Laser Cutting Plastic (Polyethelene)Tube Sheets

Laser Cutting Application:

Samples of plastic (polyethelene) tube sheets arrived at our plant for cutting and fusing. The first sample was the thinner one measuring 0.00128”. The second sample had a thickness of 0.0005 inches.

The application engineers processed the samples using the SBM 1200 cutting system equipped with a 250W continuous wave CO2 (10.6 um) through a 2.5" lens. The plastic packaging was cut while fusing the cutting edge to form a bag. This process proved successful with the thinner 0.00128" material making the cut in 100mm/second and in just one pass. The material with a thickness of 0.005" required a more powerful laser than what was currently available in the lab. A 400-500 watt laser would be needed to fuse the ends of the thicker material while maintaining a manageable cutting speed. This process would require fixturing for the materials and some fume extraction to reduce the amount of residue caused while cutting/fusing.

The SBM 1200 Laser Cutting and Engraving Machine comes equipped with a CO2 laser combing flying optics with a precision Direct Drive motion system. This system provides highly accurate cutting, welding, engraving and marking capabilities for multiple materials.

Laser Cutting Plastic Sheets

Laser Cutting Application:

Plastic sheets can be used for a wide variety of industry applications. In two separate applications, our engineers processed plastic sheets cutting through them using the SBM 1200 equipped with a 250W CW CO2 (10.6um) through a 2.5” lens. The sheet was cut using the dimensions requested by the customer. The operating power was 33% ~70 watts, with a frequency of 5kHz (Modulated), and a speed of 50mm/sec. The samples were cut in just one pass.

In the second application, the previous process was duplicated with the number samples cut increased to seven to test the consistency across a number of samples. Again, the samples were processed using the SBM 1200 cutting system equipped with a 250W CW CO2 (10.6 um) through a 2.5" lens and according to the dimensions requested by the customer. The cutting speed and power used to cut the samples were chosen to optimize accuracy and edge quality.

The SBM 1200 Laser Cutting and Engraving Machine comes equipped with CO2 laser combining flying optics with a precision Direct Drive motion system. CO2 laser equipped system provides highly accurate cutting, welding, engraving and marking capabilities for multiple materials.