From $700 at Kickstarter Enlist Your Company ico-arrow-default-right, Select From Over 500,000 Industrial Suppliers. Website Last Modified January 9, 2021. Some CNC programs offer “flying optics” capabilities that allow a laser to shape material while the cutting head is in motion. Many organizations, such as the Laser Institute of America and Laserlab Europe, conduct ongoing research to determine the best standard practices and optimal laser applications for a range of materials. Whether it is thick steel or thin steel, fiber lasers will have no problem working with it. See Terms and Conditions, The moveable laser can perform fast cutting operations while maintaining accuracy, and is highly effective on thin sheet metal. However, in some cases, it may be better to use thicker, sturdier sheet metal with holes cut into it than dozens of individual steel wires. The degree to which light curves around surfaces is known as diffraction, and most lasers have low diffraction rates to enable higher levels of light intensity over longer distances. Crystal lasers are good for metal cutting, but you would typically only use this process where high power is needed, probably for very thick metal. The cutting nozzle is controlled by a capacitance sensor and z-axis motor. This kind of modification uses the laser to preheat the steel while the oxygen catalyzes an exothermic reaction to assist in the cutting. In conclusion, fiber laser cutting machines are superior to most CO2 laser metal cutting machines when your steel plate is pre-coated with paints and some specialty coatings. Check out this simple guide to design your first laser cut metal part. In this instructable I am going to show you some of my experiences. Metal is perhaps the most common material that is cut with lasers. 4. We cut most metals, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and nickel. COVID-19 Response This is why we’ve chosen to manufacture and develop fiber lasers here at SPI Lasers, with both Pulsed and Continuous Wave (CW) machines. If the metal is thinner than 0.5mm, then it can be cut using fiber lasers with just one pass. Can Your Company Help Provide Critical Supplies? A crystal laser machine is expensive, run on costly pump diodes, so should you need replacement parts this can start to weigh down heavily on your bank balance! Although this article has focused on the cutting metal, the process is capable of working with an almost limitless amount of materials. As laser cutting systems continue to improve in their capacity, production rates, and cost-efficiency, more steel and aluminum laser cutting applications are likely to appear. ico-arrow-default-right. We have written about the quick cut of thin aluminium foil here, where we found that the fastest speed was at 100kHz.\n\nIt is important that aluminium is cut using only one pulse, as it was found that repeated pulses could damage the metal.\n\nCutting of silver\nSilver is an extremely widely used metal, seen in both industrial and commercial settings for things such as jewellery, electronics, or energy devices. The material being cut often dictates the type of laser used in fabrication, making it important to match equipment specifications with forming stock. We created a replica of Tower Bridge, and two SPI Lasers’ pets; an eagle and a dragon! Crystal lasers have a shorter service life than the other types of laser machines, at around 8,000 to 15,000 hours.\n\nGas laser machines have improved greatly over the last few years, and are now much more adept at cutting metal. There are three types of cutting processes that you can use to cut metal with a laser; gas, crystal and fiber . Gas laser machines have improved greatly over the last few years, and are now much more adept at cutting metal. We’ve discussed more on the cutting of silver with lasers here, as well as looking at a specific example of the laser cutting of 1mm thick silver here. Find materials, components, equipment, MRO supplies and more. These two processes have been around much longer than fiber-based cutting with a laser, and have a history dating back to the 1960s, whereas fiber laser are a relatively new process.\n\nTo put it simply, each of the three cutting processes can be used to cut metal, although gas based methods wasn’t always able to do this so well, but we’ve compared them all here.\n\nCrystal lasers are good for cutting metal, but you would typically only use this process where high power is needed, probably for very thick metal. You can also see a video demonstration here: redENERGY G4 Pulsed Fiber Laser Cutting & Marking 0.3mm & 0.9mm Copper.\n\nCutting of aluminium foil\nAluminium foil is a metal that has uses for a range of industries, perhaps most commonly seen in the packaging industry. The invention of the laser back in the 1960s, and its development into fiber lasers that are commonly used today, ticked all of these boxes. Steel is one of the most common metals used by industries around the world, and so is one of the most crucial to manufacturing processes. Generally, both CO 2 and fiber laser sources have the ability to cut metal. This is known as flashback damage. There is no simple answer on the thickness a laser system can cut. LaserCutZ state of the art metal fiber laser cutters are capable of cutting thick metal plates that can be assembled into structural or engineering grates. Alongside this, a fiber laser is much less expensive to run, having a long service life of around 25,000 hours, rarely needing maintenance, and only requiring cheap replacement parts should they be needed. Laser Marking - how can you affordably mark metal parts with barcodes and logos? Unlike standard-grade or carbon steel, aluminum and stainless steel are light-reflective and heat-conductive metals, so it can be difficult to fabricate them using a laser cutting process. The majority of users can pay more attention to these problems during daily use. All Rights Reserved. Although metal cutting operations traditionally employ mechanical or manual processes, laser cutting can be a viable, effective, and cost-efficient option for metal fabrication. Below are just some of the metals that can be laser engraved using a fiber laser: Aluminium and aluminium alloys; Brass; Copper Laser Engraving - find out how Epilog's laser engravers can create beautiful engravings . 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