Laser attributes

Material type and ideal thickness

• Mild steel up to 25 mm (1") thick
• Stainless steel up to 25 mm (1") thick
• Brass up to 6 mm (0.25") thick
• Copper up to 6 mm (0.25") thick
• Aluminum up to 12 mm (0.5") thick

Between 6 mm (1/4") and 25 mm (1"), choice of cutting system (fiber, CO₂, or plasma) depends on volume, amount of fine-feature cutting, and secondary process requirements.

Cut quality

• Excellent cut quality on most materials
• Better cut quality than plasma for fine features
• Ability to produce holes less than a 1:1 diameter-to-thickness ratio

Productivity

• Excellent productivity on thinner material and less on thicker material
• Widely available on a broad variety of high-quality cutting machines

Laser cutting technology can be effectively combined with other cutting technologies to deliver very high productivity, exceeding tolerance and quality requirements for most plate applications.

Operating cost

• Lower operating and maintenance costs than plasma
  
  Cost per part and parts per shift - 3.5 mm (0.135") mild steel
  
  
  
  
• Fiber laser is 3x more energy efficient than CO₂ – with no mirrors to maintain and calibrate, and no lasing gas

Capital equipment cost

• $350,000 - $1,000,000+
  
  Total Cost of Ownership - 5 year outlook
  
  

Portability

• Not portable