Maybe you are carious that can a laser cutter near me cut metal or wood? In fact, a laser cutter can be classified as a fiber laser cutter and a CO2 laser cutter. From mild steel to stainless steel, non-ferrous metals and also reflective metals like aluminum, fiber metal laser cutting machines are the better option. So it is also named a metal laser cutter, laser cutter for metal, metal laser cutting machine, fiber laser metal cutter, etc.
While, the CO2 laser cutter machine is suitable for cutting non-metals like wood, glass, acrylic, rubber, paper, fabric, foam, textile, leather, etc. For example, the topmost cutting material- wood, including plywood, solid wood, MDF, chipboard, veneers, etc., can be laser cut into various kinds of products. So you can also call it the laser cutter for wood, wood laser cutter, acrylic laser cutting machine, affordable laser cutter for MDF, paper laser cutter for sale, etc.
Although it seems like a laser beam can cut and engrave almost all kinds of metal and nonmetal materials, there are still some types of materials that it cannot process. Otherwise, you will get into a lot of trouble or be hurt. Let’s take a careful look at the following unprocessable materials.
- PVC Acid and toxic fumes are produced when laser cutting PVC. This is detrimental to both the machine operator and the laser cutter itself. Therefore, PVC cutting is more suitable to be replaced by mechanical methods.
- Polycarbonate Thin polycarbonate (less than 1mm) is supported to be cut. But even this can easily lead to discoloration. Polycarbonate absorbs the infrared radiation that the laser uses to cut the material, which can cause severe discoloration and even burns and d endanger personal safety.
- ABS Typically, the temperature of the laser beam is sufficient to vaporize the material. ABS tends to melt, though, leaving a messy worktop and a cutout that doesn't really satisfy anyone's quality.
- Glass fiber Fiberglass is a mixture of two materials - glass and epoxy. Cutting glass alone is difficult, and adding a smoke-generating resin to the mix has predictable consequences.