WHAT IS LASER CUTTING?

Laser cutting has a wide range of applications. One of them is precisely the cutting of metals. Whether it is black steel, stainless steel, aluminum and brass, laser cutting is always accurate, gives excellent results and cutting quality. It has a small kerf width and a small heat-affected zone, which makes it possible to cut complex parts and shapes with small holes.

The word “Laser” itself actually means light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation – LASER (Light Amplification Stimulated Emission Radiation).

The laser beam itself is a column of light with very high intensity, with a single wavelength or color. The typical carbon dioxide laser and its wavelength, which is infrared, are invisible to the human eye.

In order for the fiber laser to focus, it uses a special lens or curved mirror. This all happens in the laser cutting head. The beam must be precisely focused so that the shape of the focal spot and the energy density at that location are perfectly circular and consistently centered in the nozzle. Thus, by focusing the laser beam down to a single point, the heat density at that location is very high.

This is what causes the metal or material to heat up rapidly, melt, and partially or completely vaporize. When cutting steel, the heat of the laser beam is sufficient to initiate the so-called “oxy-fuel” combustion process, and the laser cutting gas will be pure oxygen, just like an oxy-fuel torch. When cutting stainless steel or aluminum, the laser beam simply melts the metals and high-pressure nitrogen is used to blow the molten metal out of the cut.

There are many other parameters that also affect the quality of the cut. This is where quality control comes in. If the entire process is monitored, the quality of laser cutting is stable, reliable, and very accurate.

Genesis Technology also offers metal bending with abkan.

POWERFUL CO2 LASERS

Laser cutting with powerful fiber lasers uses carbon dioxide. A CO2 laser passes electricity through a tube filled with a gas mixture, producing light beams. The tubes have mirrors at each end. One of them is completely reflective, and the other is partially, transmitting some of the light. The gas mixture is carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and helium. This type of laser produces invisible light in the far infrared range of the light spectrum.

Typical CO2 lasers for machining have a power of 25 to 100 watts with a wavelength of 10.6 micrometers.

FIBER LASERS

This type of laser is from the solid-state group and uses the seed laser. They amplify the beam using specially designed glass fibers that receive energy from pump diodes. Their overall wavelength is very short, which creates a small focal diameter. They are also smaller than CO2 lasers. Due to their high electrical efficiency, fiber lasers use significantly less energy. This results in huge savings in cutting costs per workpiece. They also have a long service life of at least 100,000 laser hours. This helps them to be more efficient than other lasers, have a longer operating life, and can produce stronger and more stable beams.

Fiber lasers are optimally suited for cutting and engraving metal, aluminum, non-metals including wood and plastic. They also cope optimally with other cutting materials. The cutting speed is three times faster than CO2 lasers.