HANOVER, N.H. - Hypertherm Inc., a producer of high-temperature metal-cutting technologies, and Rofin-Sinar Inc., a manufacturer of industrial lasers, have partnered to offer laser retrofit packages in North America.

According to the companies, many existing systems lack performance. Replacement of the cutting head, controller or resonator is a cost-effective option to maintaining a state-of-the-art laser-cutting system, adding significant capability and operating cost savings, officials said.

Retrofit packages are available that include Hypertherm's new Fast Laser cutting heads and Mariner controller, coupled with Rofin-Sinar's new DC Slab and RF Laser series resonators.

According to Hypertherm, Fast Laser cutting heads deliver up to a 20-percent increase in cut speed on plate steel. They also expand the capacity and quality range of plate-laser cutting systems.

Rofin-Sinar offers two resonator designs. A new DC-slab design is said to feature superior beam quality, no moving parts, no optical consumables and 2-, 2.5- and 3.5-kilowatt models for high-speed sheet-metal cutting and thick-plate processing. It also offers a radio-frequency resonator design providing 5 kilowatts of cutting power for thick-plate processing.