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Customize Products with a CO2 laser Machine

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Customize Products with a CO2 laser Machine

Whether you dedicate yourself to the personalization sector or another business where it is necessary to make unique engravings on different surfaces and materials, surely you have wondered what co2 laser cutting machine is and how it can help your company.

In this post, we explain everything related to this versatile product customization technique. For further details visit the boss laser.

What can I do with a laser marking and cutting machine?

It begins to be very common for many businesses to choose laser technology as an alternative to the personalization technique due to its wide possibilities. Using the two most common types of lasers: CO2 and fiber, almost anything can be engraved, marked and cut.

Cutting, welding, engraving or marking of materials in the automotive industry, labeling, mold manufacturing… For three decades, the laser has been part of the technology of many industrial plants. Among the existing varieties, CO2 is being imposed due to its greater power and diversity of uses.

The laser began to be applied in the industry more than 30 years ago. Since then, technology (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, which forms the acronym for LASER) has undergone incredible development and a wide range of utilities in industrial processes.

Its main applications are cutting, welding, drilling, marking, etching and surface treatment of the most materials: metals, alloys, plastics, glass, paper, wood, leather, etc. There are different types of lasers depending on the active medium that generates them.

CO2 REVOLUTION

In the 20 years of presence of the carbon dioxide laser in the industry, it has become an essential tool for a wide variety of processes. Currently, it is available in various designs and sizes and with different powers, up to a maximum of 20 kW. It is not bad considering that the first lasers used in the automotive industry, at the end of the sixties, only reached 50 W of power.

Currently, CO2 can be differentiated into two types, as they operate continuously: CW (Continuous Wave), which work with powers of the order of kilowatts, and those operating in pulsed form, which reach terawatts (trillions of watts) The active medium of the CO2 laser is a mixture of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium.

CO2 is the gas that produces the invisible infrared light of the laser, while nitrogen molecules are responsible for exciting the light beam. Helium plays a double role: it contributes to the movement of gas heat and helps the CO2 molecules return to their initial state. The machine itself is composed of the laser, the optics that focus the radiation on the material, the system to present and manipulate the piece to be treated and related services.

CUT METALS

The main use of the carbon dioxide laser is the cutting of metals of different thicknesses and sizes. Although the greatest potential of this technology is obtained from its use for welding since the power of the beam is able to drill deeper and faster at the materials.

These characteristics make the CO2 laser technology applied, especially in the automotive industry, which also uses it for the marking and heat treatment of stainless or carbon steel surfaces, and aluminum alloys. Other uses are engraving and marking in the field of signage, advertising, trophies, jewelry, etc.

The main advantages of the laser for the processing of materials compared to conventional methods are very numerous: greater flexibility in terms of geometric dimensions and type of material; lower thermal effect on the piece, due to the abundant concentration of energy on the work point; high processing quality; high production speed, since time is reduced by the immediate availability of the laser beam; and easy integration into robotic systems.

CO2 laser types

The CO2 carbon dioxide gas laser is one of the most versatile for material treatment processes and emits infrared radiation with a wavelength between 9 and 11 µm, although the most commonly used emission is 10.6 µm.

There are different types of lasers depending on the active medium generator. The CO2 laser, that is, the gaseous active medium offers the necessary power for industrial uses. Of the various kinds of lasers available, the waveguide, based on a low power sealing tube, and the so-called TEA (Transversely Excited Atmospheric ) are used on a much smaller scale for material treatment processes.

MIDDLE ACTIVITY

The rapid axial flow of the CO2 laser and the smaller one, which applies a slower flow, are used to cut 1-15 mm from the thick part and weld in depth. While these lasers share the same activity, they have important functional characteristics, which help to expand the range of CW (continuous wave) energies.

The average activity in a CO2 laser is between carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium. It is the dioxide that produces the laser light while the nitrogen molecules help to alter the CO2 and increase the efficiency of the light generation processes.

Helium plays a double role in helping to change the heat of the gas caused by the electric discharge used to alter it and also helps the CO2 molecules return to their state.

CO2 laser sealed the tube.

These lasers function as a conventional gas leak in the form of the narrow glass tube, filling with a gas mixture.

The electrodes at the end of the tube provide an electric shock. The total reflection and the partial transmission to the mirror normally manufacture polished metal and zinc respectively, forming the resonant cavity.

Waveguide CO2 laser.

It is a good choice to make a compact CO2 laser. It consists of two electrodes separated by two isolated parts that form a perforated area. The lateral dimensions of the hole occupy millimeters that propagate the light in waveguide form. The tube is normally sealed with a gas reserve that has the tube itself.

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