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What is Laser Cutting?

Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov

Laser cutting is a way to cut precise patterns in metal, plastic, wood, and practically every other material that man works with. It allows a level of accuracy and complexity impossible with conventional machining tools. Laser cutting works by exciting a gaseous medium, commonly carbon dioxide, causing it to amplify light reflected back and forth multiple times within the laser chamber. The light emerges from an aperture and is focused by a lens onto a specific point.

A typical process laser has a beam about a 1/5 of a millimeter in width, focusing 1000 to 2000 watts of energy. This is enough to melt most common materials. Because lasers become less focused and lose energy as they penetrate through a material, there is a limit of about 20 mm for the deepness of the cut. Laser cutting machines are integrated into a larger CAD/CAM (computer-aided-design, computer-aided-manufacturing) system that takes a design file and implements it on a workpiece. These machines represent a stepping stone in the continuing trend away from hands-on manufacturing, putting human workers in a more removed, creative design role.

A laser cutter is used to cut a sheet of metal.
A laser cutter is used to cut a sheet of metal.

Because a laser is made up of photons, parts of its energy can be reflected away by materials such as aluminum and copper alloys. These materials are also thermal conductors, meaning they distribute incoming heat more evenly throughout their volume. For this reason, carbon alloy and stainless steel are popular workpiece materials for laser cutting. They are poor at absorbing heat, so heat is concentrated into the laser's path more readily.

Typical laser cutters allow features as small as 1 mm in size. Specialized lasers often feature sizes that are even smaller, allowing the fabrication of true micromachinery. The first laser cuts were made in 1967, as part of a spin off of a military research project focused on lasers. Because the beams used in cutting are "class 4" lasers, the machines are designed to ensure that human operators are never exposed to them directly. All the cutting is done inside the machine.

Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov

Michael is a longtime AboutMechanics contributor who specializes in topics relating to paleontology, physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and futurism. In addition to being an avid blogger, Michael is particularly passionate about stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and life extension therapies. He has also worked for the Methuselah Foundation, the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Lifeboat Foundation.

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Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov

Michael is a longtime AboutMechanics contributor who specializes in topics relating to paleontology, physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and futurism. In addition to being an avid blogger, Michael is particularly passionate about stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and life extension therapies. He has also worked for the Methuselah Foundation, the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and the Lifeboat Foundation.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

TalkingByte

A lot of precision tools among other things are made using these laser cutters. The time needed to make these precision instruments has been reduced significantly now.

Since you just write the pattern out in the computer and the laser does whatever pattern you want the whole process takes much less time. In cases where the dynamics change from piece to piece, you just change the parameters in the computer and you are ready to go.

The quality of the cuts is better as well. A laser cut is clean. You don't have to work a piece to fix rough edges or burrs left by cutting tools.

Because you are using computer dynamics you can automatically set a pattern to best utilize the amount of metal you have. If you have a sheet of metal that is a certain size, the computer can let you know the optimal way to use that sheet. You may be able to get four pieces from a sheet of metal where in the past you may have only gotten three pieces from a sheet of metal.

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    • A laser cutter is used to cut a sheet of metal.
      By: Kadmy
      A laser cutter is used to cut a sheet of metal.