Laser cutting; It is a technology preferred for cutting iron, bimetal, aluminum, stainless and metal materials and is generally used for industrial production and also started to be used by schools, SMEs and hobbyists. Laser cutting process is mostly realized by directing the output of a high power laser through optics. Laser optics and CNC direct the produced material or laser beam and are used for their own purpose. A commercial laser used to cut materials includes a motion control system to follow the CNC or G code of the pattern to be cut into the material. The focused laser beam is directed to the material; then it is melted, burned, vaporized or thrown away with a gas jet, leaving a high-quality surface coated edge. Industrial laser cutters are used to cut flat sheet materials as well as profile and pipe materials.

PROCESS

The generation of the laser beam involves the stimulation of a laser material with electrical resonances or lamps in a closed container. While the glowing material is excited, the beam is reflected internally by a partial mirror until it obtains enough energy to escape as a monochromatic light stream. Mirrors or fiber optics are used to direct coherent light to the work area by a light-focusing lens. The narrowest part of the focused beam is usually 0.32 mm lower. Depending on the thickness of the material, edge widths of up to 0.10 mm are possible. In order to start cutting from somewhere other than the edge, a hole is drilled before each cut. Piercing usually takes about 5-15 seconds for 13 mm thick stainless steel, while a high laser beam is imagined that opens a hole in the material.

Laser cutting involves parallel beams of coherent light from the source, usually in the range of 1.5-2.0 mm in diameter. This beam is normally focused and concentrated to a very small spot of 0.025 mm by a lens or mirror to create an intense laser beam. In order to obtain the smoothest possible surface during contour cutting, the beam polarization direction must be rotated as it passes around the contoured workpiece. For sheet metal cutting, the focal length is usually 38-76 mm.

The advantages of laser cutting over mechanical cutting are reduced workpiece usability and workpiece fit. Accuracy can be much better because the laser beam does not wear during the process. Laser systems have a small heat-affected area, so they are less likely to damage the material being cut. Some materials are very difficult to cut with more traditional methods.

Laser cutting of metals has the advantages of being more precise than plasma cutting and using less energy when cutting sheet metal; however, most industrial lasers cannot cut more metal than plasma can. Newer laser machines that run at higher power (6000 watts compared to the 1500 watt rating of early laser cutting machines) are taking plasma machines to thicker materials.