The first laser designed for the purpose of production was introduced by Western Electric in 1965. A leader in the manufacturing and electrical engineering spaces, this company has been a trailblazer in the industry for years, contributing to advanced forms of production. Western Electric began using lasers as a way of drilling holes into diamond dies in 1965, and the technology took off from there.
By May of 1967 (just two years later), a German scientist named Peter Houldcroft had begun developing his own laser-cutting nozzle. This nozzle used a CO2 laser beam and oxygen assist-gas to experiment with industrial cutting. Thanks to these experiments, Houldcroft became the first person to use laser cutting to cut through a 1mm steel sheet. Western Electric quickly jumped on these advancements, making improvements to Houldcroft’s technology — soon enough, lasers were being sold to companies for industrial applications.
