What is the Difference Between Fiber Laser Cutting Machine and CO2 Laser Cutting Machine?

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hgtech
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What is the Difference Between Fiber Laser Cutting Machine and CO2 Laser Cutting Machine?

Post by hgtech »

1. Different light-emitting media

In CO2 laser cutting machine, gas is the medium to generate laser beam, mainly CO2, and O2, He, Xe, etc. are auxiliary gases. The CO2 laser beam is reflected and focused to the laser cutting head by the reflection and focusing lens. The fiber laser is transmitted through diodes and fiber optic cables. Multiple diodes are pumped to generate laser beams, which are then transmitted to the laser cutting head through fiber optic cables, rather than transmitted through mirrors.

2. The appearance of optical fiber laser cutting machine is more compact

Due to the different laser transmission structures, the optical fiber laser cutting machine with the same power is more compact than the CO2 laser cutting machine, which saves space in the plant and is more suitable for the application of the old warehouse.

3. The electro-optic conversion efficiency of optical fiber laser cutting machine is high

The fiber laser cutting machine adopts a complete solid-state digital module and a single fiber laser design, and its electro-optic conversion efficiency is higher than that of CO2 laser cutting. CO2 laser cutting machine will consume a lot of gas when working, but the actual total utilization rate of each power supply is about 8%~10%. The fiber laser cutting machine consumes less in the processing process, but the total utilization rate is about 25%~30%. The total energy consumption of the fiber laser cutting system is 3~5 times lower than that of the carbon dioxide cutting system, which is more than 86% higher.

4. The processing effect of optical fiber laser cutting machine is better

The beam wavelength of CO2 laser is 10.64um, which is easier to be absorbed by non-metallic materials. However, the beam wavelength of the fiber laser is 1.064um, 10 times shorter than that of CO2, which improves the absorption of the cutting material to the beam. Due to this smaller focal length, the intensity of the fiber laser cutter is almost 100 times higher than that of the CO2 laser cutter with the same power output. Therefore, fiber laser cutting machine is very suitable for cutting metal materials. When the cutting material thickness reaches 6mm, the cutting speed of 1500W fiber laser cutting machine is equivalent to that of 3000W carbon dioxide laser cutting machine.

CO2 laser cutter can cut and engrave metal materials with low efficiency. Therefore, CO2 laser machine is mainly used for cutting and carving non-metallic materials. For example, wood, acrylic, paper, leather, fabric, etc. Fiber laser cutting machine is mainly used for metal laser cutting, such as stainless steel, carbon steel, galvanized steel, copper, aluminum, etc.

5. Low maintenance cost of optical fiber laser cutting machine

CO2 laser cutting machine uses gas as the luminous medium. Due to the low purity of CO2 gas, the cavity will be polluted and needs to be cleaned regularly. In addition, the CO2 laser tube has a complex structure, the optical lens is vulnerable and expensive, and the mirror surface needs maintenance and calibration, so the daily maintenance workload is larger and the cost is higher. The annual cost of a kilowatt CO2 laser cutting machine is at least 20000 dollars. Fiber laser cutting is basically maintenance free, with few vulnerable parts. It can withstand harsh working environment and has high resistance to dust, impact, impact, humidity and temperature. Generally speaking, fiber laser cutting is more environmentally friendly, convenient and cost-effective in the daily maintenance of equipment.

6. Higher processing efficiency of optical fiber laser cutting machine

CO2 laser cutting machine is not suitable for large size processing because of its large beam divergence. Although the kerf is relatively small, the processing speed of thick plate is very slow. Fiber laser cutter is characterized by high laser beam density, high intensity, high brightness and high conversion rate. For sheet metal processing, the cutting speed of optical fiber laser cutting machine is 2-3 times higher than that of CO2 laser cutting machine with the same power.

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