[fullspeceng]

We've cut 1/4" foam core and 1/4" cardboard using regular air assist with no flame up on our 40w lasers which cost around $2000 and have USA software and electronics that allow you to cut from any application: Full Spectrum Engineering

For a detailed paper cut with no burning, see here: http://www.fullspectrumengineering.c...=148&mode=view

[lucareds7]

thank you to all...

our goal is not the cheapest machine, but something different from what is already available on the market

a device up to 5k $ is already a good item for our goals, it make the machine a bit expensive, but we're not minding to propose an entry level...

@litografa: one layer of cardboard or one ply of the carboard itself? one ply should be around 4 mils (0,1 mm)...

@fullspeceng: do you sell even the laser tube and its generator? we are designing a completely different layout than a traditional router, so this is the aim that let us to interest to laser applications.

For data... our idea is to cut at a speed not less to i feet per second (300 mm/s) and five to nine layer of paper (corrugated cardboard with four wave layer is made of nine ply, thickness about 3/8" - 10 mm)

With this new data, received today from a potential customer, I think that power have to be raised up almost twice...

Air assist for us is not a problem, I even think that a good focused laser and an excess of pressurized air will do a good job. Like blowing on a candle, fire would estingish, or not?

[Rodney Gold]

The flutes in the corrugated carboard duct away the air assist and actually will promote flaming Be aware, you will get a charred edge on the cut whatever laser you use anyway.
The thickness of multilayer board will be an issue as the beam of the laser is focussed and it diverges away from the focal point. There is just a relatively small amount over and below the focus point where power density is ok for cutting , using longer focal length lenses will help , but will have an enlarged spot size. 10mm in carboard/paper consisting of multilayers will not be an easy task , the cut sides might have a curve as well , that follows the beam shape , thick stuff might cut like this )( and not like this ||. You would need quite a bit of power to have enough power density to cut properly. The cheaper glass tubes actually are worse as their spot sizes are large , a 75w RF co2 tube from synrad or coherent would be better, the beam quality is better. Maybe try a Reci glass tube?
I would imagine a reciprocating knife or some other system would be better than a laser for this application due to thickness

[lucareds7]

The flutes in the corrugated carboard duct away the air assist and actually will promote flaming Be aware, you will get a charred edge on the cut whatever laser you use anyway.
The thickness of multilayer board will be an issue as the beam of the laser is focussed and it diverges away from the focal point. There is just a relatively small amount over and below the focus point where power density is ok for cutting , using longer focal length lenses will help , but will have an enlarged spot size. 10mm in carboard/paper consisting of multilayers will not be an easy task , the cut sides might have a curve as well , that follows the beam shape , thick stuff might cut like this )( and not like this ||. You would need quite a bit of power to have enough power density to cut properly. The cheaper glass tubes actually are worse as their spot sizes are large , a 75w RF co2 tube from synrad or coherent would be better, the beam quality is better. Maybe try a Reci glass tube?
I would imagine a reciprocating knife or some other system would be better than a laser for this application due to thickness

Hi Rodney, first thank you!

charred edge won't be a problem, actually operations are performed mechanically but reciprocating forces are really big (it is something like a punching machine).
Laser would eliminate this problem, forces will be only ones due to dynamic of X&Y axis. This could make the machine lighter and consequently faster, because acceleration require less forces, and so X&Y drives could be lighter. On a 10 mm thickness I also thought that a long focus lens should be used to avoid )( effect, but to make it smaller i also thought to get a double lens, one short focus making beam narrower and one long focus to reduce the "hourglass" effect. This is a secondary problem, a couple of optical formulas and some practice on the field probably will solve it up.

The laughing thing... I found a firm that sells tubes & pover supply at five minutes from my home... does someone know them or their machines?

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