Hassan Awan
A miniature version of a CNC laser cutter is the best choice for those who plan to engage in hobbyists, industrial manufacturing and school education. Laser engraver allows you to automate the cutting process so that the necessary operations will be performed with maximum accuracy in a short period.
What materials can be processed with mini CNC laser machines?
Laser machines with numerical programming allow you to process completely different materials, such as:
wood, plywood, metal;
acrylic;
plastic;
plywood;
glass and mirror surfaces;
leather;
metal;
polyester and some others.
Also, non-contact technology allows you to process fairly thin materials, such as leather or paper. With such materials not so long ago it was almost impossible to automate the work.
How is the working principle of laser engraving cutting machines with CNC?
Any CNC laser cutting engraving machine in its design has the following elements:
control system;
control;
conversion system and radiation system;
the mechanism by which the laser moves over the surface to be treated;
emitter with built-in resonators.
There are also several types of equipment, the design features of the equipment depend on the type.
Solid-state CNC laser machines. The design of this type consists of flash lamps, pump lamps, a mirror system, a working fluid.
Gas laser machines with CNC. They have an inert gas pumping system, such as helium or neon, a glass flask with a radiation tube.
Gas-dynamic laser machines with CNC. Equipped with a nozzle, which contributes to the acceleration of gases, as well as a cooling system. The beam has a density of about 100 MW / cm2. In the process of irradiation, the workpiece very quickly warms up and melts. Thermal conductivity allows the beam to penetrate the metal. When the boiling point is reached, evaporation occurs in the heating region.
What are the different types of laser cutting machine?
Depending on how powerful the beam is used in the machine, they allow you to provide such varieties of processing as evaporation and melting. Melting is considered a much more profitable method for some reasons:
Electricity consumption is reduced;
Increase the resource abilities of the laser, compared with the evaporation process;
It is possible to cut blanks of different thicknesses; the quality of processing parts is much higher;
Programming CNC laser machines allow you to accurately adjust the beam angle and focus;
it is possible to reduce the likelihood of oxide by adding gas.
Evaporation is used, as a rule, for processing materials of small thickness. Moreover, the cost of electricity is much higher, for this reason, it is much less commonly used in practice. Indeed, the processing of parts in this way is unprofitable from an economic point of view.
What are the pros and cons of laser engraving machines?
If we start talking with the benefits, then we can distinguish several:
availability in the processing of brittle surfaces;
simplicity in management;
minimum error when installing the laser machine over the workpiece;
variation of cutting thickness from 1.5 cm to 5 cm;
material processing speed is high;
the ability to process blanks of any complexity and shape;
low material costs for obtaining finished products;
ease of engraving carbide materials.
