IPG Photonics, an Oxford, Mass., maker of high-power lasers and amplifiers, said its application center in Germany used its 20-kW fiber laser to weld nearly a meter of 1-inch-thick stainless steel at 0.85 meters/minute, and three-quarter inch stainless steel at speeds of about 2 meters a minute with a 200-µ fiber cable and a 420-µ focus spot. Laser beams were applied from both sides with a total penetration depth of 54- to 56-mm per pass. IPG said the commercial YLR-20,000 fiber laser has the potential for indoor and outdoor thick metal-based applications and others requiring deep penetration welds -- such as shipbuilding, pipelines, gas tanks, aerospace and construction -- and that as a result, lasers could replace expensive electron beam welding machines requiring a full or partial vacuum.