This first example of very thin sheet material processing is a sample of 0.007” (0.18 mm) thick plastic. Cut speeds reached 100 inches per minute (IPM) using 10 watts of power and rose to 985 IPM after increasing power to 200 watts.

This application involved cutting 0.002” (0.05 mm) thick paper. Only 60 watts of power are required to reach cut speeds of 2000 IPM. Paper edges were cleanly cut and exhibit virtually no discoloration

Very thin sheet materials encompass those materials less than 0.01” thick including woven fabric, thin plastic, sailcloth, Mylar, and multi-layer polyester or airbag materials (where each layer does not exceed 0.01”). Although cutting action is accomplished by chemical degradation, the ratio of material thickness to focused beam size makes processing of thin materials an excellent CO2 application. Processing speeds are very high, laser power requirements are low, and assist gas usage is greatly reduced or eliminated.

We tested both of the applications featured to the left using an XY motion system and focused the beam through a 2.5” positive meniscus lens (0.004” spot size and 0.07” depth of focus). Compressed nitrogen at a pressure of 5 PSI provided the assist gas