Introduction
Our laser systems can handle most of common cutting job, but for large
volume cutting our system has its limitation.
The laser system has the following features
It can cut a wide range of materials
It is flexible and ideal for batch production of different design.
A PC control system allows us to tackle uniquely complex images
A quick and easy set up allows us to tackle small batches
For the technical people
A laser beam is pure heat, infrared radiation, in a beam of about 15mm
diameter. It is directed to the point of working by mirrors and then
focused to a small spot of about 0.25mm diameter. At that point it is
hot¡..very hot. The focused spot will melt, burn or vaporize the
material it hits.
The laser system uses its integrate air clean system. The air system
pull the air out to cool the workpiece, eject the smoke, gasses and
debris from the cut and keeps the optics and cutting head clean.
Artwork requirements
To speed your job into production please send DXF or EPS files via email
or on floppy disk or CD that is PC readable. The images you send should
be vector files (ie made up of lines and not bitmaps) and should be
continuous lines on a single layer.
With DXF files in particular, please ensure that there are no segments
that overlap or layered on top of each other. (it saves a lot of
chargeable studio time)
However, if that¡¯s all getting too technical, send what you¡¯ve got
and we will assess it and call you with a cost for getting it into
production.
Material and cutting performance
The following is a brief list of materials and their cutting
performance. It is not exhaustive but is meant as a guide. We are always
happy to discuss your requirements and test materials where appropriate.
| Materials |
Max
Thickness |
Comments |
| Hardwood |
10mm |
Some
taper can occur. Dark brown edges with most timbers. Smoke
damage on raw timbers |
| Plywood |
8mm |
Interior
grades cut better than exterior. We stock 0.8, 1.5 and 4mm
thicknesses. Above 6mm thick black edges are noticeable |
| MDF |
10mm |
Clean,
sealed edges up to 6mm thick. Some loose black debris above 10mm
thick.Smoke damage can occur on raw faces |
| Acrylic |
10mm |
Good
clean edge. Extruded cuts with a smoother edge than cast. Nearly
flame polished edges. Some taper on the cut above 10mm thick. |
| Polycarbonate |
5mm |
Yellowing
of the edge occurs when laser cut, otherwise a good clean cut |
| Polypropylene |
2mm |
Good
clean edge. This is one of the few materials that can be cut in
multiple layers. |
| Polyester |
0.5mm |
Used
extensively for decorating stencils. Can be cut in multiple
layers. |
| Cork |
8mm |
Very
black edge |
| Leather |
4mm |
Cuts
cleanly with some smoke black debris on thicker materials.
Smelly, but this disappears after a few days |
| Silicon
Rubber |
2mm |
Cuts
very well. Excellent for seals and gaskets |
| Formica |
1mm |
We
have cut the formica itself and when laminated onto MDF. Cuts
well |
| Natural
cloth |
0.5mm |
Most
natural cloths cut well. High accuracy difficult because of
material flexibility |
Cutting Questions
Does it burn the material?
NO. The laser beam is very concentrated and then it is focused to a spot
of around 0.005¡± diameter! This focussed laser beam will cut through
the material before any heat is absorbed into the surrounding material.
Is there any damage to the surface?
Not normally. As we described above the laser beam is very concentrated
and only affects the narrow ¡°slot¡± of material that is cut. We
surround the laser beam with a jet of compressed air to cool the
workpiece and eject the smoke and gasses on the underside of the cut. On
some raw materials we can get a small amount of smoke marking, usually
at the start point. We do everything to minimize this and it will vary
with different materials. It is most noticeable with raw timbers and
with thicker materials.
Are there any noticeable marks on the edge?
This will depend upon the material and how thick it is. The thinner
materials will have no visible machining marks. Thicker materials can
have ¡°striations¡± or vertical lines on the cut edge and some marks
at the start and stop point of the cut. Good tooling to support the
material while the cut finishes and to stop it dropping as it cuts out
will eliminate this.
What is the edge like?
Most materials cut with a smooth, sealed edge. The edge is vertical and
computer control ensures that the lines are straight and the curves
smooth (when you want them like that). On natural materials there will
be some browning or blackening. On man-made materials it is often a
clean cut leaving raw material behind. If we have any concerns we will
discuss them with you and let you have a sample of the cut edge for
evaluation.
How fine can the detail go?
The limit on detail is usually the strength of the remaining material.
As a rough rule of thumb, keep the minimum diameter of any holes to the
material thickness and the width of any standing material to equal the
material thickness. We can (and regularly do) go a lot smaller and finer
but it depends heavily on the material and final design.
What is the smallest hole?
Try to keep hole diameters above the thickness of the material. We can
go smaller but it will depend on the material. Really small holes on
thicker material (above say 3mm thick) are not perfect, in that the exit
point can be larger than the entry. If this is critical then allow for
the holes to be drilled through conventionally once we have marked their
position accurately.
How thick can the laser cut?
See the table above. This varies with the materials. There are two
factors that limit the maximum thickness. Firstly the absolute amount of
power available to us and how much is required to cut through the
material. Secondly is the focal length of the focusing lens on the
laser. The cutting process depends upon a tightly focussed laser spot.
The ideal point occurs only at the focal length of the lens and the beam
diverges to give a less than ideal condition away from this point.
Typically, above 8mm thick we are starting to reach the limitations of
the focussed beam. Beyond here we will see ragged edges on the exit
point and more burning than cutting on the natural materials.
Does it have to be raw material?
No. We can laser cut varnished and painted materials with no damage to
the finish on either side of the cut. In some instances this will
prevent any possible smoke marking on the surface of the material.
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