Fibre Hole Breakthrough Inspection System for Laser Micromachining (BreakThrough-Fibre)
New Technology Offering and Market Opportunity:BreakThrough-Fibre is an innovative hole inspection technology which uses side-emitting fibre optic illumination and detection to improve the quality control of laser drilled holes in catheters and narrow-bore tubes. The system allows real-time detection of hole breakthrough for online process control and also offer unrivalled accuracy and speed in offline measurement and qualification of highaspect ratio holes.
Laser micromachining finds applications in a wide number of fields across the mechanical engineering, physics, electronics, microsystems and biomedical sectors. Many new high-value medical devices use a large number of holes, often laser-drilled, in the catheter or hypotube side-wall. For process related reasons, it is often difficult to guarantee that all holes have been fully drilled, so a method of inspection of these devices is needed. The geometry of long, narrowbore (mm range inner diameter) tubes with 10 to 100 micron holes presents exceptional difficulties for hole inspection. Existing pin-gauge probes are limited to 70 microns and wider diameter holes. A lucrative market opportunity arises to licence the BreakThrough-Fibre inspection technology developed at NUI Galway, for laser micromachining applications in a wide range of sectors, including:
• biomedical components
• hole drilling in tubular components and pipes
• microsystems components
This platform technology, part of the BreakThrough technology family also opens market opportunities for applications of side-emitting fibre-optic hole detection in a wide range of microtube and micropipe applications
Market Size:
The market case for the BreakThrough-Fibre inspection technology is compelling. BreakThrough-Fibre is applicable in laser systems for cutting and drilling of tubular components, including the manufacture of catheters, hypotubes and potentially in stent applications. The global market in laser systems for materials processing was €6.1 billion in 2006 and is projected to rise at a CAGR of 13.5% to €10 billion by 2010. Laser cutting and welding currently dominates the market, but will be matched by microprocessing by 2010. The potential laser systems market for the BreakThrough group of sensor technologies is estimated at several tens of millions of €uro by 2010.
Technology Description:
Researchers in the Dept. of Experimental Physics and the National Centre for Laser Applications (NCLA) at NUI Galway have developed a fibre-optic based hole inspection technology for laser drilling in tubular components. The BreakThrough-Fibre sensor is capable of detecting the breakthrough point during the laser micromachining of a hole and of assuring the quality and completion of the hole breakthrough at each hole site.
Principal Investigators: Tony Flaherty and Fabien Bernard, National Centre for Laser Applications (NCLA). School of Physics, NUI Galway
Competitive Advantage and IP Status:
The BreakThrough-Fibre technology from NUI Galway offers for the first time a fibre-optic sensor for the inspection and quality control of laser drilling of holes in tubular components with key advantages:
• Fibre optic technology
• Real-time Detection of breakthrough
• Compatible with rigid and flexible narrow-bore tubes
• Independent illumination system
• No additional optics required
• Electronic detection of breakthrough point
• Enables termination of laser drilling at end-point
• Protects rear walls from drilling damage
• Online or offline measurement of hole size
• Process control to verify quantity of completed holes
A patent application has been filed to protect the IP relating to this fibre-optic hole inspection system for laser drilled holes, and further patents are pending in relation to other BreakThrough end-point sensors for this sector. NUI Galway is the owner of all IP.
Type of Business Sought
Licensing opportunities, start-ups, joint ventures
Type of Offer: Licensing
« More Engineering - Mechanical Patents