How accurate is CO2 laser cutting?

The ability to make cuts with very close tolerances, down to a fraction of a millimeter, is one of the main advantages of laser cutting. In fact, laser is not subjected to the mechanical limits of traditional cutting tools.(Sunic laser marking machine)

The characteristics of the material impose intrinsic limitations to cutting mechanisms such as blades and hollow cutters. A blade, for example, must respect certain minimum dimensions to work properly. These dimensions mean that the blade cannot perform certain types of cuts such as very narrow ones.

Laser, on the other hand, does not have any of these drawbacks as it is composed of a polarized light beam focused on a very tiny spot. A CO2 laser scanning head, such as Gioscan, can focus a beam with a diameter ranging between 140 and 450 micrometers on a surface. Just to put things into perspective, a human hair is about 70 micrometers!

The fact that in laser technology there is no contact with the surface and the working dimensions are so small, makes it very easy to achieve extremely complex cutting geometries.

Also, laser cutting works well with all types of materials, from rigid ones, such as multilayer wood, to fragile ones, such as plastic film. They can all be processed easily and accurately, minimizing the risk of breakage and waste of material.

In addition to the previously mentioned advantages, laser also offers extreme controllability of parameters and a high speed of execution. All these elements combine to make CO2 laser an incredibly powerful working tool. Flexibility, speed and accuracy open up infinite possibilities, especially for sectors such as packaging and fashion, which rely on creativity.