Laser Cutters are great tools offering the possibility to create many different things. From simple metal to engraving detailed graphics into steel or building complex three-dimensional objects.
In this beginners guide, I will explain the basics of how a laser cutter works, show you some examples of things that can be made with a laser and how to create designs for laser cutting or engraving. You’ll also learn which material can be used and how to get access to a laser cutter.
A laser cutter is a computer controlled machine that uses a laser beam to precisely cut or engrave material. A laser is basically just highly focused, highly amplified light. The laser beam causes the material to locally burn, melt or vaporize. The kind of material that a laser can cut depends on the type of laser and the specific machine’s power.
What can you do with a laser cutter?
In general, there are three tasks that a laser cutter can perform: Cutting, Engraving and Marking.
Cutting
When the laser beam goes all the way through the material of the workpiece it creates a cut. A laser cut is generally very precise and clean. The look of the cut edges depends on the material.
Buying a Laser Cutter
If you are just starting with laser cutting I recommend trying one of the options above before looking into buying a laser cutter to get some experience and find out which features are most important for you.
Even when looking only at fiber lasers, there is a wide variety of different laser machines available and the selection is continuously growing. The price range is big, with entry-level Chinese imports starting at about 15000 EUR/USD and professional grade machines costing several 50,000 EUR/USD.
In this guide, I won’t go into more details, but I plan to write an overview of the different types available on the market and the most important features to consider when buying a laser cutter, in a future post.
