Q: What is the difference between optical fiber laser cutting machine and CO2 laser cutting machine?

A: At present, in the metal processing market, optical fiber laser cutting machine has gradually replaced CO2 laser cutting machine and traditional processing means and become the mainstream equipment in sheet metal processing. What are the differences and advantages between optical fiber laser cutting machine and CO2 laser cutting machine?

1. Different luminous medium

CO2 laser cutting machine, the gas is the medium that generates laser beam, and transmits the beam through the reflector. Optical fiber lasers are transmitted through diodes and optical fiber cables. Multiple diodes are pumped to generate laser beams, which are then transmitted to the laser cutting head through flexible optical fiber cables, rather than through mirrors.

2. Compact appearance of optical fiber laser cutting machine

Due to different laser transmission structures, the optical fiber laser cutting machine with the same power in external dimensions is more refined than the CO2 laser cutting machine, thus saving workshop space.

3. Higher conversion efficiency of electro-optical in optical fiber laser cutting

With the complete solid state digital module and single design of fiber laser, the fiber laser cutting machine has higher electro-optical conversion efficiency than CO2 laser cutting. The actual utilization rate of each power supply unit of the CO2 laser cutting machine is about 8% to 10%, while that of the optical fiber laser cutting machine is about 25% to 30%. The overall energy consumption of the optical fiber laser cutting system is about 3 to 5 times less than that of the carbon dioxide cutting system, making the energy efficiency more than 86%.

4. Better processing effect of optical fiber laser cutting machine

Fiber laser has the characteristics of short wavelength, so as to improve the absorption of cutting materials to the beam, and enable cutting such as brass and copper and non-conductive materials. When cutting materials up to 6mm thick, the cutting speed of 1.5kW optical fiber laser cutting machine is equivalent to that of 3kW carbon dioxide laser cutting machine.

5. Lower maintenance cost of optical fiber laser cutting machine

The CO2 laser cutting machine uses gas as the luminous medium. Due to the purity of CO2 gas, the resonant cavity will be polluted and needs to be cleaned regularly. The reflector needs to be maintained and calibrated, so the daily maintenance workload is greater. For a multi kilowatt CO2 laser cutting machine, this project needs at least 20000 dollars per year. To sum up, fiber laser cutting is more environmentally friendly and convenient in daily maintenance of equipment.