Conventional C02 Lasers Vs Modern Fiber Lasers-lisa

It’s easy to see why fiber laser are leading the industry and slowly replacing older C02 cutting technology. With considerably higher output capabilities and expanded material options, the benefits of using fiber lasers can be a game changer for any parts fabricator.

There are many advantages to fiber lasers that don’t come along with using traditional C02 lasers.

Let’s recap some of the most beneficial aspects of fiber lasers:

• With higher energy densities, enabling them to cut materials up to 5 times faster than C02 lasers.
• Operating at lower operational cost than that of a CO2 laser.
• Don’t need any additional warm-up time, compared to CO2 lasers which take about 10 minutes on average to warm up.
• Fiber lasers require far less maintenance than C02 lasers. There are no mirrors or lenses to clean or bellows to check, and they do not require regular beam alignments. This is in comparison to the roughly 4 or 5 hours of weekly maintenance required when using CO2 lasers.

• Fiber lasers can cut reflective materials such as stainless steel, without worrying about reflections that could damage the cutting unit.

• Fiber lasers are not subject to contaminates in its beam path. This is because they have a fully sealed beam path at both the power source, as well as at the cutting head.
• A fiber laser’s optic beam path consistently maintains its center. And, because of the fact that a fiber laser’s beam maintains its consistency. The cutting parameters also remain consistent, meaning that there are far less adjustments to take care of from day to day.

Still, there are some disadvantages to using fiber lasers over a C02 laser. For example, C02 lasers have a much quicker piercing time when a cut is first started. This means that they will work more efficiently when using thicker materials and are also faster when cutting in a straight line.