Laser cutting is a flexible and accurate cutting method with various applications across multiple sectors. Its significance lies in its precision and adaptability, enabling the creation of elaborate and complex designs with exceptional precision and speed. Laser cutting has transformed numerous sectors by facilitating the development of new products and enhancing existing ones. Its ability to work with a wide range of materials and produce clean, accurate cuts has established it as an essential tool in manufacturing, design, and other industries.
Laser cutting can be applied to nearly every material, whether it be metal, ceramics, wood, or plastic. The process involves directing a high-power laser beam onto a surface, which then evaporates, burns, or melts the material. The precision of a laser cutter is remarkable, capable of positioning with 10 µm accuracy, making it a vital tool in various industries.
Below are the six uses of laser cutting:
- Laser Cutting Use in the Automotive Industry: Widely used for a range of applications including cutting and shaping metal parts, welding and joining metal parts, engraving and marking, fabric cutting and trimming, glass cutting and shaping, and insulation cutting.
- Laser Cutting Use in Ceramic Manufacturing: Extensively employed for cutting and drilling, engraving and marking, surface treatment, scribing, and wafer dicing.
- Laser Cutting Use in the Medical Device Industry: Broadly utilized for cutting and shaping metal and polymer parts, welding and joining metal and polymer parts, marking and engraving, drilling and ablation, and surface treatment.
- Laser Cutting Use in the Silicon Industry: Employed for applications such as wafer dicing, drilling and ablation, marking and engraving, surface treatment, and silicon etching.
- Laser Cutting Use in the Jewelry Industry: Utilized for a variety of applications including cutting and shaping metal, welding and joining metal, marking and engraving, drilling and ablation, and surface treatment.
- Laser Cutting Use in Continuing Education: Widely used for skill training, rapid prototyping, creative expression, and entrepreneurship. It’s a tool that enhances learning by providing practical, hands-on experience with technology that is increasingly relevant in various professional fields.
Laser Cutting Use in the Automotive Industry: Laser cutting is primarily utilized in the automotive industry for cutting steel parts. This includes both 2-dimensional metal sheets and 3-dimensional objects like pipes or profile parts. Many modern automobile components, made of plastic or composite materials, are efficiently cut with powerful lasers. The cutting process must be fast, repeatable, and precise to meet automotive standards. Laser cutting machines used in this industry are typically large to accommodate car parts.
Laser Cutting Use in Ceramic Manufacturing: Ceramics, known for their toughness and high melting points, were traditionally cut with diamond blades, a process that was often tedious and imprecise. Laser cutting, offering increased speed and accuracy, especially shines on 3-D objects with curved surfaces. UV lasers, when used with CNC technology, can cut ceramics to fractions of a millimeter, avoiding mechanical stress and reducing the risk of cracking.
Laser Cutting Use in the Medical Device Industry: Laser cutting has significantly impacted the medical device industry, enabling the cutting of all commonly used materials, such as stainless steel, titanium, and various polymers. The high precision and complex shape requirements of medical devices make laser cutting an effective method for production, contributing to lower costs and faster manufacturing.
Laser Cutting Use in the Silicon Industry: Silicon, a crucial material in microelectronics, photovoltaic modules, and silicon wafers, presents challenges in cutting, particularly with thick sheets or 3-D forms. Traditional cutting methods like wire cutting put considerable mechanical stress on silicon, resulting in waste. Modern laser-cutting technologies, using high-power near IR CW lasers, address these issues by cutting silicon with high precision and speed.
Laser Cutting Use in the Jewelry Industry: Laser cutting efficiently handles precious metals such as gold, platinum, and silver. The focused laser beam allows for delicate design work at a reasonable cost. Its importance is particularly evident in jewelry design, where intricate features are required. Some laser cutting machines also offer engraving capabilities, doubling their utility and saving time and costs for designers.
Laser Cutting Use in Combination with Machine Learning: The integration of laser cutters with machine learning algorithms is a novel and emerging area. These advanced laser cutters can automatically identify materials and adjust cutting parameters, showing promise in increasing speed and efficiency. This combination is an example of innovative technology saving time and reducing costs for users.
What is the importance of laser cutting in this context?
Key benefits of laser cutting are highlighted below.
- Laser cutting is the best alternative to the etching process: The advantages of laser cutting over traditional etching methods include high accuracy, quickness, adaptability, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
- Laser cutting has a high level of precision: High-powered laser beams cut materials precisely in laser cutting. The precision and minimal waste of laser cutting make it valuable. It is utilized in aerospace, automotive, medical, and electronics industries.
- Laser cutting is very accurate and consistent: Laser cutting precisely cuts metal, plastic, and wood. Laser technology’s precise and accurate cuts make it widely used in the automotive, aerospace, and electronics sectors.
- Laser cutting leaves very little room for human error: The precision and accuracy of laser cutting reduce human error, making it useful in many precision-oriented businesses where mistakes can be costly.
- Laser cutting uses less energy: Laser cutting consumes less energy than mechanical or plasma cutting. It is a non-contact process, so the laser beam never touches the material. Instead, the laser beam heats and vaporizes the material, cutting it cleanly. Mechanical cutting, which involves physical contact and friction, uses more energy.
- Laser cutting is cost-effective: Laser cutting is a cost-effective and essential method that offers precision, speed, versatility, automation, and cost savings.
- Laser cutting can create complex designs: Laser cutting is an effective tool for making complicated patterns. Its adaptability and accuracy make it a popular option in various sectors and applications.
- Laser cutting results in less workpiece contamination: Laser cutting is a clean and precise technology that creates less workpiece contamination than many other cutting methods.
Laser cutting is the best alternative to the etching process.
Industrial etching processes are usually quite complicated and involve different steps. One usually has to print the etching patterns and cover the rest with an etching mask. The last step often involves corrosive and toxic etching agents. All of this can be avoided by simply using a laser to engrave the desired etching patterns into the substrate.
Laser cutting has a high level of precision.
Laser cutting is a very precise industrial method that uses a high-powered laser beam to cut materials precisely. Laser cutting is significant because of its ability to produce complicated and accurate cuts with minimal material waste. It is widely employed in various sectors, including aerospace, automotive, medical, and electronics. Moreover, laser cutting is far superior compared to mechanical cutting with most available tools. It has a precision of down to 0.01 mm and can cut practically every material.
Laser cutting is very accurate and consistent.
Laser cutting is an accurate and consistent method for cutting various materials, such as metal, plastic, and wood. Laser technology allows for precise and consistent cuts with great accuracy, which is why it is frequently used in sectors like automotive, aerospace, and electronics. The high accuracy goes hand in hand with excellent repeatability, meaning that the laser-cut pieces are perfectly similar. The precision is independent of the batch size, allowing for cutting small prototype series or large numbers of items with equal accuracy.
Laser cutting leaves very little room for human error.
Several businesses use laser cutting because it reduces human error compared to traditional methods like sawing or punching. Laser cutters are usually controlled by a sophisticated computer system that minimizes human error. Mostly, a human is only needed to place the workpiece(s) for cutting inside the laser cutter or to remove them. In combination with a robot, even these last working steps can also eliminate sources of human error.
Laser cutting uses less energy.
Laser cutters have quite reduced energy consumption. The primary reason for this is the quick processing time, made possible by the high speed and accuracy. Furthermore, they reduce waste, which in turn lowers energy use. The excellent precision of laser cutting largely reduces waste since fewer workpieces are destroyed. Furthermore, computer-driven CNC laser cutting can optimize the cutout volume. For example, 2-D pieces that need to be cut out from a plate can be arranged by the computer in a way that uses as little space as possible.
Laser cutting is cost-effective.
The reduction in waste and prevention of human error make laser cutting very cost-effective. It is a highly adaptable technology that enables cost-effective cutting of even small quantities of workpieces. The cost savings from energy savings are a secondary point. The combination of these factors makes laser cutting relatively inexpensive but advantageous in production.
Laser cutting can create complex designs.
Laser cutting is a highly precise and versatile cutting technology that produces complex designs with a high degree of accuracy and consistency. Even twisted, three-dimensional shapes can be obtained with excellent accuracy depending on the flexibility of the laser cutter (i.e., plate cutter, 4-axis or 6-axis cutter). The laser beam follows a computer design file and generates complicated patterns, forms, and curves that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional cutting processes. One of the most significant benefits of laser cutting is its ability to make clean and accurate cuts with no burrs or rough edges, making it an excellent option for manufacturing and fabrication applications requiring high accuracy and quality, such as those in the aerospace, automotive, and electronics sectors.
Laser cutting results in less workpiece contamination
Laser cutting generates less workpiece contamination than other cutting processes. This is due to the fact that laser cutting employs a highly concentrated beam of light to cut through the material, vaporizing or melting it at the cutting spot. The risk of contaminating the material with foreign objects or debris is reduced as a result of the minimal physical contact between the cutting tool and the workpiece.
Moreover, laser cutting can be done with or without a cutting gas, such as nitrogen or oxygen. A cutting gas helps avoid the production of oxides or other impurities during the cutting process. The type of gas used will depend on the material being cut and the desired cutting quality. There is almost no debris to remove since a large portion of the laser-cut material is vaporized or charred at the edges. This can be further enhanced by removing the remaining few particles of debris from the workpiece using a strong gas flow or a suction device. The end result is neat and tidy.
How does laser cutting work?
The basic principle of a laser cutter is that a lot of energy is concentrated on a very small area of the material. This is done by focusing a laser beam onto a tiny spot. This creates a large amount of heat in focus. The heat quickly melts, burns, or evaporates the workpiece material, depending on the substance, producing a sharp cut edge. The approach is quick, clean, and accurate since the focus point size can be fractions of a millimeter in diameter. The edges made by the laser beam are free of debris and are practically surface finished.
There are five basic steps to how laser cutting works, including design, preparation, setup, cutting, and finishing. First, create or import a digital design file into computer-aided design (CAD) software. The cutting pattern or form to be cut out of the material is included in this file. Second, cleaning the material to be cut and anchoring it to the cutting table are the first steps in the preparation process.
Third, setup involves setting the necessary cutting parameters, such as laser power, cutting speed, and focus distance, for the laser cutting machine. Fourth, the laser beam is focused on the material’s surface, and the cutting process starts. The laser beam melts or vaporizes the material at the cutting spot, leaving a thin kerf. A computer controls the laser beam, which follows the cutting pattern in the design file. Lastly, cutting is followed by the removal of the finished pieces from the cutting table and the cleaning of any slag or other remnants of the cutting process.
What are the different types of laser-cutting machines?
Lasers made of CO2, Nd (for neodymium), and Nd: YAG (for neodymium yttrium-aluminum-garnet) are the most common types used, depending on the application. The first type is an all-rounder for boring, cutting, and engraving. Nd is commonly used for high-energy applications, such as boring. The last type (Nd: YAG) is used for processes that require the highest laser power, such as boring and engraving on tough materials.
Each laser-cutting machine uses the method outlined in the term to make precise and accurate cuts in various materials. The type of machine used is determined by the application, such as cutting nonmetal materials with a CO2 laser cutting machine or metals with a fiber laser cutting machine. Understanding Laser Cutting: Definition, Process, and Use is critical in determining the best laser cutting equipment for a given application.
How does laser cutting differ on different materials?
The material to be cut sets the requirements for the type of laser cutter. Accordingly, not every laser type is most suited for each material. Many common manufacturing materials, such as wood, paper, textiles, plastics, aluminum, or steel, can be nicely cut with a CO2 laser. A YAG laser is a weapon for tougher materials such as ceramics or high-temperature metals. This is true for both cutting and engraving. A quite recent development, which has not become so common yet, is fiber lasers. This laser can have very tiny spot sizes (down to only 1 % of a CO2 laser). Hence, they are precise and can concentrate the laser power much better. This makes them ideal for cutting reflective materials.
Is it easier to laser cut metal than plastic?
No, it is not easier to laser cut metal than plastic. However, the answer is more complex than this. Metals have a higher melting point than most plastics, but most plastics cannot melt without releasing toxic fumes. PVC even gives off hydrochloric gas fumes when overheated. This, of course, has to be accounted for in laser cutting. Other plastics tend to melt so easily that they get soft around the cutting edges. They can seem rough or even discolored, which is the best-case scenario. Additionally, they do not look very tidy. The worst-case scenario involves melting, significantly reducing the workpiece’s mechanical strength. Most metals don’t have these problems, but when cutting metals, the laser cutting system often needs more power than when cutting plastics.
Moreover, there are many methods for laser cutting plastic materials, including Cast Acrylic Cutting. It is a technique of plastic, primarily acrylic plastic, cutting. Use a laser cutter to heat and melt the acrylic material to create a thin kerf or cut line. Plastics can be cut using cast acrylic cutting, but metals cannot be cut with it. Metals have a higher melting point and need far more energy to cut through than plastics. Laser cutting metal entails vaporizing or melting the metal at the cutting site using a high-powered laser beam, which requires substantially more energy than laser cutting plastic.