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2233Lifestyleandliving1Breakfastisready:thedaycanbegin.2Finelasermarkingsshowthespraysettingsonthisshowerhead.3Laserspotweldsholdthefoilsandcentercutterofthiselectricrazorinplace.4Exclusive,laser-weldedtitaniumeyewearforfashionconnoisseurslipstick,mascara,andblusharejustafewexamplesofthedifferenttypesofmakeupatawoman’sdisposal.High-qualitycosmeticsbearserialnumbers,whicharemarkedontheplasticcasespartlybylasers.Electricrazors|Themalehalfofcreation,too,requiresmorethanjustsoapandwatertopreparefortheday;laser-processedpartssuchaselectricrazorsarealsoneeded.Acloselookattheshavingheadrevealsamasterpieceofme-chanicalprecision.Theultrathinfoilsthroughwhichwhiskersenterthecuttersarespot-weldedinplacebythelaser.Thespotweldsproducedbythelaserareextremelyfine.Thecentercutterdoesmostoftheshaving.Itconsistsofthreemetalpartsattachedtoeachotherbylaserspotwelds.Additionalspotweldsconnectthecutterassemblytothedriveelementofthemotor,whichmovesthecutter.Shaversaremass-productionarticles,andthelaserdeliversYouralarmgoesoff,andthedaybegins.Maybeit’sraining,maybethesun’sshining.Maybeyou’vegotathousandthingstodo.Maybeeveryone’sinagoodmood–ormaybenot.Outofbedandintotheshower.Acupofcoffeeandadoughnut(or,onsecondthought,makethatanorangejuiceandanapple),andthenit’sofftowork.Fromyourbedtotheoffice,you’veprobablyalreadycomeacrossseveralobjectsma-chinedbyalaserorevenbumpedintothelaseritself.Thelaserinthebathroom|Thefirstthingmanypeopledoaftertheywakeupistakeashower.There’snothinglikeashowertogetyougoing.Nowfortheshowerheadsetting:gentleorfullmassage?Youlookatthechromeshowerheadtoadjustthespray,andwhatdoyousee?That’sright:lasermarkings.Themanufacturerlogoandproductnamearealsolaser-etchedintothethinchromelayeroftheshowerhead.Themarksareindelible,andnospecialpreparationorrework-ingisrequiredinproduction.Theyremainclearlylegibleevenaftercountlesscleaningsandyearsofuse.Electrictoothbrushesareanothergoodexample:theyhavelight-graymarkingsthatarealsoinscribedbyalaserbeam.Inadditiontothenameandmanufacturerlogo,themarkingsprovideproductinformationsuchasproductioncode,articlenumber,anddateofmanufacture.Ifthetoothbrushstopsworking,themanufacturercantracetheproduct’shistoryallthewaybacktofabrication.Atthecompany,thousandsofsuchdevicesaremarkeddailyonautomatedproductionsys-tems,witheachmarktakingonlyamatterofseconds.Thelasercaninscribecharacterssosmallthatyoucouldwritemessagesonthetoothbrushbristles.Nowthatthetracesofthenighthavebeenscrubbedandbrushedaway,it’stimetoprepareforthegloryoftheday–well,thisistrueatleastfortheladiesamongstus.Eyeshadow,124thehigh-speedprecisionneededtomakethem:morethan10millionshavingheadsaremanufacturedeveryyear.Asyoumayhaveguessed,shaversarealsolaser-marked.Thela-serbeamproducesdurablemarkswithoutmarringthehigh-qualitysurfaceoftheshaver.It’snowonderdesignerslovelasers:markingisdoneonlybyalteringthecolorofthemate-rial.Thesurfaceremainsperfectlysmooth.Jewelryandaccessories|Aneleganttimepiece,fash-ionableeyewear,oragoldnecklace:accessoriesprovidetheperfectfinishingtouch.Here,too,acloserlookrevealstheworkofthelaser:thebacksofwatchesareoftenlaser-engraved.Goldchainsarelaser-weldedorlaser-soldered.Exclusive,lightweighttitaniumeyewearisconstructedusingfinelaserwelds.You’llhavetolookprettyhard,though,toactuallyseethewelds.Ok,nowonelastlookinthemirrorandthedaycanbegin.222|Theubiquitouslaser224|Theubiquitouslaser225Whenyou’rehot,you’rehot|Whatwouldpotsandpansbewithouthandles?Theanswer:hot!Thebasichandleforthesaucepanpicturedhereisfirstweldedtogetheratthebottombyasolid-statelaser.Areinforcingelementisalsoadded.Afterwards,aCO2lasercutsoutthecontourofthehandle.Finally,theconnectingpiecesareweldedon.In15seconds,thehandleisfinishedandcanbeattachedtothesaucepanbyresistancewelding.Thejobisworththeeffortinanumberofrespects:thestainlesssteelhandlelooksgreat,whileprovidingextrastability.Unlikehandlesthatarescrewedtogether,thelaser-weldedhandleisstillfirmlyinplaceevenafteryearsofuse.Inaddition,thelaserprovidesadistincttechnologicaladvantage,distinguishingauthenticproductsfrommereimitations.Youcanfindevenmoreexamplesoflaser-processedpartsinyourkitchen:markingsonstainlesssteelaccesso-ries,laser-cutcutlery,andevenItaliandesignercoffeemakersareproducedpartlywiththelaser.Theadvantageofthelaserweldisitshighstrengthandperfectsurface,whichissosmooththatitdoesnotrequirerefinishing.Here’salittlesecret:thequalityoftheweldcanbemeasuredusingawoman’sstocking.Yes,youheardright:awoman’sstocking.Thesurfaceoftheweldissosmooththatevenapieceofmaterialasdelicateasastockingwillnotsnagonit.Heating|Thecozywarmthofaradiatorinthedeadofwin-tergivesyouasenseoftheenergyofthelaserbeamusedtoweldittogether.Onedistinctivefeatureofradiators–or,moregenerally,ofheatexchangersofalltypes–isthattheyrequirethejoiningofmanydifferentelements.Morerecently,themassivecast-irondinosaursofthepasthavebeengivingwaytoincreasinglyslimandelegantthin-wallheatexchang-ersmadeofsheetmetal.Allthankstothelaser,ofcourse.Thelaserbeamweldswithverylittleheatinput,causingvir-tuallynodistortionoftheworkpie