The finished prototype is just the starting point: Lengchen Technology has completed a Pre-A financing round of tens of millions of yuan, addressing the core question of "whether water-guided laser technology can achieve stable and consistent reproducibility after being deployed in the production line".

Recently, Shanghai Lengchen Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lengchen Technology") has completed a Pre-A round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan, which was jointly invested by institutions including Nanjing Venture Capital Group and Green All. The funds will be mainly used for the R&D of the new-generation water-guided laser equipment, capacity expansion and mass delivery, as well as market expansion and application scenario implementation.

For water-guided laser equipment enterprises, the ability to process sample parts is only the starting point. Whether the equipment can operate stably in the real production environment, continuously reproduce processing quality, and form replicable processes and delivery solutions determines whether this technology can enter more manufacturing scenarios. The use of this round of financing also points to the links that water-guided laser needs to cross when moving from single-point process verification to large-scale application.

Starting from the difficulties in material processing, water-guided laser needs to solve practical production problems

Materials such as diamond, diamond-copper composite, silicon carbide and precision ceramics are being widely discussed for applications in semiconductor heat dissipation, superhard material processing and high-end manufacturing. Such materials feature high hardness and high brittleness, and some of them are also sensitive to thermal impact; the processing process often requires simultaneous control of edge damage, heat-affected zone, kerf morphology, dimensional accuracy and material loss. Traditional laser processing may cause thermal impact or edge damage under some working conditions, while mechanical processing may be restricted by factors such as tool wear, processing efficiency and complex structures, and the specific process still needs to be selected according to the requirements of materials and workpieces.

Water-guided laser couples the laser into a high-speed fine water beam, which guides the laser to the processing area; the water flow also helps cool the workpiece and take away processing debris. Compared with direct laser processing, this method has application potential in reducing thermal accumulation and improving the trimming quality of some materials, and can be used to evaluate the cutting, drilling and grooving requirements of hard and brittle materials.

Schematic diagram of the principle of water-guided laser processing

 However, water-guided laser is not applicable to all materials and working conditions. The coupling efficiency between laser and water beam, water beam stability, nozzle status, processing parameters and multi-axis motion control will all affect the final processing performance. To enter the production line, the equipment not only needs to pass the sample verification, but also needs to maintain process stability under different workpiece conditions, and meet the requirements of efficiency, maintenance and continuous operation.

From CNC system to material process, Lengchen Technology promotes the coordination between equipment and applications

Lengchen Technology focuses on the R&D, production and sales of water-guided laser equipment. Its R&D work covers CNC system, laser and water beam coupling and equipment hardware, and continues to develop processing technologies around customers' specific materials. According to the company's official website, the core founding team members graduated from University of Science and Technology of China and Tsinghua University respectively; the team has more than ten years of industry experience in the fields of waterjet, laser cutting, CNC system and core hardware, and has experience in R&D, product and supply chain management.

In terms of diamond-copper composite material processing, the company disclosed that the relevant process has been iterated to the third generation, which can realize large-size slicing, and the thickness difference of sample parts is controlled within 0.02 mm. This indicator corresponds to the specific sample parts and process conditions disclosed by the company, and the actual processing results still need to be comprehensively judged in combination with factors such as material batch, sample size, processing path and measurement method. The company also stated that the equipment had completed three days and three nights of continuous processing test at a listed company; the specific customer name, workpiece information and complete test indicators have not been publicly disclosed.

Watlaser Water-guided Laser Processing Equipment

In terms of commercialization, Lengchen Technology is based on equipment R&D, production and sales, and promotes equipment introduction through material process development, sample verification and application solution delivery. Its target users include semiconductor material and superhard material enterprises, aerospace industry chain enterprises, high-end industrial manufacturing enterprises, as well as scientific research institutes and universities with precision processing demands.

The company disclosed that it has carried out cooperation with aerospace industry chain enterprises such as AECC, enterprises such as Wold and Six Point Semiconductor, and carried out technical cooperation or industry-university-research cooperation with industrial enterprises such as HG Laser, as well as scientific research institutions such as Tsinghua University Tianjin Advanced Equipment Research Institute, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The above cooperation covers different scenarios such as material processing demand, industrial coordination and scientific research verification.

Comparison of processed samples of diamond-copper composite material

This round of funds is targeted at mass delivery, and large-scale application still needs to be verified by real data

In 2023, Lengchen Technology completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan exclusively invested by Kaiwu Venture Capital, and then carried out core technology R&D and industrialization exploration around water-guided laser equipment. This Pre-A round of financing will continue to be invested in equipment R&D, capacity construction and market expansion. In the next stage, the company needs to face not only equipment iteration, but also commercial requirements such as mass delivery capacity, product consistency, stable operation at customer sites and application scenario expansion.

Moving from technical verification to large-scale production, the key is to convert the single sample processing result into a repeatable and predictable processing capability. For customers, whether the equipment is applicable needs to be evaluated in combination with continuous operation performance, processing parameters under different materials and structures, production tact, maintenance cost and quality consistency; for equipment enterprises, it is necessary to continuously accumulate real production data, and precipitate the verified processes into reusable solutions.

After this round of financing, Lengchen Technology plans to continue to promote the R&D of new-generation water-guided laser equipment, expand production capacity and expand the market, focusing on finding more application scenarios around hard and brittle materials such as diamond, silicon carbide and ceramics. Whether water-guided laser can further expand its industrial application remains to be tested by the continuous verification at customer sites, mass delivery and replicable process capability of the equipment.