Laser Power Required To Cut Metal

The two most common types of laser cutting machines are fiber laser and co 2.

Laser power required to cut metal.

As a reference a 40 w laser can cut through paper cardboard foam and thin plastic while a 300 w laser can cut through thin steel and. Sheet metal cutting requires a power density of 10 6 watts in 2 source. Steel sheet thickness in mm. Mike klos laser mechanisms converting to millimeters that s 1550 watts mm 2.

If you d like to learn more about ablative laser cutting check out this article on micron scale manufacturing. As a rule of thumb the following applies for acrylic for example. 10 watts per millimeter. You should cut clear acrylics at 1 8 39 41 power while doubling the power for.

As aluminum contains high thermal conductivity and is reflective a higher concentration of laser power is needed to initiate cuts compared to steel s less. Fiber lasers vs co 2. Steel and stainless have a relatively high absorption of the wavelength associated with a co2 laser which is why you will see them listed as being able to be cut on a lower wattage gas assisted co2. Co 2 lasers use an electromagnetically stimulated gas typically a mixture.

Generally speaking lower power co2 laser tubes will be able to process the same materials with the same detail and quality as higher power laser tubes but higher power laser tubes will allow you to 1 cut deeper in a single pass and 2 engrave faster in some materials. Laser power in kw some new laser cutters have laser power of 4 kw. Check out this simple guide to design your first laser cut metal part. Always check the laser s power or at least what materials it can cut.

This process is capable of holding quite close tolerances often to within 0 001 inch 0 025 mm part geometry and the mechanical soundness of the machine have much to do with tolerance capabilities. We have compiled this guide for the laser system that we sell which gives you a good idea of all kinds of materials that a laser can mark engrave drill and cut from the commercially available options that we provide. Laser cutting metal is becoming more and more accessible. By far acrylic is the cheapest material to laser cut.

A comparison of the cutting time for different sheet thicknesses of acrylic between 200 and 400 watts is shown in the graphic. Cutting speed in meters per minute. A 20w fiber laser will have little trouble marking most metals where as a 20w co2 laser has pretty much zero chance.