Fiber lasers are everywhere in the modern world. Due to the different wavelengths they can generate, they are widely used in industrial environments to perform cutting, marking, welding, cleaning, texturing, drilling and a lot more. They are also used in other fields such as telecommunication and medicine.
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Fiber lasers use an optical fiber cable made of silica glass to guide light. The resulting laser beam is more precise than with other types of lasers because it is straighter and smaller. They also have a small footprint, good electrical efficiency, low maintenance and low operating costs.
If you want to learn everything you need to know about fiber lasers, keep reading.
Elias Snitzer invented the fiber laser in and demonstrated its use in . Serious commercial applications only emerged in the s, however.
Why did it take so long? The main reason is that fiber laser technology was still in its infancy. For example, fiber lasers could only emit a few tens of milliwatts whereas most applications require at least 20 watts. There was also no means of generating high-quality pump light, as laser diodes did not perform as well as today.
Here are some of the key moments in the history of fiber laser technology, going back as early as when Albert Einstein established its foundations.
Today, important advances are still being made in fiber laser technology, making it more efficient, powerful and accessible. Some of the most upcoming applications include laser cleaning and laser texturing, which can replace polluting technologies and help make the world greener.
Generally speaking, fiber lasers can be categorized using the following criteria:
Fiber lasers can be categorized in many other ways, but the categories mentioned here are the most common. Follow these links if you want to see examples of fiber lasers integrated into products:
The main difference between fiber and CO2 lasers is the source where the laser beam is created. In fiber lasers, the laser source is silica glass mixed with a rare-earth element. In CO2 lasers, the laser source is a mixture of gases which includes carbon dioxide.
Due to the state of their source, fiber lasers are considered solid-state lasers, and CO2 lasers are considered gas-state lasers.
These laser sources also produce different wavelengths. Fiber lasers, for example, produce shorter wavelengths, with some examples ranging between 780 nm and nm. CO2 lasers, on the other hand, produce longer wavelengths that typically range between 9,600 nm and 10,600 nm.
They are used for different applications due to their different wavelengths. For example, nm fiber lasers are usually preferred for metal processing applications. Laser cutting is a notable exception, where CO2 lasers are often preferred to cut metals. CO2 lasers also react well with organic materials.
If you&#;re debating between the two, read our post on choosing between a CO2 and a fiber laser.
When a fiber laser system is engineered into a solution that is ready to be used, that solution is called a fiber laser machine. Whereas the OEM laser system is the tool that performs the operation, the laser machine is the framework in which the tool is integrated.
Laser machines can make sure that:
For example, the fiber laser machine shown here includes a rotary table, a rotary indexer, a Class-1 laser safety enclosure, a fume extractor, a vision camera and an HMI.
Follow these links if you want to see more examples of fiber laser machines:
Most online sources claim that fiber lasers last 100,000 hours whereas CO2 lasers last 30,000 hours. This is not entirely true. These numbers refer to a value called &#;mean time between failures&#; (MTBF), which isn&#;t the same for all fiber lasers. In reality, you will see different numbers for different types of fiber lasers.
The MTBF measures the reliability of a laser by indicating how many hours the laser is expected to function before a failure occurs. It is obtained by testing multiple laser units, and then dividing the total number of operational hours by the total number of failures.
Although this value does not exactly tell you how long a fiber laser can last, it still provides a good idea of the laser&#;s reliability.
If you really want to know the exact lifespan of a fiber laser, you'll be disappointed as there&#;s no real answer. In truth, fiber lasers have critical points in their lifetime when they can fail.
Here&#;s what you need to know if your laser experiences failures at any of these moments:
Fiber lasers use pump light from what is called laser diodes. These diodes emit light that is sent into the fiber-optic cable. Optical components located in the cable are then used to generate a specific wavelength and amplify it. Finally, the resulting laser beam is shaped and released.
Here&#;s how each component is used to perform this operation.
Laser diodes transform electricity into photons&#;or light&#; to be pumped into the fiber-optic cable. For this reason, they are also known as the &#;pump source&#;
To generate light, diodes use two semiconductors charged differently:
When the positive and negative charges meet, they try to combine. But to do so, the free electron must be released as a photon. As current flows through the semiconductors, the quantity of photons quickly increases.
The resulting light is pumped into the fiber-optic cable and will be used to generate the laser beam.
In nature, light goes in all directions. To focus light into a single direction and obtain a laser beam, fiber-optic cables use two basic components: the fiber core and the cladding.
Total internal reflection occurs because the cladding has a lower refractive index than the core. You can see similar effects in nature. For example, if you look at submerged objects, they appear deformed. This is because when light travels from air to water, it hits a different refractive index and changes direction. The same applies when light travels from the core to the cladding, except that the change in direction produces a reflection.
Without the cladding, light would go in all directions and exit the core. But thanks to the cladding&#;s refractive index, light remains in the core and continues its path.
To visualize how light travels in fiber cables, you can watch this video:
As pump light travels through the fiber-optic cable, it eventually enters the laser cavity&#;a small region of the cable where only light of a specific wavelength is produced. Physical engineers say that the fiber is &#;doped&#; in this region because it has been mixed with a rare-earth element.
As particles from the doped fiber interact with light, their electrons rise to a higher energy level. When they fall back to their basic state, they release energy in the form of photons or light. Physical engineers refer to these phenomena as &#;electron excitation&#; and &#;electron relaxation&#;.
The laser cavity also acts as a resonator where light bounces back and forth between what is called &#;fiber Bragg gratings&#;. This leads to &#;Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation&#;, or LASER. Put simply, this is where the laser beam is formed.
There are two types of Bragg gratings:
Here&#;s how amplification takes place: when photons hit other excited particles, these particles also release photons; since the Bragg gratings reflect photons back into the cavity, and more pump light is sent into the cavity, an exponential number photons are released.
As a result of this stimulated emission of radiation, laser light is created.
The wavelength produced by the doped fiber varies according to the doping element of the laser cavity. This is very important, as different wavelengths are used for different applications. The doping element could be erbium, ytterbium, neodymium, thulium, and so on. Ytterbium-doped fiber lasers, for example, generate a wavelength of nm and are used for applications like laser marking and laser cleaning.
Different doping elements produce different wavelengths because specific particles release specific photons. As such, photons generated in the laser cavity all have the same wavelength. This explains why each type of fiber laser generates a specific wavelength&#;and only that wavelength.
Photons that exit the resonant cavity form a laser beam that is extremely well collimated (or straight) due to the fiber&#;s light guiding properties. In fact, it is too collimated for most laser applications.
To give the laser beam a desirable shape, different components can be used, such as lenses and beam expanders. For example, our fiber lasers are equipped with a 254 mm focal length lens for laser applications that dig into the material (i.e., laser engraving and laser texturing). This is because their short focal length allows us to focus more energy onto an area for a more aggressive form of laser ablation.
Other types of lenses provide different advantages, which is why experts choose them carefully when optimizing a laser for a specific application.
Not all lasers and laser applications use the same parameters. For example, different ones need to be adjusted for laser cutting and laser marking. Some parameters, however, are used for all types of fiber lasers. Here are the ones you are most likely to encounter.
The wavelength produced by a fiber laser corresponds to the level of electromagnetic radiation of the laser light. Typically, fiber lasers produce wavelengths between 780 nm and nm, which is located in the infrared spectrum and is invisible to the human eye. This range of infrared light tends to react well with metals, rubber and plastics, making it useful for a wide range of materials processing applications.
Some fiber lasers such as green lasers produce visible light which can react well with soft materials such as gold, copper, silicone and soft glass. Green fiber lasers are also used for holography, therapy and surgery, among other things.
These lasers require additional components to generate visible light. John Wallace from Laser Focus World explains how this is done:
[&#;] there is actually no fiber laser on the market that produces visible laser light from within the lasing fiber itself. Visible light can, however, be obtained from a near-infrared (IR)-emitting fiber laser by external frequency conversion&#;for example, Raman-shifting, frequency-doubling, frequency sum-mixing, or combinations of these approaches.
Excerpt from
Photonics Products: Fiber Lasers: Visible fiber lasers do red, green, and now bluishby
Laser Focus World
The mode of operation is the way in which the laser beam is released. Fiber lasers typically operate in the continuous-wave or in the pulsed mode.
In the continuous-wave operation mode, a continuous, uninterrupted laser beam is released, which is ideal for applications like laser welding and laser cutting.
In the pulsed operation mode, short pulses are released at a set repetition rate. Pulsed laser beams reach higher peak powers and are ideal for laser engraving and laser cleaning. This mode includes the following parameters:
The laser power is the amount of energy that can be produced by the laser over one second. It is also known as &#;average power&#; and &#;output power&#;.
Pulsed lasers may also indicate a peak power, which is a different parameter. The peak power is the maximum amount of energy reached by a single pulse. For example, a 100W pulsed fiber laser can easily reach 10,000W of peak power. This is because pulsed lasers do not distribute energy evenly over time as opposed to continuous-wave lasers.
The beam quality indicates how close the beam is to what is called a Gaussian beam. In actual applications, this is relevant because it indicates how well focused the laser beam is.
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Mathematically speaking, a perfect beam quality is expressed as M2=1. Laser beams that are well-focused concentrate more energy in a smaller area. High-quality laser beams are required for applications like laser engraving and laser cleaning, whereas lower beam qualities may be more appropriate for applications where ablation is not desired, such as laser welding.
Fiber laser cutting machines represent a pivotal advancement in the manufacturing industry, offering a blend of precision, efficiency, and versatility that traditional cutting technologies struggle to match.
At the heart of this innovation is the fiber laser, a device that generates a high-intensity laser beam through an optical fiber doped with rare-earth elements.
This technology has revolutionized how materials are cut, engraved, and processed across various sectors.
Unlike conventional cutting methods such as flame-cutting, plasma and high power CO2 laser cutting, fiber lasers deliver unparalleled accuracy and speed, enabling manufacturers to achieve intricate designs and tight tolerances with minimal waste and reduced operational costs.
Moreover, the adaptability of fiber laser cutting machines to work with a wide array of materials, their low maintenance requirements, and their ability to operate with minimal downtime have further cemented their status as a cornerstone of modern manufacturing.
You can learn more about fiber lasers vs CO2 lasers here.
So, what is a fibre laser cutting machine?
A fiber laser cutter works by guiding a laser beam along a fiber optic cable to a focusing lens, which sharply focuses the beam on a designated spot of the material. This generates significant heat, causing the material to melt, burn away, or vaporize, delivering a sharp, clean cut with high precision.
The heart of a laser device is the gain medium, a material that amplifies light. This medium can be a mixture of gases, liquid, solid, or semiconductors.
When energy, often from an electrical current or another light source, is introduced to the gain medium, it excites the atoms within, elevating electrons to higher energy levels. As these electrons return to their original levels, they emit photons.
To ensure that the light amplifies sufficiently, lasers use a pair of mirrors at either end of the gain medium, forming an optical cavity. One mirror is fully reflective, bouncing all the light back into the medium, while the other is partially reflective, allowing some light to escape.
The light that escapes is the laser beam.
In the context of fiber laser cutting machines and unlike how CO2 lasers work, the gain medium in the laser cavity is a fiber doped with rare-earth elements such as erbium, ytterbium, or neodymium.
These fibers amplify light passed through them from the laser source (a solid-state laser), and because the fiber itself acts as the waveguide for the light, it can produce extremely fine, focused beams.
These advanced machines utilise fiber laser technology to generate a high-powered, focused beam of light that can effortlessly cut through a wide range of metals, making them indispensable tools in various manufacturing processes, equally capable when working with both thin and thick materials.
Depending on the size of your machine and the laser source power, you can expect to be able to process the following types of materials:
Fiber Lasers excel in cutting various metals, including carbon steels, stainless steel, aluminium sheet metal, brass, titanium and copper.
They can handle different thicknesses and types of metal with precision and speed, making them ideal for industries requiring metal fabrication.
Steel, known for its strength and durability, can be precisely cut for automotive, construction, and shipbuilding applications. Aluminium, lightweight yet strong, is commonly used in aerospace and consumer electronics, where precision cuts from industrial lasers are essential.
Copper, with its excellent electrical conductivity, is often used in electrical components and often requires the precision that fiber laser-cutting machines can provide.
Fiber laser cutting technology stands out in the manufacturing industry for its exceptional benefits, ranging from its precision to its environmental advantages.
One of the most significant advantages of fiber laser cutting is its unparalleled precision and accuracy.
The technology allows for extremely fine cuts, with a minimal kerf width, enabling intricate designs and tight tolerances that are often beyond the capabilities of traditional cutting methods.
This precision is crucial in industries where even the slightest deviation can compromise the functionality or safety of a component, such as in aerospace and medical device manufacturing.
Fiber laser cutters are renowned for their efficiency and speed, capable of cutting materials much faster than mechanical cutting methods (depending on the laser power of course).
This speed is not just about the raw cutting pace; it also includes reduced setup times and faster processing, as the technology allows for quick adjustments to cut different materials and shapes.
The result is a significant reduction in turnaround times, enabling manufacturers to increase productivity and meet tight deadlines.
Compared to traditional cutting technologies, fiber laser cutters require less maintenance and have lower operational costs. The fiber laser setup has fewer moving parts and requires little in the way of maintenance of moving parts and optical adjustment of mirrors, which are often needed in other types of laser cutting.
This reduction in maintenance and consumable costs contributes to a lower total cost of ownership and operation over time.
Fiber cutting technology is not only efficient in terms of speed and precision but also in its use of energy.
It is much more energy-efficient than conventional cutting methods, leading to lower electricity consumption and reduced environmental impact.
This efficiency, combined with the reduced need for consumables makes fiber laser cutting a more sustainable choice for the manufacturing industry.
Before jumping in and choosing a machine, it&#;s important you know about what you&#;re getting yourself in for. Below are just some of the important things you&#;ll need to be aware of before making an informed decision.
The adoption of fiber laser cutting technology, while offering numerous benefits, comes with significant initial investment costs.
These costs include not only the purchase price of the fiber laser cutting machine itself but also the expenses related to installation, setup, and integration into existing manufacturing systems.
Additionally, the need for auxiliary equipment, such as cooling systems and dust extraction units, further adds to the initial outlay.
However, it&#;s important to consider these costs in light of the long-term savings and efficiency gains: reduced operational costs, minimal maintenance, and the ability to cut a wide range of materials can offset the initial investment over time.
Our range of fiber laser machines starts at £34,700 +VAT (at the time of writing), but more custom builds can cost considerably more.
Operating and maintaining a fiber laser cutting machine requires a certain level of technical skill and training.
Operators should understand the principles of laser cutting and the specifics of the machine&#;s software, although the optimal settings for different materials and thicknesses and provided by way of a settings library supplied with the machine. This library is tested and proven to the individual machine by HPC engineers during installation.
Effective operation also involves knowledge of CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) software, as these are often used to design the parts and control the machine.
Check out our full guide that looks at some of the best laser cutting software here.
Maintenance, while generally less frequent than with other types of cutting equipment, demands a thorough understanding of the machine&#;s components and the ability to troubleshoot and perform repairs as needed.
Training for operators and maintenance personnel is essential to ensure the machine&#;s optimal performance and longevity. The team at HPC Laser can help with staff training.
Safety is paramount when operating fiber laser cutting machines, given the potential hazards associated with high-powered lasers.
Proper protective measures and equipment are essential to safeguard operators and bystanders.
This can include protective machine enclosures with safety switches, wearing appropriate safety glasses to protect against eye injury from laser radiation, ensuring adequate ventilation to remove harmful fumes and dust generated during cutting, and using protective barriers to prevent accidental exposure to the laser beam.
Additionally, comprehensive safety training for all personnel involved in the operation and maintenance of the machine is crucial.
This training should cover the risks associated with laser cutting, emergency procedures, and the use of safety features integrated into the machine, such as interlocks and emergency stop buttons.
In conclusion, fibre laser machines represent a transformative advancement in the manufacturing industry, offering a blend of precision, efficiency, and versatility that is unparalleled by traditional cutting methods.
While the initial investment and technical skill requirements may pose challenges, the long-term benefits&#;including reduced operational costs, minimal maintenance, and significant environmental advantages&#;make fiber laser cutting a compelling choice for businesses aiming to enhance their production capabilities and sustainability.
To finish off the article, here are some answers to some commonly asked questions.
Fiber lasers utilize sophisticated technology that includes a fiber optic cable doped with rare-earth elements as the gain medium. This technology is more complex and costly to develop and manufacture than the technology used in traditional lasers.
For cutting acrylic, CO2 lasers are the preferred choice. CO2 lasers operate at a different wavelength (10.6 micrometers), which is well-absorbed by acrylic and other clear plastics. This allows the CO2 laser to efficiently cut through acrylic, producing a clean, polished edge that is often desirable for aesthetic purposes or for applications requiring precision.
While fiber lasers excel in applications requiring high precision and efficiency in metal processing and are celebrated for their speed, low maintenance, and operational cost-effectiveness, their capabilities do not extend effectively to wood cutting.
Fiber laser cutting machines excel in processing various metals, including steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, copper, and titanium, among others. The technology behind fiber lasers makes them particularly suited for metal cutting.
Fiber lasers typically emit light at a wavelength of about 1.06 micrometers, which is not efficiently absorbed by glass. Instead of being absorbed, the laser energy tends to pass through the clear glass without affecting it significantly, making it ineffective for cutting.
Fiber lasers can cut certain types of plastics, but their effectiveness largely depends on the specific plastic material&#;s composition and color. CO2 lasers are typically more suitable for cutting or engraving plastics.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Single Table Fiber Laser Cutting Machine.