Laser Cutting: Advantages and Benefits

Low Lead Times with No Need to Replace or Modify Tooling, Lower Costs

One of the best benefits of a laser cutter is that it’s economical to use laser cutting even for limited-run projects. This is because a laser cutter does not use any kind of tooling that must be custom-built or modified for your project. It also does not have physical cutting surfaces which wear out.

To create a component or part with a laser cutter, all you need is a material to cut, a laser cutter, and a schematic which can be loaded into the computer. This reduces overall costs even for small-batch projects, particularly when compared to traditional tooling and manufacturing.

Laser tools also have fewer mechanical moving parts, which reduces maintenance and operations costs and helps keep the cost of using a laser cutting company low.

Can Handle Jobs of Almost any Complexity

There is no job that is too complex for a laser cutter. The high-powered laser can be used to work on a very narrow section of material and causes very little warping or distortion to the area being cut.

With the proper schematic, a laser cutter can be used to quickly and easily create even the most highly-complex geometries and cuts with unparalleled precision and excellent tolerance levels.

Higher Sheet Utilization with Less Waste

Another benefit of the precision and accuracy of laser cutting is that it can utilize a very high percentage of your sheet material. By nesting cuts properly, a laser cutter can maximize the number of usable components and parts from any given sheet of material.

Again, this leads to lower overall costs for your project and faster completion times. Less time is needed to swap in new sheets of material, and less of your raw material is wasted by the machining and cutting process.

Causes No Damage Or Warping, Even to Thin Materials

A common misconception about laser cutting is that the high heat causes a lot of distortion and warping. But this is not true. The Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of laser cutting is actually quite small, and typically causes no issues with the tolerance of the part or component.

Because of this, lasers are actually ideal for cutting extremely thin materials. The laser cuts through the material so quickly that it will not become excessively hot and warp. The HAZ is so small that it can be easily machined away, if necessary.

6. Low Power Consumption

While the laser used to cut materials uses quite a bit of energy, laser cutters do not have any other moving parts – unlike presses and some other cutting tools, which require enormous amounts of energy to deliver cutting force using a physical die.

A turret punch, for example, may consume up to 36 kW of energy when used at full capacity. In contrast, laser cutters rarely require more than 10 kW of energy — even when they are being used to cut extremely thick, reflective materials like aluminum.

This helps decrease overall running costs, and also reduces the overall impact of laser cutting machines on the environment.

Extreme Cutting Versatility — Can be Used on Almost any Material

When it comes to laser cutting advantages, this is an important benefit. Laser cutting can be used for a huge variety of different tasks, and not just cutting through a material completely. Lasers can also be used for drilling, marking, and engraving, just to name a few functions – without needing to replace or switch any tooling.

Not only that, but laser cutters can be used on almost any material. From ferrous metals like stainless steel to copper, aluminum, brass, and even other materials like composites, wood, plastic, and even some types of textiles. A laser cutter can be used to cut just about anything.

While lasers are not usually suitable for extremely thick metals – where a water jet or plasma cutter may be recommended – the versatility of laser cutting makes it a critical part of modern machining.