SYNRAD, INC. - http://www.synrad.com  
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Issue 66

SYNRAD's sealed CO₂ lasers are used in a variety of industrial processes including cutting, welding, drilling, and marking. This news brief showcases some of the interesting materials and products that are processed daily by Synrad's line of CO₂ lasers and marking heads.

Cutting Corrugated Paper

     Using a long focal length beam delivery setup, several single-face corrugated paper samples were cut at a designated line speed of 360 inches per minute. Single-face corrugated paper consists of corrugated (fluted) medium bonded to a flat linerboard facing. Corrugated sheeting is used primarily by shippers as a packing or padding material.

     In both tests shown here, beam delivery through a 7.5" focusing lens, 0.012" spot diameter and 0.54" depth of focus, coupled with five PSI of nitrogen gas assist produced clean cuts that exhibit minimal charring.

The black 33-pound stock, with 0.5" high flutes
on one-inch centers, was cut using 142W of laser
power.

Cutting Synthetic Filters

     Laser cutting synthetic filter material resulted in clean cuts with sealed edges. Beam motion was accomplished using an X-Y stage with beam delivery through a 2.5" positive meniscus lens. Spot size was 0.004" and depth of focus was 0.07". Nitrogen assist gas at 5 PSI was used in this application although when cutting non-metals, nitrogen and air are usually, but not always, interchangeable. 

  The blue 0.001"-thick synthetic filter material was cut at 350 inches per minute (IPM) using 20W of power. The white 0.085"-thick piece, was cut at 250 IPM using 40W. Gas assist was 15 PSI nitrogen with beam delivery via a 4" plano-convex focusing lens (0.006" spot; 0.17" depth of focus).

Drilling Rubber Seals

   The rubber seal (from a car door) in the photo to the left was drilled using a 25W CO2 laser. Unlike the traditional method of using a drill bit, where contact can leave rough edges as the rubber distorts, the laser provides a smooth clean cut. This hole was trepanned using a 25W laser at a speed of 65" per minute with 10psi air assist gas, resulting in a cycle time of 0.36 seconds. A 50W laser can also be used, resulting in a speed of 125" per minute with a cycle time of 0.19 seconds per hole.

Browse Synrad's Applications Database

Search our online library for more applications of Synrad's sealed CO₂ laser technology. Sort by material, process, or industry.

http://www.synrad.com/search_apps/Default.htm

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