What can a YAG laser do?

[Anson Haniwalt]

Hello all, I need to cut and mark 1.5mm stainless steel.

As far as I know, a 150w co2 system like this will work just fine (this thread). I don't like, however, the seemingly finicky nature of the tube/mirrors, the relatively short lifespan, and the need for a coating on the ss before marking is possible.

I am wondering, will a 75w YAG laser like this will cut 1.5mm stainless? I cannot find this information anywhere on the internet; my reason for asking is paul mott in the previously mentioned thread (post #4) says that a "50Watt [YAG laser] when used with a 'Q switch' will easily perforate thin stainless."

I also do not know what a Q switch is despite looking at the wikipedia... if somebody could provide a brief explanation I would be grateful.

Thanks.

[matthew knott]

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I need to cut and mark 1.5mm stainless steel.

1.5mm SS is not thin, its going to be pretty hard to cut, 150 watts is not going to do it, it 'might' if you used a high pressure cutting nozzle with oxygen as a cutting gas but this is dangerous (IMHO) , the other thing to note is you just have a picture of a tube and power supply, you need lots more to make a working system, i assume you know this?


I am wondering, will a 75w YAG laser like this will cut 1.5mm stainless?

yes it will very very slowly, but again you have linked to a non working laser, this time its worse as you will need way more, a decent cooling system, a q switch, front and rear mirrors and a collimator plus loads of other bits.



I cannot find this information anywhere on the internet; my reason for asking is paul mott in the previously mentioned thread (post #4) says that a "50Watt [YAG laser] when used with a 'Q switch' will easily perforate thin stainless."

Q Switching is a method of pulsing a laser, you get much higher powers but for very short times https://www.rp-photonics.com/q_switching.html

Hope that helps, but bottom line you need a lot more kit than you listed to cut 1.5mm metal, this would work https://www.coherent.com/lasers/laser/meta-laser-cutting-tool but its mega expensive
cheers

[Kev Williams]

1.5mm is nearly 1/16" thick, which is not "thin", at least in my opinion. I have a decent 12" metal shear that will cut .06 brass okay, but I won't even try to cut .06 SS with it.

YAG lasers are the same wavelength as Fiber lasers. As I understand it (but my knowledge is limited) YAG's are more efficient that Fibers, but the price for that efficiency comes high, in initial cost, followed by their being 'finicky', requiring more frequent maintenance than fibers, which I understand isn't cheap. Because of the simplicity of Fibers, YAGS seem to be going the way of 8-track tapes.

Will a 75w YAG or Fiber cut thru .06" SS? Probably, if you're patient. I'm thinking you'll need about twice that much power to get thru .06 in a "reasonable" amount of time (but my "reasonable" and yours may differ )

And if you're going to be cutting, you just about need a gantry machine rather than a galvo, because the beam path of a galvo unit anywhere but the lens's C/L will be angled...

for reference, I cut a down a stainless saw blade from 3" diameter to 2.75" for a customer. The blade was only .01" thick, and it took several minutes to get thru it-- and keeping the blade from warping was a trick ...

[Anson Haniwalt]

Thank you for your reply and those links are helpful. I realize that there will be a good bit more going into each system (I didn't realize quite how much will go into a YAG though), I am more trying to get a minimum power baseline for each laser type.

As far as co2 goes, a Kern 150w does up to .08" (they claim in the description) quite well it seems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h476ypvOY0c but yes, they are using 90 psi oxygen.

[Anson Haniwalt]

Thank you for the reply. Could I ask what power the YAG system was that you used to cut the .01 stainless?

[Rodne Gold]

You will need a 500w fibre to cut up to 2mm stainless .
$50 000 for a 3 x 1.5 m machine ex China

[Dave Sheldrake]

I am more trying to get a minimum power baseline for each laser type.

Careful, many of the low powered CO2 lasers don't actually cut using the laser, the laser just provides heat, it's high pressure oxygen that does the actual cutting.The running costs are high due to the amount of oxygen you have to pump through them.

Be VERY careful if you import a Chinese oxygen assisted laser, very few will pass stringent western safety checks and having seen one such machine kill 3 people in India I know from experience they are not something to be played with.

The saddest but best way to explain an oxygen fire is Apollo 1

[Kev Williams]

Thank you for the reply. Could I ask what power the YAG system was that you used to cut the .01 stainless?

My 30 watt Fiber--