How to choose the right laser
Laser is one of the essential core components in modern laser processing system. With the development of laser processing technology, lasers are also constantly developing, and many new types of lasers have appeared.
The early laser processing lasers were mainly high-power CO2 gas lasers and lamp-pumped solid-state YAG lasers. The development trend is mainly to increase the laser power. However, when the laser power reached a certain requirement, the laser beam quality began to receive attention, and the development of lasers shifted to improving the beam quality. Semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers and disc lasers were successively developed to enable material processing, medical treatment, and aviation. The aerospace, automobile manufacturing and other fields have achieved rapid development.
CO2 lasers, Nd: YAG lasers, semiconductor lasers, disc lasers and fiber lasers are currently the five most common types of lasers on the market. What are their characteristics and applications? What about the scope?
CO2 laser
Application: The laser wavelength of CO2 laser is 10.6um, and the absorption coefficient for metal is low, generally Suitable for cutting of non-metallic materials and welding of metallic materials. It can be widely used in welding applications in aviation, electronic instruments, machinery, automobiles and other fields.
YAG laser
Application: YAG laser has a high absorption coefficient for metals, and can be used for metal cutting, welding, Marking and other applications. Because of its large energy, high peak power, compact structure, robustness, and reliable performance, it is widely used in industry, national defense, medical, scientific research and other fields.
Semiconductor laser
Application: The semiconductor laser is limited by the high uniformity of the laser beam, and its penetrability is relatively high. It is poor, so it is not suitable for metal cutting applications, but its light spot characteristics are suitable for metal surface treatment, such as cladding, hardening, and 3D printing. It can be widely used in aerospace, medical, automotive and other fields.
Disc laser
Application: The disc laser is a spatial optical path coupling structure, so the beam quality is very high. Material applications such as metal cutting, welding, marking, laser cladding, hardening, and 3D printing are all applicable. It is widely used in automobile manufacturing, aerospace, precision machinery, 3C electronics and other fields.
Fiber laser
Application: Fiber laser has high electro-optical conversion efficiency, good metal absorption coefficient and high beam quality, so It can be used for metal cutting, welding, marking, metal surface treatment and other applications. It is widely used in aerospace, automobile manufacturing, 3C electronics, medical and other fields.
Compared with traditional CO2 lasers and YAG solid-state lasers, semiconductor lasers have obvious technical advantages, such as small size, light weight, high efficiency, low energy consumption, and longevity. The advantages of long and high metal absorption of semiconductor lasers. With the continuous development of semiconductor laser technology, other solid-state lasers based on semiconductor lasers, such as fiber lasers, direct output fiber semiconductor lasers and disc lasers, have also developed rapidly. Among them, fiber lasers are developing rapidly, especially rare-earth-doped fiber lasers, which have been widely used in the fields of optical fiber communications, optical fiber sensing, and laser material processing.
Bystronic Dineng fiber laser cutting machine, using advanced fiber laser, has a high reputation in the industry for its cutting skills called 'industrial scalpel'.