5 Main Things You Need Know to Choose the Fiber Laser Cutting Machine
At first, when buying a fiber laser cutting machine, you don't have to worry too much about the various fiber laser cutting machines on the market. You will experience so many fiber laser cutting machines with various functions that you will not be able to choose among them. Instead, the first thing you need to do is figure out what your business needs are. This way, you can choose the fiber laser cutting machine that suits your needs. In the next section, I'll show you how to do this. You must acquire 5 master keys to unlock the perfect cutting machine for your business. So let's dig in and see what they are!
What material will you be using?
The first thing you need to figure out is the various materials you will be cutting now and in the future. The type of material you cut will determine the type of fiber laser cutting machine you need.
There are two main types of fiber laser cutting machines on the market: CO2 (carbon dioxide) fiber laser cutting machines and fiber laser cutting machines. Both machines cut different kinds of materials.
If you are thinking of cutting wood, paper, leather or any similar organic material then you need to use CO2 as fiber laser cutters cannot cut such materials. (Many of these materials will melt, cut poorly, or be dangerous if used with a fiber laser. For example, a fiber laser on wood can cause a fire!) CO2 machines can also cut materials like glass, stone, rubber, felt, cotton, Denim, plywood, walnut, oak, and maple. These are things that cannot be cut by fiber laser cutting machines.
Fiber machines, on the other hand, can cut a variety of metals, including metals that CO2 machines cannot cut, known as reflective metals. These metals are called reflective metals because of their structural properties that reflect light (laser light) back into the machine. Therefore, a machine like a CO2 that has a specific way of emitting laser light will run a high risk of damaging itself if it tries to cut through these reflective metals. Examples of reflective metals are copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, gold and silver.
List all the materials you will be using to show which brand of fiber laser cutting machine you are considering buying.
What is the hardest material you will need to cut?
Once you've decided which material to use, you need to figure out which material is the most difficult to cut. Harder materials will require more power from your machine to cut. For example, you'll need a laser above about 30 watts to cut materials like wood, cardboard, foam, and thin plastic. You'll need up to 300 watts to cut thin steel or thick plastic. Also note that the thicker the material, the more force it will take to cut it. If you are cutting steel 2 mm thick or thicker, you need at least 500 watts of power.
On the list of materials you need to cut, you should circle the hardest material so that the fiber laser cutting machine will know when you make a purchase.
What is the thickest size you need to cut?
Once you have determined the hardest material that needs to be cut, you also need to determine the maximum thickness that all materials need to be cut. You don't want to end up having to cut something 0.50mm and be unable to cut it because your fiber laser cutter doesn't have enough power to do so.
Also, be aware that, as I explained earlier, it takes more force to cut harder materials. So it's important to find out what the maximum thickness of the hardest material you'll be cutting is. It takes more power to cut 0.50mm of aluminum than 0.50mm of stainless steel. For example, suppose you have a fiber laser cutting machine with a power of 1.5KW -12KW. This fiber laser cutting machine can cut stainless steel up to 50 mm. But only up to 20 mm of brass or copper, or 35 mm of aluminium.
So here you want to make sure to note the maximum thickness you will be cutting from all materials. You also want to make sure you have enough power to cut the hardest material in the thickest measurement you need.
The largest object you may need to cut
