Development of laser processing segment market and its future development prospec

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Laser technology is one of the four major inventions in the 20th century, which is as famous as atomic energy, semiconductor and computer. It is also the most promising new technology in the 21st century. Laser technology has been widely used in laser marking, laser cutting, laser welding, laser cladding, laser detection, laser medical and other fields.

1.The laser processing equipment market keeps growing at a high speed

Laser processing technology is realized by laser processing equipment. The complete set of laser processing equipment is composed of laser, numerical control system, optical components, mechanical components and electrical control. Among them, the numerical control system belongs to the “brain” part of the whole laser processing equipment and is one of the core components. All accessories are coordinated and controlled by the control system.

Improving the market share of core components such as laser control systems and improving industrial automation transformation is an important part of implementing the deep integration of information technology and manufacturing, equipment autonomy, and improving quality and efficiency. Since the implementation of reform and opening up in China, through long-term efforts in several stages, such as the introduction, absorption, independent development and industrialization of CNC technology, China’s CNC system industry has grown from scratch, forming a number of backbone CNC system enterprises, laying the foundation of China’s CNC system industry.

Laser processing equipment is a high-tech terminal equipment integrating a variety of advanced technologies. The industry is one of the most concerned and rapidly developing industries in various countries. With the development of China’s economy and the in-depth implementation of the national strategy, the demand for automation and intelligent production modes in the manufacturing industry is growing day by day. China’s laser industry is in a period of high-speed development, and the market demand of the laser industry is gradually turning to China. The domestic laser processing equipment market maintains a high-speed growth. According to data, the domestic laser processing equipment market size has increased from 37.1 billion yuan in 2016 to 69.2 billion yuan in 2021. In 2021, the sales revenue of domestic laser processing equipment will be about 77 billion yuan.

2.Development status of laser processing subdivision industry

（1）laser marking equipment industry

Laser marking is one of the important application fields of laser processing. It mainly uses high-energy density laser beam to perform shallow etching on the workpiece, so as to vaporize the surface material or generate color change reaction, so as to leave lasting engraving or achieve surface processing purposes such as texture treatment. With the decline of the price of laser marking equipment and the extensive demand of the downstream market, China’s laser marking equipment industry has ushered in a period of rapid development in recent years. With the expansion of the downstream application field of laser marking and the recovery of the prosperity of the downstream industry, the sales scale of laser marking equipment in 2020 increased rapidly and exceeded the level of 2018. With the increase of localization and competition in the upstream CO2 laser and fiber laser markets, the price of laser marking equipment has dropped, which is conducive to the further expansion of downstream application fields; At the same time, with the development of 5g communication industry and the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the global consumer electronics, home furnishings, automotive industry and Internet of things industries will further release their demand for laser marking equipment, and the penetration rate of laser marking equipment in many industries will increase.

（2） laser cutting equipment industry

Laser cutting uses the laser beam output from the laser oscillator to focus through the focusing mirror, generating a high-focus, high-energy laser beam to irradiate the material to melt and evaporate it for cutting, and then uses auxiliary gases such as oxygen to blow away excess slag in the laser cutting seam and generate high heat, so as to achieve the purpose of cutting the material. Due to the large energy per unit area, the laser can cut high-precision products with small slits.

China’s laser cutting equipment is widely used in terminal industries, including machinery, automobiles, furniture and household appliances, electronic product screens and other fields. With the improvement of the localization rate of high-power lasers in China, the demand of the downstream market is rapidly released, and the shipment of laser cutting equipment shows a rapid growth trend.

（3） laser welding equipment industry

As a modern welding technology, laser welding has the advantages of deep penetration, fast speed, small deformation, low requirements for welding environment, high power density, free from magnetic field, not limited to conductive materials, no vacuum working conditions, and no X-rays in the welding process. Due to its unique advantages, it has been successfully applied to the precision welding of micro and small parts, and is widely used in automobiles, ships Aerospace and other high-end precision manufacturing fields.

3.Development prospect forecast of laser processing industry

The main development trends of the laser industry in the future are: ultrafast laser will become the future development trend of the laser industry, the industry will continue to develop in the direction of high accuracy, and the industry will continue to develop in the direction of flexibility.

As the brain of laser processing equipment, with the continuous development of laser processing equipment, the performance requirements of laser processing control system are increasing. In the future, the application of laser processing control system will develop towards high accuracy.

With the technological development and cost reduction of picosecond, femtosecond and other ultrafast lasers, ultrafast laser processing will gradually replace the traditional processing technology and be used for the processing of brittle materials. It is expected that ultrafast laser processing will become the main processing method of OLED screens, LCD screens and high-end glass covers.

The laser processing control system continues to develop in the direction of flexibility. In order to adapt to the personalized needs of downstream users for products, respond to changes in the supply chain in time, and realize flexible processing oriented by consumers, laser processing equipment needs to be multifunctional and highly adaptable, with the ability to process different raw materials according to product changes, determine the corresponding process flow according to different processing objects The ability to expand system modules as new requirements arise.