As design tolerances for parts made from flat metal sheets become ever tighter, the need for precision laser cutting services increases. If clean, accurate cuts are required when working with flat metal sheets, a flatbed laser cutting machine is normally the weapon of choice. For companies operating in Australian manufacturing, production and fabrication industries, flatbed laser cutting services are fortunately quite easy to find: reputable service providers offer a range of services at competitive prices. If you would like to explore the possibility of using these services but are not sure what materials can be cut using a flatbed laser cutter, we invite you to continue reading. Today, we are taking an in-depth look at flatbed laser cutting capabilities, so any information you need can be found right here.

What is Flatbed Laser Cutting

To ensure that we are all on the same page, it’s good to start with a concise definition of a flatbed laser cutting machine:

A flatbed laser cutting machine is a computer numerical control (CNC) laser cutter on a horizontal bed. The horizontal surface ensures a stable base for precision cutting of sheet metal and other materials. While it is similar in function to a CNC router, a flatbed laser is designed for thinner sheets that require very precise cuts.

What Materials Can a Flatbed Laser Cut?

While flatbed laser cutting machines are most often used to cut sheet metal, they are also an excellent choice for paper, fabrics and thinner acrylic sheets, thanks to their superior speed and precision when compared to a conventional CNC router. A flatbed laser can also be used to cut various types of hardwood and softwood, as well as some plastics. However, for plastics that give off toxic fumes when heated to melting point, a conventional router is the safest option. Conventional CNC routers are also capable of handling thicker sheets than flatbed lasers: while a flatbed laser can cut softwood and hardwood species with ease, thicker sheets must be cut with a CNC router. In the next section, our experts have provided some accurate figures for maximum sheet thickness when using our state-of-the-art 12 kW flatbed laser.

What Is the Maximum Thickness a Flatbed Laser Cutter Can Handle?

The maximum thickness a flatbed laser cutter can handle depends on the design and power rating of the machine, as well as the material being cut. Our 12kW laser cutting machine in Perth is significantly more powerful than many smaller machines on the market and can handle the following thicknesses:

  • Stainless Steel – 32 mm
  • Mild Steel – 32 mm
  • Aluminium – 32 mm
  • Brass – 15 mm
  • Copper – 10 mm

For other materials, such as plastics, timber and fabric, you are welcome to contact us to discuss the capabilities of our fibre resonator laser cutting machine.

Design and Control

For any type of CNC cutter to work, machine-readable instructions must be provided. Files with all the design information in machine-readable format are generated by specialised software applications such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks. These applications allow industrial and manufacturing design teams to safely edit files in a collaborative environment. Once each design is finished, it is then exported to a file type that CNC flatbed laser cutters like the one we operate in Perth, WA, can read natively.

Some clients provide us with finished designs ready for our laser cutter to follow, while others require design and specification assistance, which we are happy to provide. Whatever the nature and status of your latest sheet metal project in Australia, we have the in-house expertise to guide you through the journey from drawing board to finished product via precision-cut prototypes.

How a Flatbed Laser Cutter Works

A flatbed laser cutting machine with a fibre laser such as ours uses optical fibres to amplify the light emitted by a laser diode. When the amplified laser beam hits the surface of a metal sheet, the light is absorbed by the molecules in the metal. This process creates an enormous amount of heat in a very precise area, causing the metal to melt instantly.

The Advantages of Laser Cutting

While flatbed laser cutters, as noted above, are often used to cut fabrics, paper, wood and other materials, they are mostly used to process sheet metal. Whichever material you wish to process, you can look forward to the following benefits when taking advantage of professional flatbed laser cutting services:

  • Precision – Flatbed laser cutting machines with fibre resonators can achieve exceptionally clean cuts while staying within tight tolerances. If you are prototyping or producing an intricate design with sheet metal, a flatbed laser is almost certainly your best choice for cutting. Flatbed lasers can achieve such a high degree of accuracy thanks to the powerful, narrow beam emitted by the laser component. It makes cutting complex patterns a simple task, no matter how many twists and turns there may be along the way.
  • Speed – Powerful laser beams slice through all types of metals with ease, enabling production teams to increase the speed of their operations. If you are looking for a sheet metal processing solution that is virtually guaranteed to deliver significant productivity improvements, flatbed laser cutting should be the first one you consider. Whether working with aluminium, mild steel or stainless steel sheets, you can expect to see measurable improvements.
  • Consistency – Consistency is critical when fabricating sheet metal components to exceptionally tight tolerances. If consistency cannot be guaranteed, such production runs are rarely profitable. With flatbed laser cutting, you can achieve incredible consistency, making it the preferred processing solution in these cases. Unlike the blades in a CNC router, the laser beam in a flatbed laser cutter never dulls and never wears. This means a flatbed laser can make the same precise cuts hundreds of thousands of times without deviating from specifications.
  • Eco-Friendly Operation – Compared to conventional alternatives, a flatbed laser cutter is more energy efficient and therefore kinder to the environment. At a time when commercial organisations are expected to do whatever they can to lessen the impact of their activities on the natural world, a cutting solution that helps to shrink your carbon footprint should be very welcome. Flatbed laser cutters also boast lower emissions and wastage, helping to make them the sheet metal processing solution of choice for all forward-thinking manufacturing and fabrication companies in Australia.
  • Ability to Handle Complex Operations – An advanced flatbed laser cutting machine can handle a vast array of instructions and variables, making it an extremely powerful tool in the right hands. No matter how intricate the pattern, how involved the operations or how challenging the design may be, a powerful flatbed CNC laser cutter will be able to meet or exceed your expectations as far as speed, accuracy, consistency and efficiency are concerned. If you have any doubts about the ability of our flatbed laser cutter to handle the complexity of your design, contact our team for clarification.
  • Versatility – With the ability to cut through paper, fabric, softwood, hardwood, aluminium, mild steel and stainless steel with equal ease, it’s fair to say that flatbed laser cutters are very versatile machines. This makes them an attractive processing solution for companies in diverse industries and market sectors. Whatever your needs, it is highly likely that a flatbed laser can meet them more efficiently than any other sheet metal processing solution. Again, if you are not sure whether a flatbed laser cutter can meet your specific processing requirements, you are welcome to contact us for clarification.
  • Automation – Capable flatbed laser cutters can be integrated into automated production processes with ease. If reducing man hours and increasing productivity are on your list of goals this year, a flatbed laser cutting service such as ours could help you achieve them sooner than would otherwise be possible. The speed, accuracy and consistency of flatbed lasers make them ideal for automated production processes.

If you are currently processing sheet metal with another type of cutting machine or manually, we hope the above list has persuaded you to try flatbed laser cutting services in the future.

Can Flatbed Laser Cutting Be Used For Engraving As Well?

While it is theoretically possible to engrave a variety of materials with a flatbed laser cutting machine, it would not be the most efficient use of such a machine. It would also require frequent recalibrations and perhaps special attachments as well. Smaller CO2 laser cutters are more normally used for engraving applications.

Taking Advantage of Flatbed Laser Cutter Services

If you would like to take advantage of professional flatbed laser cutting services in Australia, please call or message us. At Bend Tech Group, we have a 5-axis flatbed laser cutting machine with a generous cutting area of 6 m x 2.5 m. Featuring a dynamic shuttle-table system designed to minimise downtime and powerful fibre resonator technology, it is the perfect choice when speed, accuracy and consistency are required.