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Laser cutting
Features and benefits

Advantages of laser cutting

 

What is a laser?

 

L.A.S.E.R (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a technology that emits a concentrated, monochromatic beam of light at a single point, acting thermally on a very limited area.
Laser cutting is becoming a key tool in more and more industries because of the versatility and precision it can offer. Laser technology offers precise and reliable cutting, engraving and marking. Laser cutting is used in a variety of industries, including automotive, construction, energy (including renewable energy), aerospace, HVAC and fitness – among others. However, its use is not limited only to the industrial sector. Lasers are also used in the medical sector for some operations, or in the food sector. Of the various types of lasers, two in particular are among the most widely used in tube and sheet metal cutting: fiber lasers and CO₂ lasers.

CO₂ laser: application and operation

CO₂ lasers are among the most popular technologies in laser cutting and marking. Its invention dates back to the 1960s and uses carbon dioxide as the active medium: a source containing a mixture of gases including carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium and hydrogen are electrically stimulated, releasing energy in the form of light. This energy is then amplified through resonators and concentrated into a beam via mirrors. However, this technology cannot cut highly reflective materials such as copper or brass.

Fiber laser: application and operation

Unlike CO₂ lasers, fiber lasers have solid-state beams, which use optical fiber as the active medium. The laser source consists of a core with glassy characteristics and a coating that holds light within the fiber and then directs it to a specific point through a transport fiber. Fiber lasers have lower energy consumption than CO₂ and are capable of cutting materials such as aluminum, stainless or galvanized steel, copper and brass.

The differences between
CO₂ laser and fiber laser

Fiber lasers have a wavelength of about 1 µm, which is shorter than the CO₂ laser (10 µm), enabling it to cut thinner materials, while the CO₂ laser has higher energy consumption and cannot cut aluminum, stainless steel, copper or brass. CO₂ and fiber lasers both ensure a clean, precise cut that does not need to be smoothed later.
Cutting metal
Laser
Plasma
Oxyfuel

Cutting metal: plasma, oxyfuel or laser?

A wide range of technologies are used in industry to cut metal tubes, sheets and profiles. Each technology has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on the thickness and materials to be processed. The most popular technologies are plasma and oxyfuel, but lasers have begun to gain more and more ground in the industrial field since the 2000s. 

laser cutting of a sheet metal with nesting
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