Three Main Types of Lasers Cutting Machine

Laser cutting is a technology that cuts materials using a computer-managed process that produces a beam of light and an interface integrated to regulate and cut along a direction where anything in the path is vaporized, burned, or melted, and further produces high quality surface finish materials. Laser cutting machines are gaining momentum over traditional methods as they help to reduce production costs and produce efficient and high quality materials. So what are the different types of laser cutting machines?

Fiber Laser Cutting Machines

Fiber laser cutting machines are usually maintenance free and have a long life span of at least 25,000 hours. As a result, fiber laser cutters have a much longer life cycle than the other two types and can produce a strong, stable beam. They can manage up to 100 times more intensity than CO2 laser cutters at the same average power, and they are often the most expensive of the various laser cutting machines. Laser cutters can be continuous beam, quasi-beam, or offer pulsed settings, which gives them different capabilities. MOPA is a sub-type of fiber laser system with adjustable pulse duration. This makes the MOPA laser one of the most flexible lasers available for a wide range of applications. It is suitable for metals, alloys and non-metals, even glass, wood and plastics. Fiber laser cutters are versatile and can handle a large number of different materials depending on the power. When dealing with thin materials, fiber lasers are the ideal solution. However, this is less true for materials larger than 20 mm, although this can be achieved using more expensive fiber laser machines of more than 6 kW or simply by opting for a CNC plasma cutting machine.

CO2 Laser Cutting Machines

CO2 laser cutting machines rely on electricity mixed with a gas mixture to produce the laser beam. Each end of the tube has mirrors. One of the mirrors is fully reflective and the other is partially reflective, allowing some light to pass through. The gas mixture is usually carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen and helium. A CO2 laser cutter produces invisible light in the far infrared range of the spectrum.A CO2 laser cutter is generally best suited for non-metallic materials and is most commonly used for processing wood or paper (and its derivatives), polymethylmethacrylate and other acrylic plastics. It can also be used to process leather, fabrics, wallpaper and similar products. But they can also process certain metals (they can cut thin sheets of aluminum and other non-ferrous metals). One can enhance the power of the carbon dioxide beam by increasing the oxygen content, but this can be risky for the inexperienced or for those using machines unsuitable for such enhancement.

Nd:YAG/Nd:YVO Lasers

Crystal laser cutting processes can employ nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet), but more commonly nd:YVO (neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate, YVO4) crystals are used. These machines have an extremely high cutting capacity. These machines are very expensive, not only because of their initial price, but also because of their relatively low life expectancy of 8,000 to 15,000 hours. These lasers have a wavelength of 1.064 microns and can be used in a variety of applications from medical and dental to military and manufacturing. They can be used on metals (coated and uncoated) and non-metals, including plastics. In some cases, it can even process some ceramics. Nd:YVO4 crystals, in combination with high NLO coefficient crystals (LBO, BBO or KTP), can be used to give a large number of different functions by shifting the output from the near-infrared frequency to green, blue, and even ultraviolet light.