Laser cutting is one of the fastest growing processes in industrial manufacturing equipment. Laser cutting machines are being used by metal fabricators in place of older technology equipment like turret punches. Laser cutting machines offer significant advantages in productivity, precision, part quality, material utilization and flexibility. Laser cutting machines consists of several main components: resonator; beam delivery; machine frame; CNC or PC control; and drive system.

Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is a thermal process that can be applied to high quality precision cutting. The laser cutting process is similar to taking a magnifying glass outside on a clear day and focusing the sun's energy to burn paper or a leaf. Laser cutting energy from a resonator is focused on a material in order to melt, burn or vaporize it. Some laser resonators produce a beam that can focus to a smaller hotter spot allowing faster, high quality laser cutting with lower operating costs. Laser cutting equipment usually introduces an assist gas along with the beam to aid cutting. Oxygen adds heat to the laser cutting process and causes the metal to burn leaving a blackened edge. Laser cutting with nitrogen cools the cut and leaves a high quality edge. Both gases remove the molten material from the laser cutting process by blowing it through the cut or kerf.

Laser cutting equipment typically uses a Carbon Dioxide or CO² resonator. CO² laser resonators are similar to a florescent light bulb. A fluorescent light bulb has gas on the inside that is excited with electricity. The laser has a mixture of gasses, including carbon dioxide, which are excited either with electricity or radio waves. The light bulb gives off light in every direction. Visible light waves are electromagnetic waves, meaning that they have an electric wave in one plane and a magnetic wave in another. In the laser the light waves are lined up so that they are all oscillating in the same plane and vibrating together. This polarization of laser waves is a term that scientists call coherence. Coherence is one of the differences between light and laser light that make it suitable for laser cutting.

A CO² Laser cutting machine operates in the infrared or heat range of the energy spectrum and not the visible range.

CO² Laser cutting machines' wavelength is the same kind of energy you feel from a fireplace or heat lamp.

Industrial laser cutting machines take the laser light from the resonator and bounce it off of several mirrors in what is known as the beam delivery system. The beam is reflected into a laser cutting head where there is a lens. This lens works like a magnifying glass to focus the laser beam to a very small spot. The laser cutting machine either moves the cutting head or the metal or both to cut parts. High performance precision laser cutting systems all move the laser cutting head and keep the metal stationary. Most of these laser cutting machines are dual pallet systems that support the metal on movable pallets.

Once the laser finishes cutting the metal on one pallet, the pallets switch positions and the laser starts cutting on the second pallet. The only time that the laser is not cutting is the brief pallet switch time. Dual pallet laser cutting machines can approach 100% program run time.

Industrial laser cutting equipment can cut a variety of materials including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, Inconel® galvanized, galvanneal, titanium, wood, acrylic, bronze, rubber and leather.