Are you trapped in the huge cost of CO2 laser cutting machine? Retrofit CO2 laser to fiber laser cutting will bring higher economic benefits to you. Let’s check it together.

Investment Costs

As with any new technology, fibre lasers were initially quite a bit more expensive than their CO2 counterparts. However, as the technology has developed, the costs have decreased. Fibre lasers are now practically on a par in terms of purchase cost. More importantly, the ongoing costs of a CO2 laser makes fibre more cost-effective in the long run too.

Time Cost

Fibre lasers are ideal for cutting thin gauge material quickly, whereas CO2 is a lot slower in comparison. The difference in wavelengths means that the spot size of the fibre laser is up to 90% smaller than CO2. Because the material will absorb more of the beam’s energy (rather than reflect it), fibre lasers can cut faster and more precisely than their CO2 counterparts.
On thin gauge, fibre is twice or even three times as fast as a comparative CO2 laser would be. With faster cutting you can increase your workload capacity, and keep your employees working efficiently too. The obvious benefit of this is that the faster you can cut material, the cheaper the per-item cost of your cut pieces.

Thicker materials are generally faster too with a fibre laser. CO2 lasers often need to do a second pass to complete a cut through thick steel. The assist gas from the CO2 laser becomes trapped, creating a bubble around the cutting head.
The final time saving aspect of a fibre laser is they are ready to go instantly. There is no warm-up time due to the technology in use. CO2 lasers typically take 10-20 minutes to be operational.

Maintenance Cost

CO2 works by reflecting the laser beam to the cutting surface with a mixture of mirrors and gases. The mirrors on a CO2 laser are extremely sensitive and highly vulnerable to dirt/dust particles meaning they are easily destroyed and often need replacing. Each time this occurs it comes at a hefty cost of several thousand dollars to the customer. Mirror and lens cleaning, beam realignment and ongoing maintenance are all needed on CO2 lasers.
Whereas with fibre, there is simply a fibre optic cable routing the laser to the cutting surface. This heavily reduces maintenance, and subsequently costs.
Less maintenance and downtime means more efficiency and cost savings.

Ongoing Cost Savings

CO2 lasers use up a lot of energy to keep them running. Fibre is far more energy efficient than a CO2 laser, typically 2-3 times more efficient, drastically cutting down your energy consumption. CO2 lasers also utilise helium gas, which is becoming increasingly more expensive.
Retrofitting a CO2 to a fibre laser will therefore reduce your energy, and gas consumption. This will further reduce your per/part costs, and is also more environmentally friendly too.

Physical Size

Fibre lasers take up less physical space than their CO2 equivalents, a highly underrated benefit. A smaller machine frees up workshop space. Extra space allows staff to move around more easily, or more space for storing material.
It could even allow you to further improve efficiencies by bringing in additional equipment. Typically, the cross-sectional area of a CO2 laser being approximately 3 or even 4 times larger than the equivalent fibre laser.

If you’d like to find out more about CO2 laser retrofit through Newlaz, please visit our product pages.