With the major breakthrough of commercial application of laser peening on the F101 engine to resolve a major operational problem, laser peening attracted attention around the globe. Researchers in many countries and industries undertook investigations to extend understanding of the laser shock peening process and material property effects. As a result, a large volume of research papers and patents were generated in the United States, France, and Japan. In addition to the work being done in these countries and Spain, laser peening programs were initiated in China, Britain, Germany and several other countries. The continuing growth of the technology and its applications led to the appearance of several commercial laser shock peening providers in the early 2000s.
GE Aviation and LSP Technologies were the first companies performing laser peening commercially, having licensed the technology from Battelle. GE Aviation performed laser peening for its aerospace engine components and LSP Technologies marketed laser shock peening services and equipment to a broader industrial base. In the late 1990s, Metal Improvement Company (MIC is now part of Curtis Wright Surface Technologies) partnered with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to develop its own laser peening capabilities. In Japan, Toshiba Corporation expanded the commercial applications of its LPwC system to pressurized water reactors, and in 2002 implemented fiber optic beam delivery to the underwater laser peening head. Toshiba also redesigned the laser and beam delivery into a compact system, enabling the entire system to be inserted into the pressure vessel. This system was ready for commercial use in 2013 MIC developed and adapted laser shock peening for forming the wing shapes on the Boeing 747-8.
The growth of industrial suppliers and commercial proof of laser peening technology lead to many companies adopting laser peening technology to solve and prevent problems. Some of the companies who have adopted laser peening include: GE, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and others.
In the 1990s and continuing through present day, laser peening developments have targeted decreasing costs and increasing throughput to reach markets outside of high-cost low-volume components. High costs in the laser peening process were previously attributable to laser system complexity, processing rates, manual labor and overlay applications. Numerous ongoing advancements addressing these challenges have reduced laser peening costs dramatically: laser peening systems are designed to handle robust operations; pulse rates of laser systems are increasing; routine labor operations are increasingly automated; application of overlays are automated in many cases. These reduced operational costs of laser peening have made it a valuable tool for solving an extended range of fatigue and related applications.