Fiber laser cutting machines are also one of the most commonly used laser cutting machines. Unlike the gas laser tube and light transmission of CO2 laser machines, fiber laser cutting machines use fiber lasers and cables to transmit laser beams. The wavelength of a fiber laser beam is only 1/10 the wavelength produced by a CO2 laser. Therefore, compared with CO2 laser cutting machines, fiber laser cutting machines have better consistency and reliability and can process finer patterns. The main differences between CO2 laser cutting machines and fiber laser cutting machines lie in the following aspects.

5 differences between CO2 laser cutting machines and fiber laser cutting machines (Figure 1)
                                                                   

1.Laser

CO2 laser engraving machines use CO2 laser tubes to generate laser beams. The working fluid is mainly CO2, and O2, He, Xe, etc. are auxiliary gases. The CO2 laser beam is reflected by the reflection and focusing lens and focused to the laser cutting head. Fiber laser cutting machines generate laser beams through multiple diode pumps. The laser beam is then transmitted to the laser cutting head via a flexible fiber optic cable.

 
2. Processing materials

The beam wavelength of the CO2 laser is 10.64um, which is more easily absorbed by non-metallic materials. However, the fiber laser's beam wavelength is 1.064um, which is 10 times shorter. Due to this smaller focal length, fiber laser cutting machines are almost 100 times more powerful than CO2 laser cutting machines with the same power output. Therefore, fiber laser cutting machines are very suitable for cutting metal materials.

CO2 laser engraving machine can cut and engrave metal materials with low efficiency. Therefore, CO2 laser machines are mainly used for cutting and engraving non-metallic materials. For example, wood, acrylic, paper, leather, fabric, etc.

Fiber laser cutting machine, also known as metal laser cutting machine, is mainly used for metal materials. For example, stainless steel, carbon steel, galvanized steel, copper, aluminum, etc.


3. Production costs
The CO2 acrylic laser cutting machine consumes a large amount of gas when working. But its photoelectric conversion rate is only 8% to 10%. Fiber laser cutting machines consume less other materials during processing, and the photoelectric conversion rate can reach 25%-30%. Therefore, fiber laser cutting machines are more energy-saving than CO2 laser cutting machines.



4. Maintenance costs

The structure of the CO2 laser tube is complex, and the optical lenses are fragile and expensive. Replacing these supplies requires significant expense. Therefore, the maintenance cost of CO2 laser cutting machines is very high.

Fiber laser cutting is basically maintenance-free and has few wearing parts. It is able to withstand harsh working environments and has high resistance to dust, shock, impact, humidity and temperature. Therefore, fiber laser cutting machines have lower maintenance costs.

 
5. Cutting efficiency

The beam divergence of CO2 laser engraving machine is large during processing, so it is not suitable for large-size processing. Although the kerf is relatively small, the speed is very slow when processing thick plates.

Fiber laser cutting machines are characterized by high laser beam density, high intensity, high brightness and high conversion rate. For thin plate processing, the cutting speed of fiber laser cutting machines is 2-3 times higher than that of CO2 laser cutting machines of the same power.