Laser Cutting

Cutting is a major application for industrial lasers  At GSI Group, our JK Lasers, Spectron Lasers, and eCO2 Lasers all accommodate a wide range laser cutting solutions.
The key benefits of laser cutting include:

• Applicability to a wide range of materials and thickness
• Narrow kerf widths
• High speeds
• Very high repeatability
• Very high reliability
• Easily automated and programmable
• Flexibility in changeovers
• Reduced tooling costs and reduced setup times
• Non-contact process (no tooling wear or breakage, minimal material distortion)
• Versatility (the same tool can also be used for laser drilling and laser welding)
• Capacity for high degree of beam manipulation (true 3-D cutting)

The Solid State YAG JK Lasers and Spectron lasers are used to cut metals, some ceramics, a few plastics, and graphite composites.  The eCO2 lasers address thin metal, paper, wood, plastic, fabrics, and other non-metal cutting applications.

The Laser Cutting Process
Cutting requires that the laser beam is focused by a lens to a small focus spot, typically in the 25-100um diameter range for fine cutting and 100um to 300um range for thicker section cutting.  Coaxial gas is delivered just above laser focus by a nozzle that surrounds the converging laser beam to keep the optics clean and improve the cutting process by pushing the vaporized and liquefied material out through the kerf.  Gases such as oxygen and air are used to promote cutting of ferrous alloys and cellulose materials.  Air is often used with plastics and fabrics.  High-pressure inert gas is used when cutting some metals to leave an un-oxidized edge with little dross.

When to select a Pulsed Nd:YAG laser
Pulsed YAG lasers are used for fine to heavy section cutting with the Spectron SL Series used for kerf widths down to about 20um and thicknesses up to approx. 2mm.  They will employ mirror delivery to maintain their high beam quality for a fine kerf.  The higher-powered pulsed JK Lasers have kerf widths down to about 100um and cut thicknesses up to over 25mm.  
Pulsed YAG lasers can perform very high tolerance cutting because of their high peak power and low average power which efficiently vaporizes a lot of the material and keeps the total heat input low.  Cutting tolerances in material of less than 1mm can be better than 10um and in thicker materials the tolerance is in the 25um range.

When you should consider a Continuous Wave (CW) Nd:YAG laser
CW and Super Modulated JK Lasers can cut with kerf widths in the 250-300um range and cut at high speeds in metals up to 10mm.  Cutting with these lower peak power laser depends upon the laser’s average power for speed.  Since these lasers are not limited by pulse to pulse overlap during cutting they can cut thinner materials at a higher rate.  Additionally, some of these laser models have a patent-pending Super Modulation feature which can significantly improve cutting speed and in zinc-coated steels, aluminum alloys or when cutting at an angle to the surface

Benefits of using Fiber Delivery on your Nd:YAG laser
For fine cutting with a kerf in the 20-80 um range most tasks require beam delivery with mirrors from the laser to the lens.  For kerf widths in the 80-400um range fiber optic delivery can be employed.  Special fiber optic delivery focus head incorporate coaxial gas nozzles and even auto-focus control for cutting surfaces with varying height or when robotic manipulation is used. 

Cutting textiles and plastics
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Let us help you select the right laser for your cutting process
GSI Group has Applications Centers around the world to help you develop a laser cutting solution for you.  We can provide minimum support such as determining the appropriate laser source, beam delivery, and cutting parameters.  For other projects we can help with fixture development, custom optical systems, controls integration, and the production of test articles. 

Laser cutting is a well-established process, and has gained wide acceptance in manufacturing due to the many advantages and benefits that the laser can provide over other cutting methods.