Because of its excellent performance, laser equipment is more and more used in all walks of life. Laser equipment can be roughly classified as laser cutting machines, laser engraving machines, laser marking machines, and other laser machines. At present, in the market, people mainly use two kinds of laser cutting machines to process materials. They are fiber laser cutting machines and CO2 laser cutting machines.
Will you be in a dilemma when choosing a machine? This article mainly compares the main features of the two laser machines. At the end of this article, people can clearly distinguish the two machines. This article will inspire people who want to know about two kinds of machines.
To know how to choose a laser cutting machine, you first need to know the difference between a fiber laser machine and a CO2 laser machine.
The main differences between CO2 Laser Cutting Machines and Fiber Laser Cutting Machines
1.The difference in working principle
The CO2 laser is a gas beam obtained by exciting carbon dioxide molecules. And its wavelength is 10.6 μm. The fiber laser is a crystalline Yb (ytterbium) compound that is placed in the fiber as a medium. And the crystal is irradiated with the beam. The solid-state laser has a wavelength of 1.08 μm. The physical characteristics of different wavelengths have a great impact on the processing of the two machines.
2.The difference in luminescent media
Fiber lasers generate laser light through a diode pump and use fiber optic cables to transmit the laser beam. The CO2 laser generates laser light by exciting nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas in the cavity and then transmits the beam through a mirror.
3.The difference in electro-optical conversion efficiency
Generally, the conversion efficiency of CO2 laser is about 10%, and the conversion efficiency of fiber laser is about 30%. High conversion rate means that the power consumption is greatly reduced and the running cost is saved. Therefore, the machine achieves high production efficiency.
4.The difference in laser wavelengths
The wavelength of fiber laser is 1.06μm, and the wavelength of CO2 laser is 9.3μm~10.6μm. Therefore, the focusing spot of the fiber laser is smaller than that of the CO2 laser. And the processing efficiency is higher.
How to choose a machine that suits your processing needs？
Different cutting materials have different light absorption rates for different wavelengths. Non-metallic materials such as wood, cloth, plastic, acrylic, etc. have low absorption rates for fiber lasers. However, CO2 lasers have high absorption rates for metal materials or non-metallic materials. Therefore, people use fiber lasers to cut metal materials, and CO2 lasers to cut soft metal materials and non-metal materials. What’s more, the cutting surface of the CO2 laser is neat and smooth, and the verticality is high, which is more suitable for material cutting with high precision requirements.
In short, in the sheet metal processing industry, everyone generally chooses fiber laser cutting machines. In the non-metallic material processing industry, especially in precision processing and advanced handicraft processing, people still choose to use CO2 laser cutting machines.
At present, there are many manufacturers of laser cutting and engraving equipment on the market. So which manufacturer is more reliable? In fact, in addition to the quality of the equipment, it is also necessary to consider the after-sales service of the manufacturer. Blue Elephant is doing well. We will customize the appropriate machine according to the customer’s processing needs. At the same time, professionals will provide perfect after-sales service. These services include technical training, on-site guidance, distance learning, and technical support.