Press Releases

How can artificial intelligence (AI) contribute to value creation in laser manufacturing technology and optical design? What approaches are there and what is missing to leverage the potential? A conference organized by SPECTARIS and supported by Fraunhofer ILT and the German Association for IT-SMEs in Berlin on October 1 and 2 provided answers.

Tools made of hard materials and ceramics such as tungsten carbide are particularly wear-resistant. However, the tools used to manufacture them wear out all the faster – unless the tool is laser light. Researchers at Fraunhofer ILT have developed a process chain in which hard material components can be shaped and polished using an ultrashort pulse (USP) laser without changing the clamping setup.

For more than 30 years, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT has been shaping metallic additive manufacturing with groundbreaking system and process innovations. At Formnext from November 18 - 21, 2025, the laser institute will be presenting its comprehensive portfolio in Hall 11, Booth D31: developments that are geared toward key industry challenges. They reduce costs, save rework, and make components more robust. From high-strength tungsten components and multi-material approaches for extremely stressed components in fusion applications to highly productive simultaneous coating and finishing processes that save time and energy, to smart structures such as printed sensors that make metal components smart.

From April 22 to 24, 2026, Aachen will once again become the meeting place for the international laser world: The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT will host the 15th AKL – International Laser Technology Congress. Users, manufacturers, and developers will be meeting at AKL'26 to discuss the latest trends and practical solutions in applied laser technology for production. Thanks to over 500 participants, more than 80 specialist presentations, and around 50 exhibitors from industry and the supply sector, the congress is considered by many to be the leading forum for applied laser technology in Europe.

The optical stamping process makes it possible to generate microstructures precisely and reproducibly in a single laser pulse – without needing to scan the surface, a time-consuming process step. At the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, researchers in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University – Chair for Technology of Optical Systems TOS are using a spatial light modulator (SLM) to shape the beam of an ultrashort pulse laser precisely into the desired pattern and apply it directly to the workpiece surface. This significantly speeds up processing and opens up new possibilities for, among others, the steel and metalworking industries or the glass industry. Initial tests show that process times can be reduced by at least 80 percent.

The Fraunhofer ILT and MacLean-Fogg have jointly produced a complex die casting tool inlay using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M). The specially developed L-40 tool steel enables the additive manufacturing of heavily loaded, large-volume tools for the first time and thus the implementation of conformal cooling. Initial results from smaller tools, which Toyota is already using in series production, indicate a significantly longer service life for the additively manufactured tools. In the current project, a hybrid, large-volume tool was created for the transmission housing of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid. The combined process with conventional preforms plus additively manufactured structures shortens the production time, reduces costs and allows a high number of variants on a combined tool platform.

The STARFIRE Hub – an initiative funded by the US Department of Energy to develop fusion energy solutions under the leadership of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) – is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its Diode Technology Working Group. Two German research institutes and three global leaders join the LLNL, adding further breadth to world-class expertise in diode technology and, strengthening STARFIRE’s collaborative effort to advance the technology basis for inertial fusion energy (IFE).

What happens when laser technology and data science are brought together? How can optical components be manufactured using only lasers? And what is the status of current laser fusion research? Experts discussed these and other questions at the Laser World of Photonics 2025 trade fair in Munich.

Laser-based inertial confinement fusion is a market that holds strategic value for the photonics industry. Its feasibility has already been demonstrated. In Germany, consortia from industry and research are forming to tap this climate-neutral and intrinsically safe energy source and create powerful supply chains for it. The state is providing over one billion euros to develop basic technologies for fusion power plants. Current approaches have great potential for innovation beyond fusion. Key players will meet at LASER 2025 for the application panel "Laser Fusion: Energizing photonics Industry". Led by the Fraunhofer ILT, it will shed light on the market potential and opportunities of fusion.

Dr. Wilhelm Meiners has been inducted into the TCT Hall of Fame 2025. With this award, the international expert community recognizes his outstanding achievements in the development of metallic 3D printing. As a doctoral student at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Meiners laid the foundation for a technology that is now used worldwide – from medical technology to aerospace – by inventing and patenting the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process in 1996. Indeed, the trend he set in motion shows no sign of abating.