What determines the quality of the finished parts processed through laser cutting service is the type of the machine used for the task. Laser cutting machines come in different types, including solid state, liquid, and gas lasers. They differ in terms of the state of the laser medium used during the cutting process as well as what the medium consists. With this, the two major types of lasers used are the solid-state and CO2 lasers.
The most common solid-state lasers used during a laser cutting service are fiber lasers and crystal lasers. The latter type of solid-state laser utilises different crystal mediums such as neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) that enables powerful laser cutting through metal and non-metal materials. Crystal lasers offer versatile cutting capacities but they have a shorter lifespan and tend to be more costly than the other varieties like fiber lasers. A fiber laser usually lasts longer and is a cheaper alternative to crystal laser. It employs optical fibers in generating the beam of light needed to perform the desired cuts.
The other laser cutting machine that uses gas state laser is also very common. CO2 is the most widely used active laser medium that is commonly utilised to cut through non-metal materials because it’s not created as powerful as fiber laser when cutting metals. It has been used in cutting organic materials like wood, rubber, and leather, as well as for engraving harder materials. However, improvements were made in CO2 laser technology, enabling it to now cut through metals as well. Another gas state laser medium used is pure nitrogen that is ideal for materials that don’t need to be oxidised.
So, if your project requires a laser cutting service in Toronto, knowing which type of laser cutting machine and the kind of laser medium used is important to achieve the result you want.
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