What You Might Wonder About Laser Cutting Services for Your Shop

Laser cutting services are becoming more popular than ever before, and this service can be used for a variety of materials and applications. If you're thinking of hiring a laser cutting service for your cutting needs, note a few important factors to consider. This will help you determine if it's the right choice for your shop or facility.

Lasers don't use heat

It's something of a common misconception that lasers use heat to cut through materials, but they actually use a concentrated beam of light that simply disintegrates material so that a cut is made. Rarely do you see smoke or feel heat generated from lasers, which is why they can be used on materials like metal or fabric that may get easily damaged by heat cutting.

Lasers don't produce much if any scrap

Because lasers disintegrate material as they cut, they don't produce much, if any, scrap. This can help eliminate the need to collect waste such as wood or metal shavings. It can also mean saving money on materials, as you don't need to allow for this scrap to be produced in a cut; in turn, you can purchase smaller pieces or more precise sizes of pieces for your materials, knowing that cuts will be more precise as well.

 Not all materials may be cut with lasers

In some cases, fabrics with a loose weave may start to come apart when cut with a laser, as the threads are disintegrated and not immediately followed up with a stitch to close off that cut. Lasers are also very powerful but may be limited as to the thickness they can cut. In some cases, you might consider laser cutting as something to use in addition to your usual tooling or other cutting methods, although it can replace your cutting methods for many materials, depending on their overall thickness.

Lasers are not completely operator-free

Tool cutting is done by hand, as an operator works the machinery for the cut. With a laser cut, an operator works a computer that makes the cut. This computer needs to be programmed with the design of the cut, which it will then follow. The operator rarely guides the laser by hand but must ensure the right program is used for each cut and will change the program or pattern between cuts as needed.

If you're considering the purchase of a laser cutting machine, be sure you understand the need for qualified personnel to operate it as needed.


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