3 Types of Laser Cutting Machine

BySteven Glassner

Laser cutting has been in the market since decades now and has been updated a lot in these years. The lasers use a constant beam of light to create the heat and pressure to cut, mark, drill, or engrave the material. With the CNC machines, all the processes are stable and precise.

 

There are different types of laser machines that have different ways to concentrate the light beam and different materials that can be used with it. They are CO2 Lasers, Fiber Lasers, and Crystal Lasers. 

 

The manufacturers suggest regular maintenance of these machines and usage of good quality spare parts. Thus, it is recommended to use trumpf laser consumables, amada laser consumables, etc. for quality parts.

 

To know more about different types of lasers, keep reading.

 

CO2 Laser

A CO2 laser uses a gas mixture of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, and helium to produce a light beam. The gas mixture is filled in a tube that contains mirrors on each ends. One of the mirrors in the tube is fully reflective and the other is partially reflective allowing some light to pass. The invisible light produced comes under the infrared range of the light spectrum.

 

Usually the CO2 lasers are 25 to 100 watt in power and the wavelength is 10.6 micrometers. To enhance the power of the CO2 beam, oxygen content can be boosted. This can be risky if the machine is not suitable for such enhancements and the operator is new to this technique. The CO2 lasers are the best for non-metallic materials. This laser is commonly used for cutting or engraving wood, paper, leather, fabric, and acrylic plastics.

 

The other important task to do is to maintain the laser machine. The regular maintenance helps in receiving the precise cuts. The regular change of consumables is the solution. You can easily find good quality trumpf laser consumables, amada laser consumables, etc.

 

Fiber Laser

The fiber laser amplifies the light beam with the specially designed fibers which are derived from pump diodes. The wavelength is 1.064 micrometers which produces small focal diameters. The fiber lasers are expensive but the maintenance cost is extremely less. 

 

Also, they have a long service life of 25,000 laser hours. Thus, the life of fiber lasers is far more compared to the other two types. To ensure that the laser has a long shelf life, it is important to maintain it properly. For that, you can regularly check and change the spare parts. You can use good quality trumpf laser spare parts, prima laser parts, amada spare parts, etc.

 

Fibers are suitable for metal marking and engraving. It is also suitable for non-metals and alloys and even glass, wood and plastic. With variable power, these lasers can deal with a variety of materials.

 

Crystal Laser

Crystal laser uses nd:YAG (neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet) or nd:YVO (neodymium doped yttrium orthovanadate) crystals. The wavelength of the laser is 1.064 micrometers and are useful for medical, dentistry, military and manufacturing. 

The nd:YVO has:

  • higher pump absorption
  • a broader bandwidth and wavelength for pumping
  • shorter lifetime
  • higher refractive index
  • lower conductivity

 

The nd:YAG has similar performance but the only difference is that it does not allow high pulse energy as that of nd:YVO. These lasers are useful for both coated and non-coated metals. It can also be used for plastics and ceramics.

 

Conclusion

All these lasers have their own way of functioning and are suitable for different types of materials. To always receive the same good quality results, it is necessary to have a maintenance schedule. You can make schedules on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. The parts that require replacement must be replaced with the parts from renowned companies. For example, trumpf laser spare parts , amada laser spare parts, etc.