After localized heating and melting has started, the laser cutting machine moves the area of material removal across the part to create the full cut. It can achieve this movement in three ways: by controlling the laser cutting head, manipulating the part being cut, and adjusting the reflective mirrors used. Similarly, the machine used in delivering laser cutting in Ontario can also be configured in three different ways to perform beam movement.  

Moving Material 

This laser cutting machine has a stationary laser beam and a moving cutting table where the workpiece is attached. It is the workpiece that moves mechanically around the beam to make the desired cuts. This machine configuration produces a more consistent standoff distance while requiring fewer optical components. 

Flying Optics

Under this configuration, the workpiece remains stationary while the laser cutter head is what moves to cut the material. It moves the beam across the workpiece in the X- and Y-axes, producing the required cuts. Most laser cutting in Ontario services employs flying optics laser cutters due to its flexibility in cutting materials with varied sizes and thickness and features faster processing times. However, the major consideration is that the beam moves continually and so the changing length has to be taken into account throughout the entire cutting process. It can be done by collimation or the alignment of the optics or by utilizing a capacitive height control system that is able to make required adjustments.

Hybrid

As the name implies, hybrid laser cutters provide the best of the two previous beam movements. They have a laser head that moves on one axis and a material handling table that moves on another axis. As such, laser cutting in Ontario that employs this kind of configuration delivers more consistent beam delivery, better capacity per wattage, and decreased power loss compared to other laser machine configurations.