"We chose the Earby location for this facility because of its proximity to key accounts as well as premium science and testing establishments, " said Peter O'Hara, Vice President of European Sales and Marketing for MIC. The facility currently employs 30 people and was established to support the emerging European market for laser peening. It has two laser peening systems in operation that are processing turbofan engine parts on a regular basis.

Both MIC facilities are using a LLNL designed Neodymium: glass slab laser to generate a one million psi pressure pulse. The laser can fire five pulses per second. The repeated pressure pulses create shockwaves that travel through the metal and impart a layer of beneficial compressive stress to the surface that is four times deeper than that attainable from conventional peening treatments.

Laser peening enables component designers and manufacturers to more easily strengthen metal components where they are structurally vulnerable without having to add metal and the associated weight to the entire structure. The result is additional strength without additional weight, which is particularly important in aerospace and automotive components as well as medical implant applications.

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