Laser Cutting Machines – A Comprehensive Guide to Laser Cutting Devices

Laser cutters, once considered a high-tech solution reserved for specialists, have today become an integral part of many industries. Laser cutting of sheets, tubes, and profiles is currently used in both small workshops and large production halls. Until recently, the market was dominated by cutters based on CO2 and YAG technology, but they are increasingly being replaced by fiber laser cutters. These modern machines provide better operating parameters, higher efficiency, energy savings, and reliability, revolutionizing the laser cutting process.

How does a fiber laser cutter work?

A laser cutter uses a solid-state laser pumped by semiconductor diodes as a light source. This is a very interesting solution, in which the active medium is an optical fiber made of active optical fiber consisting of three layers:

• outer layer: the polymer cladding of the fiber has the lowest refractive index, which prevents laser radiation from being emitted outside.

• inner cladding: the pumping coating is made of a material with a higher refractive index than the outer layer. The inner cladding behaves like a mirror surrounding the core, and the multiple reflection of the beam from the layer edges causes the light to repeatedly return to the core. This creates a resonator that generates and amplifies the light beam.

• core: the inner layer doped with rare earth elements has the highest refractive index and is responsible for signal propagation.

Fiber laser generates a high energy density light beam and transmits it via optical fiber to the cutting head. Here, the beam is focused by a lens enclosed in the head onto the surface of the processed part, and the area subjected to the ultra-thin focal point melts and evaporates.

The fiber laser beam can be focused to even 1/10 of the diameter of a point obtained with a CO2 laser. The smaller diameter, as well as much higher brightness of light, allows fiber lasers to achieve much higher energy density - even 100 times higher than in the case of CO2 lasers. This ensures precise cutting of the material and allows for extremely clean, smooth edges with a very narrow cutting gap.

Key features and capabilities of laser cutters

Laser cutters can be divided into various groups depending on the shape and type of processed material, laser power, and the degree of work automation. The market offers large machines with tables for cutting and trimming large sheets or cutting long tubes and profiles, as well as cheaper compact devices. The latter, thanks to their compact, closed housing and the possibility of moving the source to another room, can take up very little space in the production hall.

Elements processed in fiber cutters can be made of various materials such as: stainless steel, mild steel, titanium, aluminum and fabrics, wood, paper, plastic, and ceramic materials, and the material itself can be of different thicknesses. Therefore, an important feature of a fiber cutter is its power. Currently, laser cutters with power from 1 kW to over 20 kW are available on the market, but due to cost, the most popular are devices with power up to 6kW.

Due to the high cutting speed of fiber lasers, important elements of the cutters are systems enabling automation of the loading and unloading of materials and manufactured parts. With a high workload, solutions such as a sheet metal storage, automatic tube and profile loading system, or intelligent palletizing system allow for increased efficiency, minimized laser cutting costs, and improved competitiveness and profits of the company.

Many manufacturers offer devices with dedicated operating systems and software enabling design of parts and their optimal placement on sheet metal, as well as programming the cutter and control of the device itself and its operators.

There are also fiber cutters equipped with Wi-Fi communication systems enabling remote control of the device, which translates into better use of the machine itself and higher production efficiency.

Check out: Tube and profile cutter TEKIO

Key technical parameters of fiber laser cutters

The division lines of fiber cutters correspond to the parameters of the devices themselves. In the case of cutters with tables and devices cutting sheets in coils, it is the size of the working area, and in fiber cutters for tubes and profiles - the length of tube cutting and their diameter.

For fiber laser cutters, a parameter is of course the power of the laser source, which is responsible for the maximum thickness of the cut sheet.

Other parameters are the positioning accuracy of the cutting head and the accuracy of its position change, as well as the maximum feed speed of the head.

Basic elements of fiber cutters

Fiber cutters are advanced systems offering high efficiency and cutting quality resulting not only from the fiber laser cutting technology itself, but also from the use of advanced solutions and machine subsystems:

• Laser source is the basic element responsible for the operation and method of cutting with a fiber cutter. Fiber lasers:

  • Offer high power density and fast cutting due to the smaller focal point of the laser beam.

  • Feature several times greater absorption thanks to a shorter wavelength.
    Thanks to high power density and high absorption, they significantly increase efficiency and cutting speed.

  • Have a very long lifespan. The estimated lifespan of a standard fiber laser is 100,000 hours, which corresponds to about 45 years of use.

  • Are very energy efficient and energy-saving. Their energy efficiency is three times higher than that of CO2 lasers, which means they consume less energy during operation than a CO2 laser in standby mode.

• Beam transmission system - the light beam generated in the source is transmitted to the cutting head via a fiber optic system. This is a reliable and virtually maintenance-free solution that has eliminated many moving parts of the machine, such as optical mirrors, vacuum pumps, fans, or filters used in other types of lasers. For this reason, there is no scheduled replacement of laser consumables during the mentioned period of 100,000 hours of source operation.

• Head is the cutting element of the fiber cutter. It consists of a nozzle, focusing lens, and focus tracking system. Some cutters are also equipped with camera systems to monitor the head's operation in real time. The head moves along the programmed cutting path with precision and speed that are among the basic parameters of the cutter. When programming the cutting process, the height of the head must also be set according to the type of material being cut and its thickness.

• Lens - the quality of the laser lens is directly responsible for the output power of the laser and the efficiency of the entire machine, and high-quality lenses without optical contaminants allow cutting materials with really high-power lasers. The lens is also the most frequently used component of laser cutters, as well as the most sensitive.

• Cooling system has two main tasks. The first is cooling the laser generator, which converts electrical energy into light energy, and in which the remaining energy turns into heat. The second is removing excess heat and ensuring uniform operation of the laser. In addition, the cooling system ensures stable operation of the beam transmission system, prevents deformation and cracking of the lens caused by excessive temperature. Fiber cutters use air or water cooling systems.

• CNC system - the control system is responsible for the operation of all modules of the laser cutter, such as loading and unloading systems, sheet, tube, and profile setting systems. However, its most important task is controlling the output power of the laser and controlling the feed of the cutting head along the X, Y, and Z axes. The CNC system allows setting the cutting head both vertically and at an angle. And after equipping the cutter with an additional arm, 3D cutting and trimming is also possible. Moreover, the CNC system is responsible for the stability and speed of operation of the fiber cutter, and its advanced functions can effectively improve the precision and quality of cutting.

• Table / Cross beam - laser cutters have very high requirements for stable operation of the machine. High-quality tables cast from gray iron or aluminum provide high rigidity, durability, and resistance of the device to vibrations and allow for maximum stability and precision of the cutting process. In turn, large laser cutters use cross beams, which must be characterized by appropriate rigidity, while at the same time flexibility and strength facilitating fast feeds of the cutting head during cutting.

• Motor is the basic element responsible for the feeds of the fiber cutter systems and whose parameters have a direct impact on the speed and efficiency of production, as well as the quality of the final product. Currently, stepper motors and servo drives are commonly used, and the type of motor should be selected according to the type of work performed by the cutter.

• Vapor and contamination removal system - during the cutting process - especially when cutting plastics - vapors and dust are created that can affect not only the quality of the cutting process but also the health of operators. Therefore, cutters are equipped with automatic vapor and dust removal systems, which not only take care of the workers operating the devices in the hall but also make the device environmentally friendly.

Press, plasma cutting, water jet, or laser cutting?

Stamping presses are an excellent solution used for cutting materials, which work perfectly in the case of very large production volumes, offering the lowest unit cost of product manufacturing. They do require additional investments in tooling, but they give the possibility of performing many other processes, such as forming or threading. Traditional turret presses can cut holes and any shapes and are very economical, though, again, they need additional tooling. And punching machines, although they have significantly lower efficiency than laser cutters, allow for the forming of products, similar to stamping presses.

Another solution that is very suitable for cutting thick materials and for applications where the quality of the cut part edge is not the most important, are plasma cutting systems and water jet cutting systems. However, in their case, as in the case of most thermal cutting methods, the processed metals may have an extensive heat-affected zone.

Let's also remember that although plasma cutting systems and water jet systems are much cheaper than laser cutters, they are much slower. Of course, you can increase the efficiency of both machines by mounting multiple heads and cutting semi-finished products arranged in stacks, but this approach greatly reduces the quality of final products.

Laser cutters are the newest and most advanced solution. They offer high precision, quality, efficiency, reliability, and flexibility, and that is why they have been successively displacing older technologies used in industry for several decades.

Why invest in a laser cutter?

A company that does not currently have its own laser cutter typically outsources the work to one or more subcontractors who have such capabilities. This solution does not involve a high risk and can work quite well, provided that the time to complete orders provides some flexibility. Nevertheless, sooner or later, the manufacturer still has to consider whether his company should perform laser cutting on its own. To find out, just check the monthly invoices for laser cutting of parts, because as Henry Ford said: "If you need a machine and don't buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and don't have it".

The market currently offers many options for purchasing laser cutters. They can be purchased from dealers specializing in the sale of used equipment or from manufacturers of original cutters, or their representatives, who provide the most modern cutting equipment and refurbished machines. The latter, admittedly, may not have the parameters of new systems, but will still work much better than other devices with similar mileage.

It should also be remembered that laser cutters from recognized OEM manufacturers in the industry are generally more expensive, but on the other hand, they offer better parameters and equipment ensuring higher production quality and reliability.

Discover laser cutters FALCON

Fiber laser, CO2, or YAG?

The industrial laser market is dominated by three types of solutions: older YAG lasers, traditional CO2 lasers, and the newest fiber lasers.

YAG Lasers

YAG laser is a semiconductor laser in which the active medium is a YAG (yttrium-aluminum-garnet) single crystal with embedded neodymium (Nd:YAG) or yttrium (Yt:YAG). These devices offer very high pulsed power necessary for welding, drilling, and cutting metals, coated metals, semiconductors, and various alloys as well as plastics and ceramics. They are also used for engraving, marking by annealing, or engraving various metals and plastics, as well as performing subsurface markings on transparent materials such as glass or acrylic.

YAG laser can be coupled with a water stream used to conduct the light beam to the processed surface. This method is used, for example, to cut silicon wafers. The water stream then removes contaminants and cools the processed material. The disadvantage of these machines is their cost, not only due to the price but also because they have a short service life of 8,000 to 15,000 hours.

CO2 Lasers

CO2 lasers have been massively used in industry for more than two decades. They are gas lasers that generate a laser beam by transmitting electrical energy through a resonator filled with a gas mixture containing CO2. The device then uses mirrors to focus and transmit the beam to the head responsible for processing the material. CO2 lasers are very efficient, reliable, offer long service life, and excellent beam quality.

This type of laser is most commonly used for processing wood or paper (and their derivatives), plexiglass, and other acrylic plastics. It also works well for processing leather, fabrics, wallpapers, and similar materials. And although the best effects of using a CO2 laser are obtained when processing non-metallic materials, it can also cut and process thin aluminum sheets and other non-ferrous metals.

Fiber Lasers

Fiber laser appeared on the market around 2008. It is a device that is characterized not only by low operating costs but offers higher cutting speed and reliability compared to traditional CO2 and YAG lasers.

At an early stage of development, fiber technology allowed cutting only thin materials at high speeds. However, after the appearance of more powerful lasers, fiber lasers achieve such processing speeds even for materials with a thickness of 2cm. As a result, the popularity of fiber lasers is constantly growing despite their higher price.

Fiber technology also means new possibilities, as fiber cutters can cut reflective materials such as brass or copper, which was very difficult with CO2 lasers. They also generate a beam with an energy density 100 times higher than CO2 lasers with similar source power, making them energy-efficient and providing higher processing speed.

Fiber lasers are precise and efficient machines perfectly suited for very diverse industrial applications, ranging from high-power cutting and welding to tasks requiring less power, e.g., in the production of semiconductors and photovoltaic systems. These are modular and scalable devices that can be configured according to the needs of various processes - from nanosecond engraving machines to multi-kilowatt systems for welding and cutting.

Fiber lasers are simple to implement and operate. They are also usually smaller and lighter than traditional lasers. And because CO2 lasers are quite delicate due to the need for precise setting of mirrors and lenses, fiber lasers are much more durable thanks to the use of optical fibers. For the same reason, they can operate in many different environments, and smaller fiber cutters can be easily moved without the need to readjust the optical system.

Fiber lasers are quite versatile and excel - depending on the power - with a variety of processing procedures for many materials. They perform excellently in cutting and trimming sheet metal, coiled sheets, tubes and profiles, as well as marking metals by annealing, engraving metals, and marking plastics. They allow processing metals and non-metals, and even glass, wood, and plastics. They are ideal for working with thin materials - for materials above 20 mm, it is necessary to invest in a fiber laser with a power of over 6 kW, which unfortunately is much more expensive.

Above we have presented many material cutting technologies currently available on the market. The choice of the right solution depends on the production needs of the company and, let's not hide it, its financial capabilities. However, we bet on fiber lasers because we believe they are the most versatile, precise, and efficient, and that it's simply hard to compete with the quality of products manufactured with their help.

Learn about: Sheet metal laser cutter from FALCON

Advantages of fiber laser cutters

Fiber laser cutters are much more precise than mechanical machine tools, they are also more flexible, energy-efficient, take up less space, and help protect the environment. They also provide high efficiency and repeatability of production, and laser cutting technology allows obtaining perfect, smooth edges of parts and skipping the final processing stage.

Lasers generally perform better when processing rounded and complex shapes compared to mechanical machine tools, and additionally:

• The cutting process is contactless and fast, and the ultra-narrow focal point of the laser beam means that the heat-affected zone and distortion of the processed detail are very small, and its edges are smooth and clean.

• A huge advantage of laser cutters is their speed. The laser is able to cut thick materials in a single pass, while other machine tools may require several passes.

• Laser cutting technology also means fewer consumables and spare parts, which is particularly evident in fiber cutters, where the laser beam is transmitted to the cutting head using fiber optics. It also means that in the case of fiber laser cutters, there is no need to have and replace various tools and tips enabling different types of cutting. Fewer spare parts also mean lower maintenance and servicing costs. Especially since in fiber lasers, guiding the beam through fiber optics has eliminated many moving parts.

• Cutting, die-cutting, marking and engraving, as well as material feeding and collecting of parts are largely automated, which ensures a high degree of control over production and increases efficiency.

• A great advantage of laser cutters is their energy efficiency, which in the case of fiber lasers reaches up to 30%. This means that these devices consume less energy when working at full load, provide significant savings and help protect the environment.

Materials processed using laser cutters

Using a laser cutter, most metallic materials can be processed, such as stainless steel, carbon steel, mild steel, gold, silver, titanium and titanium alloys, nickel alloys, galvanized sheet metal, copper, aluminum, metal alloys, etc., as well as ceramic materials, plastics, textiles, wood, and even paper. The type and thickness of the cut material depend on the laser power and equipment used.

• Stainless steel is the material most commonly used and processed by manufacturers in various industries. It is also the most popular material cut with fiber lasers.

• Carbon steel - the thickness of laser-cut or laser-cut carbon steel sheet can be 25 mm and more. For steel thicker than 25 mm, a fiber laser with a power greater than 6 kW should be used.

• Aluminum and aluminum alloys, copper and brass are materials with a high reflection coefficient and thermal conductivity. Copper and brass could not be cut with older types of lasers. However, fiber lasers handle them perfectly, allowing cutting of both thin and thicker sheets and parts made of aluminum, copper and brass with a thickness of 15mm and more, depending on the type of alloy and laser power.

Applications of laser cutters

Laser cutters are widely used in automated serial production and industries such as: aerospace, automotive, sanitary, electronic. They are also used, for example, for the production of jewelry, decorative elements, parts or in the advertising or fitness industry for the production of metal products. Laser cutters are widely used for cutting, die-cutting, marking and engraving of sheet metal and coiled sheet metal, e.g. in the agricultural machinery industry. Laser cutters are making a real splash in this branch of industry, especially since the traditionally used punching machines there force the use of many types of punches, which in turn significantly limit the introduction of changes in products.

Laser cutters are excellent for fast and precise cutting of pipes and profiles, as well as cutting appropriate holes of any shape in them. In addition, the edges of parts made with laser technology are of very high quality and do not require further processing.

Cutters are also used in the furniture industry, e.g. in the production of cabinets (distribution, metal document cabinets), hoods or metal worktops. Their production requires repeatability, precision, perfect finishing, and most importantly, high efficiency.

Production in the automotive industry means short series of repetitive elements with a high level of complexity, which are subject to high quality requirements, as well as quick production retooling and the need to mark each detail.

Laser cutters can also cut and die-cut products with special, sometimes unique shapes based on designs prepared in CAD/CAM programs.

How to choose the right laser cutting machine?

When choosing a laser cutter, you need to carefully consider your current and future needs, that is, determine the type of processed components and their thickness, as well as the type of material processing (cutting/die-cutting, marking/engraving) and select the equipment accordingly. Below we have prepared important criteria that are worth considering when choosing a laser cutting device:

• Processed materials - here you should take into account the size, thickness and properties of the processed material, as they will allow you to properly select the laser power and the size of the cutter table. The type of material should also be taken into account - laser cutters equipped with towers for feeding sheet metal or systems for loading and positioning pipes and profiles are available on the market.

• Laser power - one of the most important parameters of laser cutters is their power, as it directly corresponds to the thickness of the cut material and the speed of the cutting itself.

• Software - most laser cutters are equipped with their own OEM systems and work perfectly with popular CAD/CAM programs. However, it is necessary to find out what functions this software offers and whether it can be integrated with systems already used in the company.

• After-sales service - after-sales service must include installation, commissioning, use, repair and maintenance of the machine. Attention should also be paid to the warranty period. And although modern fiber lasers basically do not require maintenance, like all devices, they can break down. And every failure means unnecessary downtime and losses. Therefore, when choosing a laser cutter, it is worth paying attention to service care. All the more so as these are technologically advanced devices and require appropriate skills of service employees.

Laser cutters are taking various industries by storm, proving their usefulness in the production of more and more new products. And although these are quite expensive devices, the situation changes radically at the moment of starting work, because the actual costs of cutting with a laser cutter are quite low. Especially if you take into account the precision, flexibility and high production efficiency they offer.