basis for the understanding and use of future developments in this area.

If in some processes oxygen is used, additional energy is provided at a rate P ch by chemical reactions. The flow of energy per unit time can then be written: (1. 2) From the above it can be made clear that it is the rate of energy fluxes, i. e. 2 intensities [J/ms] that determines into which channel the energy goes and how the interaction zone will be modified in its state (solid, liquid, gaseous) and geometrical shape (plane, dip, deep hole) -in other words which kind of treatment process will be established (hardening, welding, drilling etc. ). In the following, it will be shown that, in...

The European Community regards training as a priority area and has therefore developed a series of programmes in the field of vocational training. This book is the result of a pilot project selected under two of these Community Action Programmes. It was initially selected under the COMETT programme, concerned with the development of continuing vocational training in the European Community. Moreover, it was one of the few selected projects to receive further funding under a second selection in the context of the LEONARDO DA VINCI Action Programme for the implementation of a European Community...