The technology inside every Spark machine.
The components inside a Spark machine, and how we engineer them into one system. Planar Motor maglev first, then the lasers, vision, robots, motion, controls and 3D measurement behind every build.
Planar Motor maglev integration.
Run a maglev laser cell: every part rides its own levitating mover. A robot arm loads each XBot, the laser processes the part, vision checks it, and a second arm unloads it. Add movers or speed it up and watch the flow rebalance.
Image courtesy of Planar Motor Inc.A laser needs a part in the right place, every time.
XBots position each part in six degrees of freedom while they move, so the laser, camera or robot sees it exactly where it expects. No belts to stretch, no fixtures to swap, nothing touching the part.
- Precise positioning under the laser head, then on to the next station
- Tilt, rotate and lift parts for multi-face processing
- No lubrication and no particles, suited to medical and battery work
- Reroute the process in software when the product changes
The complete machine around the motion.
Planar Motor supplies the motion platform. We design and build everything else and hand you a working, certified cell.
- Laser marking, cutting, welding and micro-machining stations
- Robot load and unload, vision inspection and dispensing
- Custom nests and tooling machined in-house
- Controls, safety and integration with your line
Then everything else that makes a Spark machine precise.
Maglev is the headline. Underneath it, every build draws on the same stack: the laser, the vision, the robot, the motion it all sits on, and the controls that run it.
Image: IPG PhotonicsFiber, UV and CO₂ lasers, matched to the material and the feature.
Fiber for cutting and welding metals, pulsed fiber for marking, green and UV for plastics, glass and micro-features. We size the source, the optics and the motion to the job, and we've been doing it since 2014.
- Continuous-wave fiber lasers up to multi-kilowatt for cutting and welding
- Pulsed and ultrafast sources for marking, engraving and micro-machining
- Galvo scanners, wobble heads and cutting heads matched to the process
- Fume extraction, beam safety and Class 1 enclosures designed in
Image: KEYENCEAI machine vision and 3D inspection.
Cameras locate parts to fractions of a millimetre, AI inspection learns good from bad from a few dozen images, and 3D laser profilers measure welds, coatings and flatness inline.
- VS series vision with built-in AI classification
- CV-X and XG-X 2D and 3D vision for alignment and gauging
- LJ-X and LJ-S 3D profilers for inline measurement
- Code readers for serial-level traceability
Image: Universal RobotsCollaborative robots that load, unload and assemble.
Cobots guided by vision pick parts with no fixtures, feed lasers and presses, and work next to people without a cage. AI-guided picking and robotic laser welding with inline inspection are where we take them next.
- Load, unload, palletizing and assembly
- Vision-guided and AI-assisted picking
- Robotic laser welding with inline inspection
- Risk-assessed and certified to work alongside operators
Precision motion: air bearings, linear motors and granite.
A laser is only as precise as what holds the part. When the job needs microns we build on granite with New Way air bearings, which float the stage on a film of air, and direct-drive linear motors. Ball screws, belts and indexers cover everything else.
- Akribis direct-drive linear motors, THK ball screws and Lintech stages
- New Way air bearings: frictionless, wear-free, vibration-free
- Mitutoyo granite bases and isolation for thermal and vibration stability
- Rotary, indexing and roll-to-roll handling for continuous processes
Controls and electronics that think as well as move.
A Beckhoff PLC and safety PLC run the sequence, a touchscreen HMI shows the operator what's happening, and every part's result is logged to its serial. Servo and DC motion comes from Kollmorgen, Maxon and Akribis; custom electronics, embedded control and AI from our sister company Combination Technologies.
- Beckhoff TwinCAT PLC, safety PLC and multi-touch HMI, built to UL/cUL and CSA
- Kollmorgen servo drives and motors, Maxon DC motors, Akribis direct-drive linear motors
- Custom circuit boards, power electronics and firmware
- Data logging, dashboards, remote diagnostics and traceability to your MES
One screen for the whole cell.
A Spark HMI, simplified: every station with its live status, counts and first-pass yield, laser and spindle readouts, safety and fume extraction on one screen, and an event log tied to each part's serial. The PLC runs it; the data goes wherever your plant needs it.
Image: KEYENCEEvery part, fixture and machine measured before it ships.
A portable CMM that measures anywhere in the shop or at your site: a wireless contact probe for dimensions and GD&T, a handheld laser-scanning probe for full 3D shape and CAD comparison, over a range of up to 25 m. First-article reports, reverse engineering and machine alignment, all in-house.
- Contact probe accuracy ±(28 + 5 L/1000) µm, laser scanning to 2.4 million points per second
- Flatness, parallelism, squareness, hole positions and CAD comparison colour maps
- STEP, IGES, DXF, STL and point-cloud output for reverse engineering
- Inspection reports with pass/fail, statistics and Cpk
The motion partners behind our machines.
The servo motors, drives and positioning hardware in a Spark machine come from partners who back them with engineering support here in Canada.
Electromate
Canada's motion control and robotics distributor since 1986: servo and stepper systems, positioning stages, cobots and mechatronic components, with application engineering support.
Kollmorgen
Servo motors, drives and motion controllers, including the AKM motors and AKD2G drives that run the axes in our machines.
Questions about the technology.
Which lasers does Spark Laser build into machines?
IPG fiber, UV and CO₂ lasers, matched to the material and the feature: fiber lasers for cutting, welding and marking metals, UV lasers for micro-machining and fine features, and CO₂ lasers for wood, acrylic, fabric, leather and many plastics. Read how to choose a laser source.
What is Spark Laser's role with Planar Motor maglev?
Spark Laser is a system integrator for Planar Motor maglev conveying: we design and build the complete machine around the movers and tiles, including the process stations, vision, controls and safety.
Do you build AI machine vision and inspection?
Yes. We integrate KEYENCE vision and 3D inspection, including AI-based vision that learns good and bad parts from a few dozen images and flags defects inline, and robotic laser welding with inline inspection.
Which robots do you use?
Mostly Universal Robots collaborative robots, for loading, unloading and assembly, and robots with fiber laser welding heads and vision for seam finding.
Which motion and control brands do you use?
Beckhoff controls, Kollmorgen, maxon and Akribis motors and drives, and New Way air bearings, Mitutoyo, Lintech and THK for precision motion. Electromate and Kollmorgen are our motion partners.
Can you add a station to our existing line?
Yes. We can connect a new station to your existing line and work with the equipment and suppliers you already use.
Have a process that needs this kind of precision?
Tell us what you're making. We'll set up a free 30-minute call with an engineer.
Talk to an engineer