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Workable materials
Non-metals
Non-metal materials possess very good characteristics of absorption of the
infrared light energy typical of CO2 lasers and are also generally poor
conductors of heat and have low vaporization temperatures.
Plastic materials
The laser is used extensively in the field of plastic materials,
particularly because of its ability to cut complex forms at high speed and
because it does not apply stress or distort the piece.
Furthermore, it produces a clean cut with smooth edges on thermoplastic
materials.
It also produces good results with polyesters and polycarbonates, even if,
at times, for a few polymers, a thin layer of carbon elements can be found
at the cut edge.
In Cutlite Penta apparatus, special mechanisms increase the quality of the
finishing on the piece, even in cuts of considerable thickness.
By paying particular attention to removal of fumes, even various types of
composite materials can be cut with good results, thanks to the precision
and the extremely small focalization area of the laser beam. Even Kevlar,
multilayered carbon fiber materials and various pre-soaked composites can be
cut with special techniques at very high speeds before polymerization.
Rubber
Both natural and synthetic rubber of thickness up to 20 mm can be cut with a
mid-power CO2 laser.
Wood
Woodcutting is an excellent application for the high precision of the cut of
Cutlite Penta machines. In particular, for dye cutting, the Cutlite Penta
cutting systems produce exact and uniform grooves along the entire length of
the worked surface. In addition to marking and cutting of inlay pieces,
there are many applications in handicrafts, gift items and interior
furnishings.
Various materials
Paper materials, leather, and natural and synthetic fabrics can be cut
easily with a low-power laser. Use of laser cutting in the fashion industry
allows faster and more flexible production of articles of clothing of every
size and shape and at the same time the processes of decoration and incision
serve to personalize production.
Glass materials
Thanks to its low thermal expansion factor, quartz of thickness up to 10 mm
can be cut easily with the laser at a speed which is clearly superior to
that of mechanical means. However, glass has high levels of microfissures
and is, therefore, less suitable for this type of cutting, with the
exception of relatively thin borosilicates which can be cut with a pulsed
source.
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Metals
Most metals possess good characteristics for cutting.
Because of the great possibilities of focalization, reaching specific powers
of a million Watts per cm2, the incident laser beam causes superficial
fusion and, therefore, triggers the cutting process in nearly all metals, in
spite of the high levels of surface reflectivity.
Conventional steel
Conventional steel types have a considerably reduced (or practically
nonexistent) heat altered zone (HAZ) compared to plasma cutting systems.
Cold rolled steels give better results than hot rolled ones. High carbon
content steels are cut more easily, even though they have a greater heat
altered zone than conventional steels.
Carbon steel
It is now known that in the metal structural work industry laser cutting of
the sheets prevails. Compared to plasma cutting, laser cutting is more
accurate for thickness up to 15-20 mm. The cut edges are clean, squared and
free of burrs. The cut grooves (kerfs) have a width of less than
one-twentieth of the thickness, providing greater accuracy in assembly of
the pieces with minimal tolerance.
Stainless steel
The laser is applied with excellent results in the cutting of components
from stainless steel sheets. The high degree of accuracy and heat control
prohibit extent of the heat altered zone from the cutting groove, allowing
the material to maintain its characteristics of stainlessness and resistance
to corrosion.
Even martensite and ferrite steels?? are easily cut at different speeds.
As in the case of stainless steels, steel alloys present ideal conditions
for cutting and working with the laser.
Though they possess high thermal conductivity and limited laser radiation
absorption, aluminum alloys and brass can be worked with powers starting at
1000 Watts. Thickness of up to 44 millimeters can be cut.
Copper
alloys (with the exception of brass) have poor laser beam absorption. Use of
the laser with these metals is possible, but, at times, with levels of
difficulty that are not industrially acceptable.
Titanium
This can be cut easily and quickly with excellent finishing quality with a
beam generated by a CO2 source. If oxygen is used as booster gas, a greater
cutting speed is produced, creating a thin deposit of titanium oxide in
proximity of the groove.
Phenomenal cutting
Because of its specific characteristics, the laser beam is the best way of
transferring energy to a material. By focalizing a laser beam on a material,
absorption of laser beam energy by the surface of the material is increased.
If the heat flow generated by the laser beam in the material is greater than
its dissipation capacity, an immediate increase in the temperature of the
material can occur in the area of incidence of the beam, causing a fusion
(welding) or sublimation (boring, cutting).
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