Precision Engineering and Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is a technique that is used to cut different kinds of materials by using laser, mostly metals such as carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel and copper alloys. It is widely used in the field of precision engineering especially in metal fabrication industry to increase cutting speed and cutting capacity, reduce production costs, increase productivity and improve cutting quality.

LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a device that generates a highly concentrated monochromatic and coherent beam of light. This coherent light is emitted as a result of a process known as stimulated emission. Carbon dioxide laser (CO₂ laser) is one of the widely used types of laser. It is capable of emitting a maximum of 100 kilowatts at 9.6 µm and 10.6 µm and of cutting 20-30 m of one millimeter-thick material in a minute. One of the significant fields of precision engineering services is supposed to be cutting which is done by striking the energy produced by the high-power laser at a small portion from where the cutting is required. That small portion is pierced first before a cut is made.

There are two basic methods of laser cutting, in first one the laser is moved while the object to be cut is kept still and in second case the object is moved according to the requirement while the laser is kept stationary. The striking of the laser beam on the object ultimately raises the temperature causing it to melt burn and evaporate.

The requirement of Laser Power (the rate at which energy is delivered by the light) depends upon the nature of the material to be cut. Thicker materials need more laser power while thinner ones need lesser laser power. Usually, carbon dioxide laser cutting is done with laser power of 1,000 to 1,500 watts. Materials such as steel need more than two KW.

Compared to other metal cutting procedures in precision engineering company, laser cutting is far more advantageous, although it has some disadvantages, too. Its primary advantages are precision, cutting quality, cutting speed and economy. High voltage requirement is one of its greatest disadvantages as it is too risky to work in such a high voltage laser beams.