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There are three main types of Laser Cutting Machine used for materials cutting:
 
CO 2 Laser - Suitable for cutting, boring and engraving.
 
Neodymium (Nd) Lasers and neodymium yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Nd-YAG) lasers. These are both identical in style and differ only in the jobs they are used for. Nd lasers are ideal for boring and when high energy but low repetition are required. The Nd-YAG laser is better for applications when very high power is needed and for boring and engraving. All the types of laser are used for welding.
 
CO 2 lasers are used in many industrial cutting processes and the materials they are used for cutting include mild steel, aluminium, stainless steel and titanium.
 
Laser Cutting Machine themselves generate a high degree of heat and need cooling. Depending on the size and configuration of the system, the waste heat generated during operation may be transferred by a coolant or directly to air. Water is often used as a coolant, usually circulated through a chiller or heat transfer arrangement.
 
There are also two other types of laser, although these are less common in metal fabrication.
 
Laser Microjet - this is a laser that is guided by a water-jet. The laser beam is pulsed into a low-pressure water jet that is used to guide the laser beam, as if it were an optical fiber. The light beam is guided by internal reflection within the water jet. The advantage of this system is that the water also cools and removes the material being cut. Other advantages of this wet system are higher dicing speeds and omnidirectional cutting.
 
Fiber Lasers - this is a solid state laser that uses a solid gain medium, rather than a gas or a liquid. The system is arranged so that a seed laser beam is amplified inside the glass fiber.