Overview of Laser Applications in Manufacturing and Materials Processing in Recent Years

Abstract This article is to capture some of the important developments in the rapidly growing areas of laser-based manufacturing and materials processing and also to describe important technological issues pertaining to various laser-based manufacturing processes. The topics to be covered in this paper include more popularly used processes in industry such as laser additive manufacturing, laser-assisted machining, laser micromachining, laser forming, laser surface texturing, laser welding, and laser shock peening, although there are several additional areas of laser applications. In each section, a brief overview of the process is provided, followed by critical issues in implementing the process, such as properties, predictive modeling, and process monitoring, and finally some remarks on future issues that can guide researchers and practitioners.