Tag Archives: CO2 laser

Digital Laser Dyeing

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The Effect of CO2 Laser Irradiation on Surface & Dyeing Properties of Wool for Textile Design

By Laura Morgan

A digital laser dyeing technique for woolen textiles has been developed at Loughborough University. The technique was developed to explore potential sustainable design techniques using laser technology. The research examined the effect of laser irradiation as a pre-treatment to dyeing 100 percent wool and the potential to use this as a design tool for textile processing.

The textiles and clothing sector represents the second biggest area of global economic activity in terms of intensity of trade with an economic value of over one trillion US Dollars, so the sector’s environmental impacts are hugely significant. The consumption of water, energy and chemicals used in current dyeing and finishing processes in the textile industry pose significant environmental concern and have been identified as key challenges to sustainability within the industry.  By offering alternative solutions to traditional textile wet processing through laser technology, there is potential to increase environmental sustainability through significant reduction in energy and wastewater effluent. Continue reading →

Recap: CO2 vs. fiber laser shootout by Cincinnati Incorporated

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In case you missed today’s CO2-vs.-fiber shootout by Cincinnati Incorporated using its 4,000-watt CL440 CO2 and CL940 fiber lasers to cut identical parts side by side, here’s a quick rundown.

Performed at the company’s Customer Productivity Center in Harrison, Ohio, about 20 miles west of Cincinnati, this demonstration by the longtime LIA exhibitor used their machines to fashion parts out of 20-gauge mild steel, 1/2-inch mild steel and 1/8-inch aluminum. Both systems have identical drive systems.

In broad terms, of course, fiber lasers — which have been carving out more and more market share — cut thinner materials faster, while CO2 performs better with materials thicker than 10 gauge.

The results:

Cincinnati Incorporated pits its CL940 fiber laser against its CL440 CO2 laser.

• 20-gauge mild steel (assisted by shop air): Fiber laser cut the part at 27 seconds at a rate of 2,160 inches per minute vs. 31 seconds for the CO2 laser run at 850 inches per minute. Estimated cost of the process is $6.90 per hour for fiber vs. $9.88 for CO2.
• ½-inch mild steel (oxygen): CO2 cut the part at about 79 seconds at a rate of 60 inches per minute vs. about 99 seconds for fiber run at 45 inches per minute. Estimated hourly operating cost is $6.52 for fiber vs. $10.33 for CO2.
• 1/8-inch aluminum (piercing with nitrogen, cutting with oxygen): Fiber cut the material at 56 seconds at 950 inches per minute (vs. 500 inches per minute if cutting with nitrogen).

Audience polling during the demonstration yielded an interesting look into laser purchasing habits:

• 32 percent said they had two to five lasers in their facility; 30 percent said one, 30 percent said none and 9 percent said more than five.
• 82 percent said they had not purchased a new laser within the past three years.
• 45 percent said they might consider automation with their next laser purchase, 40 percent said yes and 15 percent said no.
• 51 percent said they would be more likely to purchase a fiber laser, 30 percent a CO2 laser, 19 percent unsure.

The presentation is scheduled to be made available at Cincinnati’s website.

— Geoff Giordano

The Novel Technology for Thick Glass Cutting with Small Power Laser Saw

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By Chao Huang, Jimin Chen and Shi bai

Introduction

In recent years, glass has been widely used in different industrial field due to its excellent physical and chemical properties. However the glass cutting is always a difficulty because of its fracture characteristics. Especially in the field of irregular curve cutting, sloped cutting and drilling. In this study, we developed a so called “laser saw” technology. With this technology, the laser power for cutting thick glass could be significantly decreased. Not only can it cut irregular shape but also it can realize sloped cutting which means the cutting section is not perpendicular to the glass surface. Continue reading →

Keynote Speaker Dr. Ron Schaeffer will Wrap Up LME by Expanding on the Benefits of Ultrafast Lasers in Manufacturing

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Machine-shop owner and author/columnist Dr. Ron Schaeffer will deliver the closing keynote address on the use of ultrafast lasers in manufacturing on Sept. 24, the second and final day of the Laser Institute of America’s fourth annual Lasers for Manufacturing Event® (LME®) in Schaumburg, IL.

Schaeffer, founder and CEO of PhotoMachining in Pelham, NH, is also a columnist for Industrial Laser Solutions magazine and author of the 2012 book Fundamentals of Laser Micromachining.

Schaeffer brings exactly the kind of real-world success stories that hit home for LME attendees. His job shop is particularly successful in the medical device market. “We had some of our best years in 2008/2009, because we were heavily entrenched” in that area, he has said.

And, since lasers are the only way to manufacture many complex medical devices and components like stents, catheters and diagnostic tools, profits can be generous. For example, diabetes test strips include a thin conductive layer of metal or ink patterned with lasers. “This has been a big area for us; we’ve got laser systems doing this in several of the top manufacturers of these devices.”

Continue reading →

A Technical and Commercial Comparison of Fiber Laser and CO2 Laser Cutting

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By John Powell, Alexander Kaplan

Since the advent of commercial fiber and disk laser cutting machines, there has been a lot of controversy about the performance of these devices – particularly in comparison to their more established CO2 counterparts. In the early days, the sales staff promoting fiber technology would often declare that the new lasers would completely take over from CO2 technology very quickly – but this has not happened. Even taking into account the entrenched position of the older technology, fiber and disk lasers have not been as widely accepted as was predicted, although they have been proven to out-perform CO2 lasers in certain important areas.

This paper presents a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of both types of cutting technology from a commercial point of view – written from the perspective of a laser cutting job shop owner trying to decide between buying a fiber or CO2 laser cutting machine. A quantitative comparison of the two machines is surprisingly difficult – having given several talks on the subject the best analogy we can give is that it’s like comparing a sports car with a family car. Continue reading →