Ex Chief Engineer
Pakistan Institute of Lasers and Optics
Total years of experience :28 years, 1 Months
Managed a team of 20 scientists and engineers that established Pakistan Institute of Lasers and Optics and developed CO2 lasers for laser materials processing for the manufacturing industries.
Worked as Deputy Chief Engineer in the field of laser materials processing. Research and production using laser for manufacturing industries. These includes laser welding, cutting, surface treatment, drilling, marking and cladding etc.
At the Pakistan Institute of Lasers and Optics, Rawalpindi, the main purpose of the Institute was to provide know how of the laser technology to the local industries. The Institute is also acting as a job shop and catering for the requirement of the local end users. In the Institute I am running a 2.5kW CO2 laser workstation, which is being used for variety of jobs that includes welding, cutting, drilling, surface treatment etc. I also supervised many graduate students from Engineering Universities. My interest included local development of a 400W CO2 laser based on slow axial flow design and its subsequent application in laser material processing. A 75W and two 250W CO2 lasers are also in use for the cutting of a variety of soft and hard materials. My interest also included the corrosion studies of the different types of coating on steel that includes zinc, zinc iron, aluminium alloy, Zincrox etc. During welding the coating volatilises from the welded area leaving bare steel. Study has been made to determine the corrosion rate of the coating in the presence of a weld. Certain techniques have been developed to coat the bare steel during welding operation and to improve the corrosion properties of the steel. Linear Polarisation and galvanic coupling techniques were used to determine the corrosion properties of the specimen. Laser hardening and marking techniques were also employed. All these efforts led to a way to establish a liason with local industry.
I have a vast experience in the use of lasers for manufacturing industries. These include various processes like Laser cutting, hardening, welding, drilling, surface treatment, sealing, corrosion protection, marking/engraving, etc. All these processes lead to enhance my business development skills. I used various kinds of high power lasers like 16 kW AVCO CO2, 5kW Nd:YAG, 20W Fiber lasers etc. I performed materials characterization using many types of equipment like optical and scanning Electron microscopes, various hardness testing equipments, tensile testing machines, etc.
I continue to achieve essential experience which develop my vision, build up my perception and bravery to face industrial problems and provide a wiser solution.
I retired as Chief Engineer after serving for 28 years at Pakistan Institute of lasers and optics -KRL, where I build up a team of engineers and scientists to develop lasers for industrial processing. These lasers are being assembled and marketed to local end users for materials processing. I developed a liaison between the Institute and the local industries. I also developed mathematical modeling of the laser welding process. This model has being referred in many international books which are being taught at university level in the world. I also have experience of carrying out the Quality Management System Audit of various departments. I am working for the Pakistan Institute of Lasers and Optics for the last 25 years.
Core competencies:
Industrial use of lasers for Materials Processing,
Fabrication of various components for manufacturing industries using lasers,
Business development with industries
Metallurgy and Materials Science,
Corrosion protection,
Lead Auditor for Quality Management System,
Experience
Director Incharge - Pakistan Institute of Lasers and Optics (PILO)
April 2013 - September2019 (+6 years )
• Heading a team of officers and staff at the Pakistan Institute of Lasers and Optics for the development of Lasers and its applications.
• Over Thirty years’ experience in Laser Materials Processing.
• Responsible for the day to day running of the Laser jobshop at PILO which caters for local end users.
• Reviewing new project proposals covering broad categories in Laser applications
• Working presently with various departments of different fields to develop lasers for particular applications.
• Frequent traveling to various industries to find laser application for their particular use and to identify new areas of potential applications.
• Working to enhance the production of components by visiting various companies.
• Coordinating with finance and accounting to ensure timely reporting of financial statements for the top management.
• Provided competence of the laser technology to the local industries.
• Successfully launched and marketed 20W Fiber Laser Marking System.
• Attained maintenance/repair contract of laser marking system with local industries.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and create mentoring programs to help with development.
• Create long term plans and critical paths to ensure that key deadlines are met.
At the National Laser Centre I worked on the laser welding of aluminium alloys. Welding of aluminium and alloys poses many problems like porosities, blowholes, cracks in the weld bead. The alloy A356 was chosen because it is important for many automotive components, where increased durability and reliability are always desirable. The Samples of aluminium alloy A356 manufactured by Liquid Hi-pressure Die Casting (HPDC) technology at Light Metal Development Corporation were welded in as cast condition and heat treated conditions using an Nd:YAG laser. Microstructure and hardness of the welds was studied. The welds were tested for tensile strength. The coarser microstructure of the cast aluminium base metal was converted to a finer dendrite structure as a result of laser welding. It was found that the hardness of the weld metal was increased due to fine dendrite structure as compared with base material.
The hardness of the weld metal, in case of the as cast sample was 10-15 % higher than the base metal. The hardness of pre HT sample in the fusion zone was slightly higher than as cast fusion zone samples. However, the hardness of the fusion zone drops at the HAZ, but increases in the base metal away from the HAZ, which was not affected by the fusion heat. The average hardness of the post HT sample was almost same for base metal, HAZ and fusion zone. The hardness of the post HT sample in the fusion zone was 30% higher than as cast and pre HT fusion zone.
The tensile properties (YS & UTS) of pre HT welded samples were lower than the unwelded HT samples. However, the properties of post HT sample were higher than both unwelded and pre HT sample. The elongation of the welded samples in as cast, pre HT and post HT were lower than the unwelded samples indicating a reduction in ductility after welding.
Worked on the ‘Laser Sealing of the Tile grout material’. Ceramic tiles are considered to be the most cleanable surface available. They are applied in variety of places like hospital operating theatres food processing plants and industrial clean rooms. Contamination and the harmful agents such as bacteria can still penetrate beneath the tiles via the small voids through grout seals between the adjoining tiles. As a result these tiles have to be removed physically or mechanically, which is an arduous and costly process. A new grout material was developed which fills the space between the adjoining tiles, the laser heating sinters the newly developed grout material, thus providing a strong and tough surface, while enamel provides a glazed seal. The ceramic tile grout seal was proved to be superior to the commercially available epoxy tile grout. Another technique was developed to overcome the problems of bubble/porosity formation. The enamel in powder form was entrained through a copper pipe and was blown in to the impingement point of the beam where it melts and overlaid on the specially developed grout surface. The results showed no porosity or bubble formation. Another new technique was designed to tilt the beam in the direction of the processing. The first half of the beam provided enough energy to melt the enamel powder and to boils off any gases trapped. The trailing part of the beam smoothed out any humps that were produced during the first half part of the beam/enamel interaction. Keeping in view of the needs of customers, different coloured sealing arrangements were also investigated. The addition of metal oxides, produces some coloured seal. The material produced as a result of laser interaction was characterized in terms of morphological properties such as; wear resistance, permeability, steam exposure, microstructure, etc.
The title of my thesis was "Laser Welding of Zinc Coated Steel". I worked for a European Project BRITE (Basic Research in Industrial Technologies for Europe). Car manufacturers in the world were switching over to zinc coated (galvanized) steel from mild steel. But they were facing a big problem in welding zinc coated steel in lap configuration, where there is a zinc layer between the two lapped sheets, which boils off at the melting point of steel and explodes out off the weld bead thus destroying the continuity of the weld. Extensive series of experiments were performed using different techniques to find out the necessary parameters for efficient welding of this complex material. It was found that an accurate gap size was required between the two sheets for efficient welding. The gap size depends upon welding speed, sheet thickness and thickness of the zinc coating. An operating regime was defined based on theoretical and experimental results. The welds were made using a variety of lasers and the comparison in performance of these lasers was presented. At Imperial College a 2kW FAF Control Laser and a 400W Ferranti Laser were used. In addition, the two beams were combined to give a pure Gaussian beam of 1kW, giving excellent welding and cutting results. Optical and scanning electron microscopes were used for the microstructural analysis. Corrosion tests were performed on the welded samples. Comprehensive experiments were carried out to determine the corrosion rates of the zinc coating in the presence of a weld. Techniques were also developed in order to prolong the life of the coating by the modification of the weld by alloying the weld ingot, coating the weld ingot or by recondensing the zinc vapour over the solidified weld. The corrosion properties of these welds were investigated with the corrosion of the standard welds. It was found that a corrosion resistance Zn-Fe alloy forms at the edges of these welds, which sacrificially prolongs the life of the weld.
Metallurgy and Materials Science Project: Production of Spur gears of Tractor by Shell Moulding Process
I obtained B.Sc. Engineering in the field of Metallurgy and Materials Science from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. The main subjects studied were: Mechanical, Extractive & Physical Metallurgy, Iron & Steel Manufacturing, Welding & Foundry Technology, Corrosion Technology, Materials Science, Composite Materials, Mineral Processing, Mechanics of Materials, Plant Design etc. A dissertation on the topic “Production of Spur Gears of Tractor by Shell Moulding Process” was submitted. Practical training at Pakistan Ordnance Factories, Wah Cantt from July 31, 1982 to September 4, 1982 and at Pakistan Engineering Company, (PECO) Lahore from July 27, 1983 to August 25, 1983 was under taken during summer vacations.
General subjects were, Mathematics course A and Mathematics course B, Physics, English
Main Subjects were, Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, English and Urdu
