Tag Archives: laser
What is Laser Cutting?
From quantum physics to medical applications, supermarket checkouts and even our telephone network, laser technology continues to change and shape our lives. If we look at the metalworking industry in particular, laser cutting technology has made it possible to produce increasingly complex products with greater accuracy, speed and quality.
Laser cutting is a relatively new technology. Laser cutting machines made their debut on the metal processing scene in a big way in the 1980s. Before that, laser cutting had been used in various niche applications such as cutting titanium rods in aerospace applications in the 1970s. Since that time, laser cutting has come a long way.
What is laser cutting?
Lasers are high powered beams that can be used to cut various materials. The beam is so intense that it melts, burns or vaporises anything in its path. Generally, the laser beam is focused through a lens and can produce a kerf as narrow as 0.10mm, depending on the material thickness.
Types of laser cutting technologies
There are several types of laser cutting technologies, including CO2 lasers, fibre lasers and crystal lasers, each of which is suited for different materials and applications. CO2 lasers are based on a carbon dioxide gas mixture thats electrically stimulated. They are the most widely used laser type as they can be used on a wide range of materials, particularly plastics and other non-metallic materials.
Unlike CO2 lasers, fibre lasers (a type of solid state laser) are amplified in a specially designed glass fibre, which produces an extremely small focal diameter. This not only increases the intensity of the laser up to 100 times higher than that of a CO2 laser, but makes it ideal for cutting reflective metal material.
Finally, as its name suggests, crystal lasers use a crystal as the lasing medium, namely the neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG). They produce the same wavelength as fibre lasers, making them suitable for marking metals and plastics. However, crystal has a shorter service life than the fibre laser, and includes relatively expensive pump diodes, which are wearing parts.
Precision steel cutting with quality finish
While the early laser machines may have struggled with inconsistent beam delivery and the effects of ambient heat on consistency, todays machines are able to produce better edge quality, cutting speed and lower tolerances than ever before. This is as a result of the superior drive technology, piercing capabilities and control software.
Modern laser cutting machines deliver:
High accuracy high degree of repeatability with tolerances +/- 0.2mm and up to 25mm thick
Clean cutting Smooth cut edges requiring little or no finishing
Economical material usage Allows for narrow cut widths and close nesting
Minimal distortion Laser beam does not wear during the process
ShapeCUTs new laser cutting machine
The ShapeCUT team continues to experience firsthand the impressive capabilities of laser since the introduction of our very own LVD Impuls 6020 laser cutting machine in May 2015. This impressive machine offers the very latest in laser processing technology and includes:
6250 x 2050 cutting bed
6kW laser power
Material capacities include Steel up to 25mm, Stainless Steel up to 20mm & Aluminium up to 16mm
Tolerances +/-0.2mm
This state-of-the-art machine also comes with LVDs patented Adaptive Laser Cutting (ALC) system, which uses dynamic feedback to monitor and regulate laser power, speed and assist gas pressure in real time during the cutting process. In other words, instead of relying on pre-defined parameters, the machine automatically measures and adapts to ensure a consistently accurate cut. This increases quality meaning less rework and scrapping of expensive thicker materials.
How to Print Photos with a Laser Printer
Convention dictates laser printers shouldnt be used for printing photographs. Laser printers only use four colours and theyre designed for productive office work rather than photography. But, convention is not always a rule to be strictly adhered to. With performance improving rapidly, printing photographs with a laser printer is becoming more and more common. The trick is to understand your printers limitations, get the settings right and use the right printer paper.
Both colour and monochrome images can be printed, but some image types produce better prints than others. Subjects such as portraits and landscapes can be covered, although the best looking prints can be obtained from images with plenty of detail and bright, vibrant colours. Tonal nuances are more difficult to print mainly because toner cartridges boost contrast making subtle transitions in pastel hues with just black, cyan magenta and yellow becomes more difficult.
Good prints are obtained by choosing the right paper, avoid plain office paper and printing on glossy paper is a no-go. Laser printers transfer powder from the toner cartridges to receiving paper, using an electrostatic process then Heat bonds the toner to the paper. Inkjet photo papers cant take the high heat used in a laser printer to fuse the toners to the paper.
Laser toner cartridges have a couple of advantages: they dont dry out if the printer isnt used for a while and they also produce very sharp printed text and deep, rich blacks. Laser printers are faster than inkjets and cheaper to run. Toner cartridges produce more prints than printer ink cartridges, which means you dont need to keep changing cartridges. However, because laser printers only use four colours, the traditional CMYK colours of commercial printing, and their tonal gamut is less than that of an inkjet printer with six or more colours.
Comparing printed photos from a laser printer to those printed by an inkjet printer is not a fair comparison. A fairer comparison is with printed magazines and books, which are reproduced through four-colour commercial printing. An entry level laser printer can match the print quality, or even exceed the print quality of many commercially-distributed books.
How to Print Photos with a Laser Printer
Convention dictates laser printers shouldnt be used for printing photographs. Laser printers only use four colours and theyre designed for productive office work rather than photography. But, convention is not always a rule to be strictly adhered to. With performance improving rapidly, printing photographs with a laser printer is becoming more and more common. The trick is to understand your printers limitations, get the settings right and use the right printer paper.
Both colour and monochrome images can be printed, but some image types produce better prints than others. Subjects such as portraits and landscapes can be covered, although the best looking prints can be obtained from images with plenty of detail and bright, vibrant colours. Tonal nuances are more difficult to print mainly because toner cartridges boost contrast making subtle transitions in pastel hues with just black, cyan magenta and yellow becomes more difficult.
Good prints are obtained by choosing the right paper, avoid plain office paper and printing on glossy paper is a no-go. Laser printers transfer powder from the toner cartridges to receiving paper, using an electrostatic process then Heat bonds the toner to the paper. Inkjet photo papers cant take the high heat used in a laser printer to fuse the toners to the paper.
Laser toner cartridges have a couple of advantages: they dont dry out if the printer isnt used for a while and they also produce very sharp printed text and deep, rich blacks. Laser printers are faster than inkjets and cheaper to run. Toner cartridges produce more prints than printer ink cartridges, which means you dont need to keep changing cartridges. However, because laser printers only use four colours, the traditional CMYK colours of commercial printing, and their tonal gamut is less than that of an inkjet printer with six or more colours.
Comparing printed photos from a laser printer to those printed by an inkjet printer is not a fair comparison. A fairer comparison is with printed magazines and books, which are reproduced through four-colour commercial printing. An entry level laser printer can match the print quality, or even exceed the print quality of many commercially-distributed books.