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When you’re engaging with laser cutting professionals or independently researching laser cutting services, you will encounter some industry-specific terms. To help you understand them, we’ve defined, below, nine of the most common.
- 1. Raster Engraving: Also called laser etching or laser engraving, this is a procedure in which the laser scans left and right to mark and define the intended depth or thickness of the metal being engraved. You may hear this term in reference to creating and carving images or texts.
- 2. Resolution: “Resolution” is a term used with raster engraving. It refers to the position and density of the pulses per inches, shown or calculated in dots per inches. Lower resolution equals faster cutting, while higher resolution results in crisper and more detailed cuttings or carvings.
- 3. Vector Cutting: Vector cutting is a specific laser cutting process in which the laser technician creates vector lines to outline the area to be cut.
- 4. Frequency: Mostly used in vector cutting, “frequency” counts the number of pulses discharged per second. You can also think of it as how frequently the laser beam applies heat pulses to the material. The higher the frequency, the deeper the cut.
- 5. Melt Shearing: In this laser cutting process, material is separated by melting, and later extruded by a high-power air jet.
- 6. Energy Transfer: This term refers to the energy transfer that powers all laser cutting services. First, energy is transferred on the surface of the material by the laser beam. Then, this transfer of energy allows the material to be melted, cut or vaporized.
- 7. Power: In this context, “power” refers to the rate of energy carried by the laser beam. The higher the rate of power, the deeper the cuts, and vise versa.
- 8. Material Vaporization: This is a stage in the laser cutting process in which metal is vaporized as a result of heat transfer. Simultaneously, the process releases sometimes highly flammable, which must be controlled.
- 9. Speed: This term references the speed at which the laser head or the nozzle rotates or moves. The head’s speed is usually displayed in units like meters or millimeters per second. Low speed makes deeper cuts and high speed makes more slight cuts.