Kern Lasers

[Patrick Dillon]

Does anyone have experience with this laser? I've had an Epilog which I have been very happy with but was looking for something a little more
industrial. Thanks

[Bruce Volden]

Patrick,


I have no experience but have visited the company! Top shelf in all they do!
'Course the price of their systems reflect that. I spent the better part of an afternoon visiting the staff and observing different systems, I even brought along a couple of my files to "try". I left very impressed and vowing to move up to the big league some day. I know there is at least one member of SMC who has the bragging rights to owning one, I believe he is from Wisconsin. Perhaps he will chime in??!!


Bruce

[Brian Huff]

I am gearing up to purchase a Kern. Spent the day with Gerry and his staff and I was very impressed. I feel the quality in the Kern Lasers is top notch.

The reason I don't have Kern yet is I am preparing my shop. I have removed 20 tons :eek: of copper, stainless, aluminum and steel. Now, I am starting to enclose a section of the shop 20' x 40' for the laser shop. By spring I hope to order my Kern!:)

Brian

[Patrick Dillon]

I am very interested in their dual purpose machines that can also cut metal. I was always under the impression that the wavelength of a co2
laser was not right for metal. Were you able to witness their machine cutting metal? I know their machines are high end and perhaps out of my
budget but I am seriously considering something in the 100 or 200 watt range. Thanks

[Brian Huff]

Patrick-

I was not able to witness a Kern cutting metal but I did see a laser that was being built for cutting metal and the metal table insert that is needed for a metal cutting laser. You can contact Kern to visit there factory and I am sure they will have a metal cutting laser to show you. I am unable to remember the thickness of the metal you can cut but you can visit Kern Laser website for this information.

PM me if you need the website address, I have it on a different computer or any search engine will direct you to Kern Electonics and Lasers.

Thanks!
Brian

[Dave Jones]

In some research I did I found out that certain metals, like aluminum, are considered more reflective than other metals to a laser and can be more difficult to cut because of that. The following is a post I made on another forum a couple of months ago during a discussion about cutting metal:


From what I've been able to find on the web it seems that ND:YAG lasers of 50W and up are used for cutting thin stainless steel in very intricate patterns.


From what I've read 1000W of CO2 can cut about 5/16" mild steel and 2500W can cut 3/4". It sounded like a 400W YAG can cut about the same as a 1000W CO2, but at a slower pace. The YAG puts out a very powerful beam in a pulse, so a 400W YAG is pulsing at something like 10,000W in very short pulses.


One thing I read said YAG lasers were better at finer detail in thin metals, but with thicker metals it was like firing a shotgun. Not so clean. YAG also doesn't do plastics and other non-metalics very well. But it's better on reflective metals than CO2 because of it's shorter wavelength.


I am not an expert on industrial lasers, so all of this is based on info I've found on the web, or posts I've seen on a couple of other forums. So take this info with a grain of salt.

[Robert Alexander]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth about lasers and metal cutting. I have been to the Kern laser site many times and have been impressed with their systems, but like it says in their metal cuttting section on their web site " Oxygen assist through the high pressure nozzel is needed to initiate the cut and obtain a clean edge with MINIMAL SLAG".
So you will still have issues with slag removal on metal parts. Plus you are limited to certain thickness of metal. No more than 1/16 of an inch for mild steel, and 1/32 of an inch for stainless. Another option to think about for cutting steel is a cnc plasma cutter. Even the smaller systems (50 Amp) will cut 1/8" steel, aluminum or stainless about 80 inches per minute. And if fine cut tips are used and you have a water table just below the metal you can have a very clean cut with minimal slag. And it would cost less than $20,000. Just do a seach on the internet for plasma cutters. I have been running plasma cutters for the last 14 years and each year they get better cutting and cost per hour is less than any other metal cutting system.

[Dave Jones]

Another consideration for metal cutting is abrasive waterjet. It isn't cheap, but it can cut extremely fine lines. It's becoming the standard method for a lot of industrial metal cutting where precision is required.

[Patrick Dillon]

I would like to thank everyone for their responses. I looked at Plasma cutters (plasma cam, torchmate, etc.) and that is how I originally got
interested in Lasers. I have been in the Metal fabrication business for
many years and thought it might be nice to have a dual purpose laser
for the few times I need to cut thin metals. I have been to the last 2 awards shows in Charlotte but Kern lasers wern't present. I would really
like to see one in operation or speak to someone who has one. I think
they are located in Minn. and I live in Charleston,SC so that is rather
difficult. If anyone has first hand experience with their lasers please chime in. Again thanks for everyone's responses.

[Keven Hattenburg]

Geneva Capital has a 52" 100watts HSE with metal cutting option
available.
Contact information on their website
www.gogenevacapital.com
You should be able to make a great deal
You can also contact me Via e-mail