A laser cutter is used to cut a sheet of metal.
Laser cutting is a way of cutting precise patterns in metal, plastic, wood, and virtually every other material that man works with. It allows a level of precision and complexity impossible with conventional machining tools. Laser cutting works by stimulating a gaseous medium, usually carbon dioxide, which causes it to amplify the reflected light several times within the laser chamber. Light emerges from an opening and is focused by a lens at a specific point.
A typical process laser has a beam about 1/5 millimeter wide, focusing 1,000 to 2,000 watts of power. This is enough to melt most common materials. As lasers become less focused and lose energy when penetrating a material, there is a limit of about 20mm to the depth of cut. Laser cutting machines are integrated into a larger CAD/CAM (computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing) system that takes a design file and implements it on a workpiece. These machines represent a springboard in the continuing trend away from hands-on manufacturing, putting human workers in a more remote and creative design role.
Since a laser is made of photons, some of its energy can be reflected off materials such as aluminum and copper alloys. These materials are also thermally conductive, meaning they distribute incoming heat more evenly throughout their volume. For this reason, carbon alloy and stainless steel are popular materials for laser cut parts. They do not absorb heat well, so heat is more easily concentrated in the laser path.
Typical laser cutters allow features up to 1mm in size. Specialized lasers often come in even smaller sizes, allowing true micromachines to be fabricated. The first laser cuts were made in 1967, as part of a military research project focused on lasers. As the beams used in cutting are “Class 4” lasers, the machines are designed to ensure that human operators are never directly exposed to them. All cutting is done inside the machine.