Laser Cutting 6.25mm Thick Aluminum

Laser Cutting Application:

Having received 6.25mm thick aluminum 5052 sample materials from a customer for laser cutting, the application engineers here at Laser Photonics used a 2kW CW fiber laser (1060nm) to make the cuts per the customers’ requirements. During this process, the application engineers also attempted to cut 1/8'' copper with the same 2kW laser.

Using a 2kW CW fiber laser equipped with a focal length lens of 9 inches and operating the system at 90% power, the samples were cut 10mm/second in one pass. The laser system used Nitrogen for assist gas. The assist gas pressure was 280~300PSI. The nozzle diameter was 1.4mm and the nozzle standoff: 0.5mm.

Following the completion of the cutting applications, Laser Photonics application engineers recommended the Titan cutting machine equipped with a focusing lens of 9 inches and a CW fiber laser (1060nm), 2kW for ¼” steel and aluminum. Should the customer desire to cut 1/8” copper, the recommendations are for a laser that is 5kW and up because it was not possible to cut through the copper as it requires a more powerful laser.

Laser Cutting Aluminum

Laser Cutting Application:

The aluminum dog tag shapes were cut out using a 2kW CW fiber laser (1080nm) with a focal length lens of 9 inches. The samples were processed using Nitrogen assist gas, an assist gas pressure of 280~300PSI, a nozzle diameter of 1.4mm and nozzle standoff of 0.5mm. In one pass, at 50% power, each dog tag was cut in 22mm/sec.

The application engineers recommend the Titan Series cutting machine for this process with a CW fiber laser (1060nm), 2kW power and a 9 inch focal length lens. The newest edition to Laser Photonics’ product line is the Titan Series. This machine is Laser Photonics’ first multipurpose fiber laser cutting machine with a single pallet shuttle table. It is equipped with a high-powered, energy efficient fiber laser and an advanced direct drive motion control platform. Comparable to other machines, the Titan has a lighter weight design and the fastest cutting speed on the market for comparable systems. This system offers ultra low power consumption allowing for the lowest operating costs among all laser types. The Titan’s fully software-controlled geometry alignment eliminates the need for special installation requirements. The Titan requires no optical system alignment, laser service or laser replacement parts making this system virtually maintenance free.

Laser Cutting Sheet Alumin with Polyethylene Backing

Laser Cutting Application:

Polyethylene is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products, most notably the plastic shopping bag. Over 60 million tons of the material is produced worldwide every year. Shopping bags just scrape the surface of the uses of polyethylene. Manufacturers make various other everyday consumer products from polyethylene including: tables, chairs, and outdoor storage sheds. The medical industry, in particular, benefits from polyethylene when it’s applied as a backing on a sheet of aluminum and used to seal test tubes.

In this application, circles were cut from a sheet of aluminum with polyethylene backing which is used to fuse a series of tubes to the sheet. The circles were cut so that the tubes could be easily removed from the sheet without causing any damage to the tubes and maintaining the seal. The aluminum sheet with polyethylene backing samples were processed using a pulsed fiber laser (1064nm, 1mJ @ 20kHz) through scanning head and160mm focusing lens. The process took 3.24 seconds per hole and cut through in just one pass using 100% power.

The application engineers recommended a FiberTower™ marking system with a pulsed fiber laser (1064nm, 1mJ @ 50kHz) and a focal length lens of 160mm.