Fiber Laser Vs Co2 Laser Engraving
Fiber lasers are best suited for high contrast markings like metal annealing etching and engraving.
Fiber laser vs co2 laser engraving. A fiber laser usually has a wavelength of 1 060 nm while co2 lasers have wavelengths in the 10 600 nm range. Co2 laser cutting vs. Fiber laser are ideally suited for metal marking applications such as engraving annealing and high contrast plastic markings. Evolution of fiber laser cutting technology fiber laser cutting has been one of the most disruptive technologies introduced to the metalworking market since co2 lasers were first introduced for cutting sheet metal back in the 1980s.
How to choose the best fiber laser engraver. If you are willing to learn just the basics of fiber laser engraving you can. By jerome landry on september 09 2020. The price of equipment for co2 laser cutting or engraving starts at 35 000 but rarely goes beyond 100 000.
In general fiber lasers have many advantages over co2 lasers. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of a co2 laser which will cover many of the points above as a direct comparison. The amplified light on exiting the fiber cable is collimated or. This makes for faster return of investment even for small volume orders.
A side by side comparison. Comparison of laser engraving machines. Fiber laser cutting pros and cons the rapidly growing science of laser cutting is dominated by two main methods carbon dioxide co2 laser cutting and fiber laser cutting. For example cutting 125 inch aluminum and thinner using abr as an assist gas can produce speeds 3x higher than co2.
The big difference between these two technologies is that the optical fiber laser cutters have a much longer working life while a co2 tube for cutting metals had only 20 000 hours of work a fiber optic machine has 100 000 hours of work. Tell us about your application. Laser systems april 21 2016 fiber laser cutting machine. The main disadvantages that a fiber laser faces in comparison to a co2 laser relates to cutting speeds of thicker materials.
Generally anything above 5mm in thickness. Briefly fiber laser light is created by banks of diodes. The light is channeled and amplified through fiber optic cable similar to that used for data transfer. Knowing how to choose the right laser engraver for your application is not that complicated.
Co2 lasers remain the preferred technology for a wide range of industries because they deliver reliable performance at a fraction of the cost of fiber lasers. Fiber systems feature a long service life with a minimum of 25 000 laser hours and in general are maintenance free machines. Fiber laser cutting technology is considered a disruptive and revolutionary change because it has impacted the entire status quo in sheet metal. Fiber laser vs co2 laser.