[Greenbuggy]

Hi guys, just a newbie here but curious about something...although I don't have, or expect to have a laser cutter anytime in the near future (though I really want one), some searching on google turned up no useful results for me. What I'm curious is this...what laser tube power (in watts) is required to cut a given thickness of metal?

I assume that (like my plasma cutter) the cutting speed is directly proportional to the amount of power for a given thickness of material (cut quality not withstanding), and that power requirements increase exponentially to maintain a given travel speed on a higher thickness of material (due to the heatsink effect of your useful heat being drawn away from the area you want to atomize), is this thinking correct?

Really what I'm looking for is this...i want to know what power would be necessary to cut 1/8" mild steel or stainless at a reasonable (not necessarily) fast clip, and be able to cut 1/4"-5/16" stainless or aluminum, even if at a rather slow speed.

[zax15uk]

It sounds like you already have the right equipment for the job, a plasma cutter is much better suited.

A 5kW CO2 laser using Nitrogen or Oxygen assist would typically be required for plate stainless (and still not at the thickness you need), an Nd:YAG laser in the 500W+ range would have the same results.

You might consider abrasive waterjet as an option if cut quality is the concern. Either way cost is going to be high compared to your plasma.

[MacGyver]

The mild steel is probably the easiest, though you'll still need several hundred Watts, and it won't be fast by any means. For the stainless, you're going to be looking at 1kW+. This all assumes a CO2 unit. As zax mentioned, you're better off with the Plasma unit you're currently using, or look into subbing it out to someone with a waterjet.