At Peridot, we pride ourselves on offering a Swiss army knife of precison manufacturing capabilities (we’re talking the SwissChamp XAVT Swiss version with the woodsaw, fishscaler AND the toothpick). We now proudly offer over forty different processes. Some we made a deliberate choice to get into over the years, while others, like laser processing, we got into out of necessity.
In the late 1990s, our need for sophisticated laser processing was increasing. Even in the tech-heavy Bay Area there were surprisingly few partners who could deliver what we needed. There were plenty of companies with large-format 1500-3000 watt CO2 machines perfect for sheet metal work, but nobody specializing in the highly complex components we often manufacture.
No longer willing to leave our destiny up to outside suppliers, we assembled the experts and equipment we needed to provide precision laser services in-house.
Our production facility now boasts 9 CNC (computer numerically controlled) laser work centers. Processes we offer include cutting, welding, drilling, ablating
and marking/engraving. Our machines range from large 1500-watt machines, CO2 sheet cutters with 4-square-foot beds and highly specialized (and highly expensive) pulsed YAG stent and tube cutters capable of making the small, complex components used in today’s minimally invasive surgery techniques.
Every day, we transform metal, plastic and other substances into increasingly intricate forms using the most advanced laser equipment available, including athermal, femto/picosecond, UV and green technology.
All of our equipment really gets a workout. Customers routinely challenge us with exotic material applications, incredibly fine details and designs incorporating materials that don’t play well with one another. We accomplish amazing things by constantly investing in R&D and collaborating with manufacturing experts around the country. And it’s not uncommon to see our customers’ engineers poking around, working with us to develop even more efficient products and procedures.
As you can tell, I’m pretty excited about what we can do with lasers. In the coming months I’ll be discussing our three primary laser processes—cutting, engraving and welding—in more detail in a series of blog posts complete with detailed pictures and case studies.
I hope you find them interesting!