Laser Cutting Machine



        

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Laser Cutting Services

If purchasing a laser cutting machine is too costly for you, seeking the help of laser cutting service providers is your best option. Laser cutting service providers make use of high precision, high-speed and high power laser cutting machines to cut wide variety of materials including metal, plastic, rubber, wood, stone, glass and other composite materials.

Laser cutting technology is advantageous, especially if you are in the metal fabrication business since laser can cut sheet and tubular profile metals and multi-dimension metals with extreme precision. Metals cut by a laser are clean, distortion free and need not undergo further processing. Hence, you can significantly reduce production expenses and production time if you use this technology.

The most commonly used lasers for cutting are CO2 lasers (carbon dioxide lasers) and Nd:YAG lasers (neodymium-doped, yttrium aluminum garnet lasers). CO2 lasers are usually operated with 1-1.5 kilo watts, although thicker metals may need more than more than 2000-watt laser power. A 5 kW carbon dioxide laser is capable of cutting even up to 30m of a 1 mm thick material in a minute.

Carbon dioxide and Nd:YAG lasers work by focusing the highly concentrated beam of single-wavelength light on a tiny area of the material to be cut, usually less than .5 millimeter in size. The laser light is transmitted to the object through special lenses. A small hole is first made and then a cut is generated by moving the laser beam across the area being cut or by moving the object while the laser stands still.

Services offered by laser cutting companies vary. Most services offered by companies in US usually come in a package in conjunction with other services like support in conceptualizing of design, use of CAD/CAM, quality control, technical consulting and delivery of products.

Complete laser cutting service providers also help you source high quality materials, determine manufacturing cost, evaluate, redesign and improve your products so as to increase their market value.

If you want excellent laser cutting services, it would be best to look for service providers that meet highest quality standards.

Laser Cutting provides detailed information on Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Companies, Laser Cutting Machines, Laser Cutting Services and more. Laser Cutting is affiliated with Lean Manufacturing Seminars.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser in cutting different kinds of materials, mostly metals such as carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel and copper alloys. It is widely used in the metal fabrication industry to increase cutting speed and cutting capacity, reduce production costs, increase productivity and improve cutting quality.

A laser or LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a device that generates a highly concentrated monochromatic and coherent beam of light. The light is produced through the process of stimulated emission.

Among the most commonly used laser in cutting is the carbon dioxide laser (CO2 laser), a kind of gas laser that is also used in welding. It is capable of emitting a maximum of 100 kilowatts at 9.6 µm and 10.6 µm and of cutting 20-30 m of one millimeter-thick material in a minute.

Cutting is done by aiming the energy produced by the high-power laser at a small portion of the object to be cut. That small portion is pierced first before a cut is made.

From the small hole, a cut is created either by moving the beam across the area of the material being cut, or by moving the object while the laser is kept still. One can employ both methods. As the intense beam of light strikes the part of the object or material, the latter?s temperature rises, causing it to melt, burn and evaporate even without sufficient amount of heat.

Not all materials require the same amount of laser power (the rate at which energy is delivered by the light). Thicker materials need more laser power while thinner ones need lesser laser power. Usually, carbon dioxide laser cutting is done with 1,000 to 1,500 watts. Materials such as steel need more than two kW.

Compared to other metal cutting procedures, laser cutting is far more advantageous, although it has some disadvantages, too. Its primary advantages are precision, cutting quality, cutting speed and economy. Among its disadvantages is its high voltage requirement. There is also risk of getting serious burns from the laser beam.

Laser Cutting provides detailed information on Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Companies, Laser Cutting Machines, Laser Cutting Services and more. Laser Cutting is affiliated with Lean Manufacturing Seminars.