want to cut .005 in. stainless with cheap laser

[wddanie]

I need to cut .001 to .005 in. thick stainless foil to make parts about 1 in. square and wondered if there was a cheap laser (<3k$) that could do the job. It can run slow since these are prototype parts.

I can build my own system if need be since I have I have x y tables and motion control hw on hand. I read that the cheap Chinese 80w CO2 laser tubes will not cut metal, but is that true even for thin foil? Are there any other sources of non CO2 lasers in my proce range that that would cut foil?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Doug
Atlanta, GA

[zax15uk]

Doug,

Yes, sorry but that is true even for thin foil. The wavelength is just not suitable.

What you need is a low cost Nd:YAG or Yb:YAG fiber laser, look for a surplus medical laser or buy a pump diode and make your own.

Zax.

[wddanie]

I searched ebay for yag lasers and noticed lots of small cheap ones for tatoo removal. The plse rate only goes up to 5hz, so I guess that's too slow, but do you think they might work.

Laser type
Q-swiched Nd:YAG
wavelength
1064nm/532nm

Pulse Energy
400mJ~1100mJ

Pulse Duration
~10ns
Pulse rate
1,2,3,4,5Hz

http://cgi.ebay.com/PRO-Q-SWITCH-YAG...item3efe0aed4b

Thanks,

Doug

[zax15uk]

Doug,

10ns pulse duration at 5kHz, with a maximum power of 1.1J (that's if it can even deliver max power at max duty cycle - maybe not) isn't even close to the power you need.

Look for a Ytterbium laser (marking system) on the surplus equipment sites, they come up now and again within your budget and worst case you'll have to drop a couple hundred bucks on a new pump diode.

Zax.

[wddanie]

Would this laser IPG 100w DLR-100-AT I see on ebay be a better choice and able to cut the .005" stainless steel foil?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IPG-Photonic...item27afe52226


Thanks for the advice.

Doug

[LaserImage]

A quick google search brought up their website and a pdf with the specs. Here is a link: http://www.ipgphotonics.com/Collater...DLR_Series.pdf

It's not a metal cutter either.

Originally Posted by wddanie Would this laser IPG 100w DLR-100-AT I see on ebay be a better choice and able to cut the .005" stainless steel foil? http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IPG-Photonic...item27afe52226 Thanks for the advice. Doug

[zax15uk]

Originally Posted by wddanie Would this laser IPG 100w DLR-100-AT I see on ebay be a better choice and able to cut the .005" stainless steel foil?

It should, but depends on the final optics. Based on the description it may have a longer DOF for heating rather than cutting. I would suggest checking with the manufacturer, especially for a new unit at that cost.

Zax.

[machinetime]

Google YAG, saw http://www.tradevv.com/chinasupplier...r-cutting.html
It applicable various metals, alloy and so on. Is that you want? But YAG seems not cheap.

[DaveDoesIT]

Originally Posted by wddanie Would this laser IPG 100w DLR-100-AT I see on ebay be a better choice and able to cut the .005" stainless steel foil?

Doug, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to lsiten. You need a YAG or Fiber laser to cut metal. A CO2 laser operates in about the 10.64 microns wavelength, a YAG operates at 1.064 microns (10 times shorter) and that's how it can cut metal.

A CO2 laser can be made to cut metal but at huge power ratings, starting in the 2,000Watt range and prices start around $200K.

Currently there are no cheap YAG lasers as they are not as popular as the CO2. Today a "cheap" used YAG starts around $20K, if you are lucky.

What are you trying to do? How many parts do you need to cut? How big is the part?

There are better ways.

[bensonave]

Doug,

All these guys have given you the right answer. You need YAG or KiloWatt CO2 to cut metal. Pulsed YAG cost $40K+, and Kilowatt CO2 cost $250K+.

The IPG laser you looked at will not work, you need pulsed YAG.

If you only need to cut several pieces, I can manage to get it done for you free of charge. 0.001 - 0.005 is not a problem, I have cut 0.070 stainless steel with our small 20Watt YAG Laser.

Peter

[zhongtailaser]

Hi, Doug,

A yag50w laser or a 10w fiber laser can do that work.
Fiber laser can have more good cutting effect.
We also have co2 laser, 60w,80w,100w, we can do some test on our machine. You can inform me your material details if you like.

kind regards,

Ms.June Zhu
www.zhongtailaser.com
june@whzt.com
mobile:86 18607188502