Are metal cutting applications possible with fiber lasers?

The manufacturing and fabrication industries are actively changing due to the impact of fiber lasers. One question that both professions and amateurs have is: Can fiber lasers cut metal? A fiber laser can be used to cut metal effectively. However, let’s investigate how and why fiber lasers perform this function so well.

How fiber lasers perform metal cutting

Using a focused light beam is the essence of operation for fiber lasers in cutting materials. Its generation occurs in a fiber medium from which its name originated. It cuts clean through metals since the concentrated energy from a focused laser fuses, burns, or vaporizes the metal.

Key Features That Make Fiber Lasers Suitable for Metal Cutting

1. High Power Density: With a high beam intensity, fiber laser systems can combust metals, plastics, stitch together paper, or cut into a range of materials including aluminum, titanium, and steel with relative ease.
2. Precision: The beam has a low angle and can make sharp sharp cuts in intricate patterns when a design or industrial component is medium and detailed.
3. Speed: Fiber laser is faster than other types of lasers thus making it quicker to fulfil orders.
4. Adaptability: The fiber laser can also cut thin sheets of metal, or thick plates, or almost every fabric for that matter.

Metals cut using Fiber Laser

Fiber lasers can cut out different kinds of metals which include:

• Stainless Steel: Producing sharp cut edges which are very smooth to the touch.
• Aluminum: Its reflective features do not make aluminum a problem for fiber lasers.
• Carbon Steel: Thicker sheets of carbon steel are cut with the help of fiber lasers in a faster manner.
• Brass and Copper: Also, metals that are both reflective and thermal conductors such as these can be cut due to the efficient fiber laser technology.

Benefits of Fiber Lasers for Metal Cutting

1. Cost-Effective: Fiber lasers are cheaper compared to conventional CO2 lasers as it consumes less energy.
2. Less Upkeep: There are very little moving parts in such devices therefore increasing their reliability and longevity.
3. Green: Eco benefits arise due to lower energy requirements and waste emissions.

Limitations to be Minded

When talking about limitations while fully acknowledging that fiber lasers are great but they still have some drawbacks:

• More powerful laser sources might be needed for higher thickness cutting.
• They may also have issues while cutting non metallic materials or materials having high reflectivity without any custom settings.

Wish to understand more about fiber lasers?

Check more of our content: Fiber Lasers on Cost: Are They Overpriced?. Get to know if it’s worth to spend on these advanced machines and how they’ll work for your business.

Without a doubt, Industiries that need high precision and efficiency in metal cutting will be transformed with the introduction of fiber lasers. With the ever advancing technology, fiber lasers are becoming more common and metal fabrication will be seeing a bright future ahead.