Direct-diode lasers enter the sheet metal cutting arena--Metal fabricators have a new kind of solid-state laser to consider

摘要

CO_2 gas lasers still dominate sheet metal cutting, but they aren't the only game in town anymore. Solid-state lasers like the fiber and disk varieties—which use diode lasers to pump, or excite, the lasing medium—continue to have considerable market success. And now fabricators may have a new type of solid-state system to consider for sheet metal cutting: the direct-diode laser.Not too long ago, cutting most sheet metal gauges efficiently with a direct-diode laser seemed like a farfetched concept, and for good reason. Historically, direct-diode lasers haven't had adequate beam quality to do the job. That's because there has always been a trade-off between high power and high beam quality. In a direct-diode setup, you couldn't have both.