Laser Cutting: Vaporizing Metal with Light

You draw a shape in CAD. You press print. A beam of light traces the shape. The part falls out, perfectly cut. It is the ultimate “Subtractive Manufacturing” tool.

The Focal Point

A 100-Watt lightbulb is warm. But if you take that 100 Watts and focus it into a dot the size of a human hair, the energy density is higher than the surface of the sun.

• Acrylic/Wood: The material instantly boils (Sublimates) into gas.
• Steel: We add Oxygen gas. The laser heats the steel, and the oxygen burns it (rapid rusting).

CO2 vs. Fiber

• CO2 Laser: (Invisible Infrared). Great for Plastic and Wood. Bounces off metal mirrors.
• Fiber Laser: (Different Wavelength). Absorbed by metal. Can cut through 1-inch steel.

In robotics, we laser cut our plastic shields and custom aluminum intake plates. It allows for impossible shapes that a drill bit could never make.