Jul. 28, 2025
Surface microstructural change of materials cannot occur unless they undergo cutting processes. One of the major techniques for cutting materials for machining is laser cutting. It helps to create patterns according to designs and required outcomes. This process involves melting, burning, and vaporizing materials in the presence of a powerful laser beam. While this process is very effective, it is essential to understand the various laser cutting advantages and disadvantages.
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The cutting process is successful with the help of a laser cutter which uses a thin laser beam by focusing on the material. However, before you can start cutting, there must have been a specified target you have in mind based on your designs or patterns. Manufacturers find it hard to cut through some hard materials. However, with the introduction of a laser cutter, it is now easy.
Here, we will guide you through what you need to know about laser cutting. It also covers how it works and the advantages and disadvantages of laser cutting.
Many manufacturing industries use computer numerical control machines nowadays to speed up their production processes. These machines use several processes, and one of them is laser cutting. All computer numerical control machines involve giving commands to machines after transforming the digitalized drawing into a computer language.
This language gives the device the instruction needed for executing the designs. The relationship between the language and the machine is like when you send a picture to a printer. Also, this is the same way laser cutting machines work, and they can execute the designs in a short time.
The laser cutting product design allows it to use 2D vector files for guiding lasers. It is made up of a laser resonator. This resonator has glass fibers or sometimes may contain a gas mixture of crystal bodies. The constituent resonator depends on the designer’s method to cut the materials. The application of the energy to the mix will begin the process of cutting. Then, the laser is focused after sending the mixture through different mirror lenses.
Before diving into laser cutting advantages and disadvantages, it is essential to understand how it works. The way how laser cutting machines work is similar to CNC machines work, but it uses a high-power laser. The laser will guide the material or beam by directing itself through CNC and optics. The device will use the CNC, or G-code provided, to cut into the material and control the motion.
Melting, vaporizing, and burning the material will occur after focusing the laser beam. Also, you can acquire a finished edge surface of high quality when you blow the material with a jet of gas. The creation of a laser beam occurs in a closed container by stimulating lasing materials through lamps or electrical discharge.
The amplification of the lasing materials then takes place after reflecting internally through a partial mirror. The phenomenon continues until enough energy is built up in the form of a stream of coherent monochromatic light to allow for its escape. The intensity of the light increases after using fiber optics or mirrors to focus on the work area.
The diameter of a laser beam is below 0.32 mm at its thinnest edge. In contrast, there is a possibility of the kerf width to be as little as 0.10 mm. This, however, depends on the thickness of the material. If the cutting of the material with the laser cutting machine will not begin from the material’s edge, then use the piercing process.
The piercing process allows the laser to make a hole in the material using high power. For instance, burning through a 13 mm stainless steel sheet will take 5 to 15 seconds.
The advantages of laser cutting technology are enormous. Some of these advantages are discussed below:
The precision at which the laser cuts into materials is high, and it is by delivering a focused beam of light. The laser is powerful and small, but the accuracy with which it melts and evaporates materials is unparalleled. Most times, the tolerance range of the laser is from 0.003 mm to 0.006 mm.
The tolerance level of a plasma cutter is around 0.02 mm, which is higher than that of laser cutting. Likewise, other cutting tools have tolerance levels between 1 to 3 mm and above. Suppose there is a need for a machine with high precision and accuracy during manufacturing processes. In that case, the go-to tool is usually laser cutters. Thus, the aerospace industry that requires a tight tolerance level uses laser cutting.
The economic edge laser cutting has over other CNC machines of the same caliber is one of the advantages of laser technology. There is no need to build a custom tool with the laser cutting technology. You do not also need to modify the device for any project since no extra cutting tools are needed.
Also, there is no wearing out of the surface since there is no physical contact. The cost of maintenance is less than other machining technologies since the laser cutter’s mechanical parts are not much. The cost of operating the machine is also lesser compared to traditional tools for manufacturing.
Many jobs that may be too complex for other cutting technologies are simple for laser cutters. The laser technology can work on the thinnest edge of a material. While the cut area may experience a slight distortion or warping, you can quickly produce complex geometries using a laser cutter. The tolerance level of laser cutting is broad, and it can accommodate a large number of materials.
When you use a laser cutter with materials, just a tiny amount of the materials will go to waste. This makes laser cutting stand out from other machines with a considerable portion of the material. With a laser cutter, manufacturers can make maximum use of materials. The cost of production also decreases due to the higher utilization of the resources and less waste material.
Another advantage of laser cutting is avoiding damages, even to the narrowest materials. Many people tend to believe the misinformation about the device that warping or damaging the materials is unavoidable. The popular belief has the premise of using high heat in the laser cutting process. You should note that heat affects only a small area of the material and does not affect the tolerance. The speed at which the laser cuts through sheets is breakneck, so cutting takes lesser time. Therefore, manufacturers can easily avoid warping and distortion.
In reality, you need much power to effect cutting with power. However, the laser cutter not having any other movable parts reduces the energy consumed. In contrast, machines with movable parts tend to consume more energy. Also, the time it takes for the laser cutter to cut through a material is very fast. This helps save time and power. When there is a decrease in the energy consumed, the cost of operation also reduces.
The ability of the machine to work on an extensive array of materials is interesting. Besides cutting materials, laser cutting helps with other processes like marking, drilling, and engraving. It is worthy of note that you do not need to switch or replace tools to do all these different works.
Laser cutting does not limit itself to cutting metals alone. Other laser cutting materials include wood, aluminum, plastic, copper, and brass. Laser cutting is a versatile process since it can easily cut through almost all different kinds of materials. A bonus tip: RapidDirect always takes advantages of the best material to manufacture high precision sheet metal fabricated products.
Despite the many benefits of laser cutting, it also has a few downsides you should know. We will discuss some of them below.
When you cut some materials such as plastics, evaporation tends to occur. This is a significant downside to laser cutting. Although this disadvantage is manageable, professional machine operators can easily maneuver the disadvantage. The professionals change some of the arrangements of the device to prevent this problem. However, the cost of actualizing these changes is very high these days.
A professional operator is required to use all the machine’s features and identify a problem quickly. If the device is not set up correctly, it will affect the materials and cause more significant damage to the laser cutting. Hiring an operating specialist is essential, and this comes with a lot of money since there is a limit to qualified professionals available. To save time on commuting, you can have online meetings through video interviewing software; it would be easier and more flexible.
Although laser cutting is compatible with almost every material, including sheets, it is preferable to use another system to cut thick metals. You can determine the thickest sheets from the available machine, which also requires the presence of a specialist operator. The most comprehensive range most manufacturing companies use is 15 to 20 mm on average.
If you want to procure a laser cutting machine, you may have to spend a large sum of money. For example, when you compare plasma cutting with laser cutting, the latter costs almost two times plasma cutting. The money needed for getting the machine is very high, although you will later make more than that in the long run.
We mentioned earlier that laser cutting is compatible with various materials. The compatibility of laser cutting with almost all materials has a downside to it. Each material that will melt during the thermal cutting leads to gases and harmful fumes. The production of these toxic gases is usually typical when the material you are working with is plastics.
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Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of laser cutting is not enough, working with the right manufacturing partner is also crucial. RapidDirect provides the best sheet metal fabrication serivces for your projects. RapidDirect boasts highly skilled technicians who have proficient knowledge of laser cutting and other fabricating technologies. We ensure that our sheet metal fabrication services give quality parts at competitive prices.
We are also an ISO : certified company. Therefore, you can be sure that all our materials and techniques are industry-leading. With DfM analysis, we offer professional suggestions to improve your designs. Upload your design model today to get an instant quote.
The introduction of laser cutting provides immeasurable benefits for the manufacturing industries. The machine helps cut many materials within a period, thereby saving time and reducing the cost of operation. It also has widespread usage in industries such as aerospace and automotive industries. Understanding the laser cutting advantages and disadvantages will help you make the best choice for your project. Moreover, you can always contact RapidDirect for help with your laser cutting services.
In the field of modern industrial processing, laser cutters have become core equipment in industries such as metal processing, advertising production, and leather textile, thanks to their high precision and efficiency. Among the classifications of laser cutters, single-platform laser cutters and exchange-platform laser cutters are two common types, each with distinct characteristics in structural design, working principles, and application scenarios.
A thorough understanding of their advantages and disadvantages helps enterprises select the most suitable equipment according to their needs, thereby enhancing production efficiency and reducing operating costs.
I. Single-Platform Laser Cutters
(I) Advantages
Simple Structure and Lower Cost: Single-platform laser cutters are equipped with only one working platform. Compared with exchange-platform laser cutters, their mechanical structure is more straightforward, eliminating complex platform exchange devices.
This significantly reduces the manufacturing cost of the equipment. For small and medium-sized enterprises or start-ups with limited budgets, single-platform laser cutters are more affordable, effectively relieving the financial pressure on enterprises. Meanwhile, the simple structure also means lower maintenance costs. Daily maintenance and repair work are easier and more convenient, reducing the expenses of enterprises in equipment maintenance.
Small Footprint: Due to having only one working platform, single-platform laser cutters are relatively small in overall size and occupy limited space. This feature enables them to better adapt to production workshops with limited space. Especially for enterprises with tight site resources, they can install and use the equipment smoothly without large-scale workshop renovations, fully improving space utilization.
Easy to Operate: The simple structural design makes the operation process of single-platform laser cutters more intuitive and easy to understand. New employees can quickly master the operation methods of the equipment after a short training period, without the need for a complex learning process. This not only improves the efficiency of employee training but also reduces the cost and time investment of enterprises in personnel training.
(II) Disadvantages
Low Work Efficiency: During the processing of single-platform laser cutters, manual loading and unloading are required, and the loading of the next workpiece can only be carried out after the current workpiece is completely processed. This process results in a long downtime, shortening the effective processing time of the equipment and leading to low production efficiency. When facing large - volume orders, single-platform laser cutters often struggle to meet the requirements of fast delivery, affecting the market competitiveness of enterprises.
Low Degree of Automation: Relying on manual loading and unloading, single-platform laser cutters have a relatively low level of automation and it is difficult to achieve continuous and uninterrupted production. In the trend of modern intelligent manufacturing, this type of equipment with low automation gradually fails to meet the requirements of enterprises for production efficiency and flexibility, restricting the upgrading and development of enterprise production models.
II. Exchange-Platform Laser Cutters
(I) Advantages
High Work Efficiency: Exchange-platform laser cutters are equipped with two working platforms. When one platform is undergoing laser cutting, operators can simultaneously perform loading and unloading operations on the other platform. In this way, after the processing of one platform is completed, it can immediately switch to the other prepared platform for continuous processing, greatly reducing downtime and achieving continuous and efficient operation of the equipment.
This highly efficient working mode is especially suitable for mass production, which can significantly improve the production efficiency of enterprises, meet the strict requirements of customers for delivery time, and enhance the competitive advantage of enterprises in the market.
High Degree of Automation: Exchange-platform laser cutters are usually combined with automated control systems, which can achieve functions such as automatic platform exchange and automatic positioning, reducing manual intervention and improving the automation level of the production process. In addition, they can be integrated with other automated equipment (such as automatic loading robots, automatic sorting systems, etc.) to build a complete automated production line, further improving production efficiency and precision, reducing labor costs and labor intensity, and promoting the transformation of enterprises towards intelligent manufacturing.
Suitable for Complex Processing: Due to its efficient working mode, exchange-platform laser cutters can better handle complex processing tasks and diverse order requirements. When dealing with workpieces that require long-time cutting or multi-process processing, exchange-platform laser cutters can ensure processing quality and precision without interrupting production, ensuring product consistency and stability.
(II) Disadvantages
High Equipment Cost: Exchange-platform laser cutters have a complex structure, including not only two working platforms but also sophisticated platform exchange devices and automated control systems. These complex components and systems greatly increase the research, development, and manufacturing costs of the equipment, resulting in a relatively high market price. For some enterprises with weak financial strength, the high equipment procurement cost may become a major obstacle to introducing this equipment.
Difficult Maintenance: The complex structure and advanced automated systems also make the maintenance of exchange-platform laser cutters more complicated and challenging. When the equipment malfunctions, professional technicians are required for inspection and maintenance, which requires a high level of technical personnel quality and maintenance capabilities from enterprises. In addition, due to the large number of components and their high prices, the maintenance cost is also relatively high, increasing the operating costs of enterprises.
Large Footprint: The two working platforms, related exchange devices, and supporting equipment make the overall volume of exchange-platform laser cutters relatively large, occupying a significant amount of space. When installing this equipment, enterprises need to reserve sufficient space. For enterprises with limited sites, it may be necessary to re-plan and renovate the workshop, increasing the site renovation cost and management difficulty of enterprises.
III. How to Choose the Right Laser Cutter
When choosing a laser cutter, enterprises need to comprehensively consider factors such as their production requirements, budget, and site conditions. If an enterprise has a small production scale, a low order volume, and a limited budget, a single-platform laser cutter is a good choice. It can meet basic production needs while having a low cost and being easy to operate. For enterprises with a large production scale, large order volumes, and high requirements for production efficiency and automation, although exchange-platform laser cutters are more expensive, they can significantly improve production efficiency, reduce labor costs, enhance the overall competitiveness of enterprises, and are more suitable for the long-term development needs of enterprises.
Both single-platform and exchange-platform laser cutters have their own advantages and disadvantages, and there is no absolute superiority or inferiority. Enterprises should weigh the pros and cons according to their actual situations and select the most suitable laser cutting equipment, so as to gain an advantage in the fierce market competition and achieve sustainable development.
--Rayther Laser Jack Sun--
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