What Makes Fiber Lasers So Unique in Metal Fabrication?
The main advantage over CO2 lasers is that the light they emit has a considerably shorter wavelength. A CO2 laser generates light with a wavelength of 10.6 microns, whereas a fiber laser emits light with a wavelength of 1 micron. (Physicists will point out that both are in the infrared region of the spectrum and hence invisible to human vision.)
So, how do fiber lasers relate to metal cutting?
There are two points to consider:
A shorter wavelength may be concentrated in a smaller region. This implies more energy per square millimeter, which means faster healing and a lower kerf.
Most metals reflect long-wavelength light but capture shorter wavelengths from fiber lasers considerably better. This implies that less fiber laser light is reflected and more is used to heat and melt metal.
Bottom line: a fiber laser delivers far more energy to cut with. However, most laser devices do not cut with just light.
Assist Gases and High Power Fiber
It was discovered many years ago that sheltering the laser beam in oxygen raises the cutting temperature. Furthermore, rather than keeping the melted dross on the bottom of the sheet or plate, a high-velocity jet would blast it away.
This meant that you could cut quicker if you used oxygen to help you. However, oxygen has a tendency to cause oxidation of the cut edge. The answer is to substitute nitrogen for oxygen. It reduces cutting speed while leaving a clean edge that requires little to no clean-up before shipping the sheet to be powder coated or welded.
Then people began experimenting with oxygen-nitrogen mixtures.
Someone immediately recognized that air contains 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen, and thus the concept of air-assisted laser cutting was established.
When you have a high-power laser that doesn’t require a lot of additional heat from oxygen, air support comes in handy. And, as with the use of nitrogen, it produces a very clean edge that is suitable for painting or welding. This is why the new laser has high-pressure air assist (and can also run oxygen or nitrogen as needed.)
So much for the science and the specifications of the machines.
Great (metal cutting) power comes with great responsibility.
Several fabrication operations begin by cutting sections of sheets or plates to size and shape. They generally proceed to weld and, on occasion, powder coating. We can create such blanks more efficiently by using laser cutting. Our fiber laser is a step forward from the lasers we presently have and will allow us to cut more effectively. This is due to enhanced speed and thickness capabilities, as well as the improved edge quality it will produce.
As you would expect, having extra power in the laser cutting department is essential. But believe me when I say that companies should utilize that authority wisely. If you are seeking machine structure fabrication in Malaysia, you should visit CFM technologies for more.