The fibre laser's range of applications is rapidly expanding. Until recently, cutting systems with fibre lasers were used primarily in the thin sheet metal range, because in sheet thicknesses above 8 mm, the advantages of CO2 laser systems prevailed. Now this is changing. Other solutions are said to significantly improve the cutting characteristics and overall efficiency of the fibre laser right through to the medium sheet thicknesses.

Sheet metalworking machine tool builder Bystronic says their fibre laser cutting machine BySprint Fiber (4 kW version) is now more economical than a CO2 laser system in the thin and medium range of sheet thicknesses. They are basing their claim on the account that the fibre laser system has better energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs.

With an energy efficiency gain of approximately 30 percent, the fibre laser is more efficient than a CO2 laser. Overall, this results in a lower energy consumption. For many users, this is the main advantage of the fibre laser.

In addition, the fibre laser cutting system's resonator is virtually maintenance-free and does not require any laser gas at all. Elaborate and high-maintenance deflection optics in the beam path are eliminated in the machine, because the laser beam is guided to the cutting head via fibre optics. As a result, the users benefit from long operating times and long maintenance intervals. In addition, the machine is said to achieve almost comparable cutting speeds to a CO2 laser, right into the medium sheet thicknesses segment.

Monitoring The Cutting Process

Although the fibre laser machine is outshining its CO2 counterpart, there are pertinent technologies that are derived from CO2 laser systems in the first place. For instance, BySprint Fiber with 3 kW and above has a technology called Cut Control function that is already established in the company’s CO2 laser cutting systems.

The function supposedly improves the monitoring of the cutting process and enables precise edge detection. Edge detection enables the position of a loaded metal sheet to be determined precisely. This results in an optimal degree of utilisation, particularly with long and straight cuts that run close to the edge of the metal sheet.

Fast Changes & Large Working Area

The automatic nozzle changer is another function available on the fibre laser cutting machine, which has already proven itself on CO2 laser cutting systems.

With the nozzle changer, the operator no longer has to think about which cutting nozzle is correct, because the machine automatically fetches the optimum nozzle from one of a total of 40 magazine stations. With the nozzle change that takes 15 seconds, this is faster than a manual change and increases process reliability.

In addition to the standard 3015 format, the fibre laser is also available in the 4020 large format with a working area of 4 by 2 m. Large formats are useful for large metal sheets, where more cut parts can be placed and nested even more efficiently. In addition, with the increased volume of parts per metal sheet, the period during which the machine is able to cut without interruptions is increased. Therefore, the non-productive time decreases and the parts output increases.

Overall, the fibre laser is a meaningful extension to existing CO2 laser cutting systems. Its special characteristics make it predestined for certain fields of applications in the thin to medium range of sheet thicknesses.