Cambridge Vacuum Engineering has installed what it describes as Poland’s first laser-in-vacuum welding machine at the Laser Research Center of Kielce University of Technology, extending a specialist joining capability into Central European research and training. The system was co-funded by Poland’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education and gives the university a platform for both advanced welding research and industrial collaboration.
The machine is one of CVE’s more complex laser platforms. Built in the UK, it can produce welds up to 35 mm deep and is designed to join difficult or gas-sensitive metals including titanium, magnesium, and aluminium. A 5-axis CNC motion system allows more complex paths and larger workpieces to be processed, while an integrated wire-feed system adds additive manufacturing and cladding capability rather than limiting the equipment to conventional joining work alone.
For a university research centre, that matters because laser-in-vacuum changes the process boundary conditions in a useful way. Welding inside a controlled vacuum reduces atmospheric contamination and enables deeper, cleaner, higher-integrity joints than conventional atmospheric laser welding on demanding materials. That opens a practical route into aerospace-style applications, dissimilar material combinations, and process development work that standard lab-scale equipment would struggle to support.
Dr Hubert Danielewski, assistant professor at Kielce University of Technology, said the installation would strengthen both curriculum and research programmes while supporting studies in demanding joining applications. CVE says the system will also be relevant to industries that require novel welding solutions, including aerospace and other sectors where reliability, cleanliness, and metallurgical integrity are critical design requirements rather than optional extras.
There is also a broader industrial point here. Advanced welding equipment is increasingly moving beyond production plants and into the infrastructure that trains engineers and develops next-generation processes. That is important for regions trying to move up the manufacturing value chain without relying solely on imported know-how or distant research partnerships.
For Kielce, the machine is more than a prestige installation. It creates a domestic reference point for vacuum-assisted laser joining in a country with growing engineering ambition and a stronger focus on smart manufacturing capability. For CVE, it is a live demonstration that specialist welding platforms are becoming part of national research capacity as much as factory capital equipment.
