Customer-specific laser systems as well as contract manufacturing in laser hardening, laser cladding and additive manufacturing.
ALOtec Dresden GmbH
01723 Kesselsdorf (Saxony) · Kesselsdorf Industrial ParkNew on Amplifa
Laser Systems and Contract Manufacturing from Kesselsdorf
ALOtec Dresden GmbH was spun off from the Fraunhofer IWS in 1998 and specializes in laser material processing of metallic components. The company manufactures customer-specific, turnkey robotic systems for laser hardening, laser cladding and additive manufacturing (WAAM) – usable in stationary, mobile or hybrid configurations. In addition, ALOtec offers contract manufacturing: laser hardening (ALOhard), laser cladding with powder (ALOpowder) or wire (ALOwire), arc welding (ALOarc) and additive manufacturing of 3D components, including on-site at the customer with the ALOhybrid system. The processes are controlled with real-time laser power control, thermal imaging camera systems and process documentation via OPC UA. Materials are predominantly metals, including steel, stainless steel and tungsten carbide as filler material. Customer industries include industry and agriculture, automotive, rail and shipbuilding, mechanical engineering, tooling and mold making as well as the oil and gas industry and mining. The company is located in Kesselsdorf near Dresden; more than 40 systems are in operation worldwide.
- Site
- Kesselsdorf
- Processes
- Laser hardening (ALOhard), Laser hardening with mirror system (internal surfaces of cylinders/tubes), Laser hardening with ALOhard scan (oscillating mirror, radii, V-grooves, multiple steps, edges), Mobile laser hardening on-site (ALOhybrid), Laser powder cladding (ALOpowder) – repair, coating, additive manufacturing, Internal coating with powder (ALOpowder ID, from 80 mm diameter), Laser wire cladding (ALOwire), Coating with powder & wire (direct diode laser without tool change)
- Materials
- Tungsten carbide, Metal, Laser Hardening, Laser Powder Cladding, Laser Wire Cladding, Arc and CMT Welding, Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), Tungsten Carbide
- Certificates
- Process control OPC UA with real-time documentation, Metallographic testing (sample production and testing), Certified laser safety walls ALOprotect 5
- Founded
- 1998
- Industries
- Industry and agriculture, Automotive, rail and shipbuilding, Mechanical engineering, tooling and mold making, Oil and gas industry, mining, Defense industry, Science/Research
- 01
System design and engineering
- 02
System construction and assembly
- 03
Commissioning and training
- 04
Contract manufacturing (laser hardening, cladding, additive manufacturing)
- 05
Process control with real-time documentation (OPC UA)
- 06
Service, maintenance and support
Processes and Materials
Laser Hardening
Surface hardening process for increasing the wear resistance of metallic surfaces, with low distortion and without quenching media.
Laser Powder Cladding
Repair, coating and additive manufacturing with powder, hardness up to 65 HRC, deposition rate up to 5 kg/h, internal coating from 80 mm diameter.
Laser Wire Cladding
Cladding with wire for wear protection, repair and design modification, hardness up to 66 HRC, deposition rate up to 1.5 kg/h.
Arc and CMT Welding
Welding process with high deposition rates for coating, join welding and additive manufacturing.
Additive Manufacturing (WAAM)
Wire-based additive manufacturing of metallic 3D components, suitable for prototyping and small series.
Tungsten Carbide
Powdered filler material for wear-resistant layers with hardness up to 3000 HV.
Steel and Stainless Steel
Base materials for laser hardening and cladding, e.g. stainless steel with distortion of 0.05 mm/m.
Location
Kesselsdorf
DEHeadquarters, production hall and system construction
- Lot size
- Single pieces, small series
- Materials
- Steel, stainless steel, tungsten carbide
- Laser systems ALOstation, ALOflex, ALOhybrid, ALOhard, ALOpowder, ALOwire, ALOarc
- 4-axis CNC machine with 2-kW diode laser
- Industrial robots
- Direct diode lasers
- Wire cladding systems
- WAAM robotic systems (among others 16 axes, Fronius iWave/TPS i TWIN)
- E-MAqS laser power control
- Thermal imaging camera systems
- Metallography
Machined Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser hardening (ALOhard)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Laser hardening with mirror system (internal surfaces of cylinders/tubes)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Laser hardening with ALOhard scan (oscillating mirror, radii, V-grooves, multiple steps, edges)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Mobile laser hardening on-site (ALOhybrid)Heat treatment | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Laser powder cladding (ALOpowder) – repair, coating, additive manufacturingJoining | – | – | – | – | Metal, Tungsten carbide |
| Internal coating with powder (ALOpowder ID, from 80 mm diameter)Joining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Laser wire cladding (ALOwire)Joining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Coating with powder & wire (direct diode laser without tool change)Joining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Additive manufacturing of 3D components (laser)Additive | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Arc welding / arc cladding (ALOarc, also as additive manufacturing)Joining | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| WAAM (Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing) – additive manufacturing and coatingAdditive | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| System construction – turnkey customer-specific robotic laser systems (stationary, mobile,Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Design modification and correction of production errorsSurface | – | – | – | – | Metal |
| Sample production and testingTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Contract manufacturing on-site at the customer (ALOhybrid system)Surface | – | – | – | – | Metal |
5 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collaborative WAAM robotic system (2 welding robots, 16 synchronized axes) | Fronius iWave, TPS/i TWIN (PMC, CMT), KR120 R3100 robots | 1 | Robot reach up to 3100 mm, payload 120 kg | 2026 | BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg |
| 6-axis robot | KUKA KR120 R3100 | 2 | Reach 3100 mm, payload 120 kg | – | BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg (WAAM system) |
| Controller | KUKA KRC ROBOTstar | 1 | – | – | WAAM system |
| Laser system ALOflex (mobile laser processing system) | ALOtec ALOflex | – | – | – | Dresden/Kesselsdorf |
| Laser hardening and laser cladding systems on robot basis | ALOtec ALOhybrid, ALOhard, ALOpowder, ALOwire, ALOarc | – | – | – | Dresden/Kesselsdorf |
Additional services
Reference customers
Process Control and Documentation
The processes are monitored with real-time laser power control (E-MAqS), thermal imaging camera systems and process control with concurrent documentation of process parameters via OPC UA. Sample production and testing including metallography complement the quality assurance.
| Evidence | Kesselsdorf |
|---|---|
| Process control OPC UA with real-time documentation | |
| Metallographic testing (sample production and testing) | |
| Certified laser safety walls ALOprotect 5 |
Company History
- 1998
Spin-off of ALOtec Dresden GmbH from the Fraunhofer IWS
- 2000
Delivery of a CNC laser hardening machine with diode laser to Christoph Liebers GmbH & Co. KG
- 2002
Entry into contract work with hardening and welding on a 4-axis CNC machine with 2-kW diode laser
- 2004
First industrial robot for contract work; first diode laser from Laserline; E-MAqS laser power control; first trials in laser powder cladding
- 2005
First robotic system for laser hardening and laser powder cladding delivered to Härterei Gerster AG (Switzerland)
- 2007
First system for hardening and welding with fiber-coupled laser
- 2009
First hardening system with scanner optics
- 2010
First mobile robotic laser hardening system at the Hannover Messe; intensification of wire cladding
- 2011
Move to production hall in the Kesselsdorf industrial park; first mobile laser hardening assignment; first Zoom optic 1D
- 2013
Zoom optic 2D; first mobile laser processing system on crawler chassis (with Alphalaser)
- 2017
First system for laser cladding with wire delivered to Adam Opel AG
- 2018
Zoom optic with round spot; second ALOtec laser system in Japan
- 2020
First system for additive manufacturing with ALOtwin optic; hybrid laser system ALOhybrid
- 2021
Laser system with ALOpowder-ID optic for internal cladding
- 2022
First system with 2 processing stations and automatic geometry detection
- 2023
Certification of the mobile laser safety walls ALOprotect 5
- 2024
Presentation of container-based system concept for repair and additive manufacturing at DALO Industry Days, Denmark
- 2026
Handover of the collaborative WAAM robotic system (16 axes, master-slave) to BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
More than 40 systems sold worldwide