Skills / Laser Cutting / Introduction to Laser Cutting / Laser Cutting: First Days at a Fiber or CO2 Cutter
Laser Cutting

Laser Cutting: First Days at a Fiber or CO2 Cutter

45 min read Training Guide

Fiber vs CO2 cutters, materials and thickness limits, and the operator's safety rules on the shop floor.

Table of contents

What the work looks like

Laser cutting is the most flexible and fastest sheet-metal cutting process in manufacturing. An operator loads a sheet of steel, aluminum, stainless, or brass; loads a nested CAD file; starts the cycle; and walks away while the machine cuts parts to a tolerance better than +/- 0.005 inches. Two main laser types:

  • Fiber laser: the modern standard for metal. Amada FLCS, Trumpf TruLaser Fiber, Mazak Optiplex. Cuts 1/4 to 1 inch steel depending on wattage (6 kW to 20 kW common). Faster and more efficient on thin material than CO2.
  • CO2 laser: older technology, still common in wood, acrylic, leather, and some metal. Trumpf TruLaser 3000 series, Bystronic Bystar. Mirrors and RF-excited CO2 tube.

Job titles: Laser Operator, Laser Programmer, Sheet Metal Fabricator, Fabrication Technician. Pay $20 to $35 per hour for operators, $28 to $45 for programmers (CAD/CAM, nesting, fixture design).

Safety and tools

Laser cutting produces three big hazards:

  • Eye damage: fiber lasers at 1064 nm are invisible to the eye and can cause retinal burns before you know you were hit. CO2 lasers at 10,600 nm are absorbed by the cornea (corneal burns). Every modern laser has an interlocked enclosure; the operator never looks at the beam. Safety goggles rated for your laser wavelength and optical density (OD) are required if the enclosure is ever opened during alignment.
  • Fire: fiber lasers cut with high-pressure assist gas (nitrogen for clean cuts on stainless, oxygen for thick steel). Oxygen-assisted cutting can ignite combustible material. Keep the work area clean. Know where the dry-chem extinguisher is. Never cut PVC (it releases chlorine gas that corrodes the machine and kills the operator) or galvanized steel without proper ventilation (zinc fumes cause metal-fume fever).
  • Fume exposure: stainless releases hexavalent chromium. Galvanized releases zinc oxide. Aluminum releases aluminum oxide. A proper fume extractor with HEPA filtration is required, and it is an OSHA violation to operate without one. The lower enclosure connects to a dust collector.

Operating rules:

  • Close the enclosure before starting a cut.
  • Check assist-gas pressure: nitrogen typically 230 to 360 psi for stainless, oxygen 8 to 25 psi for mild steel.
  • Check lens: a dirty lens cracks from heat. Clean or replace per the schedule.
  • Check nozzle: a crashed nozzle cuts poorly and can damage the sheet and the head.

Tools: the machine itself, assist-gas manifold, nesting and CAM software (Trumpf TruTops, Amada AP100, SigmaNest, Lantek), fume extractor, a spare lens kit, nozzle changer, caliper to verify cut width, flashlight to inspect inside the enclosure.

Your first exercise

Watch a manufacturer training video for the specific laser you will operate (Trumpf, Amada, and Mazak all have free YouTube walkthroughs). Learn: E-stop location, startup sequence, material probe (the laser head touches down to find sheet height), nozzle change, lens inspection. Those five things are 80 percent of day-one operator training.

Where to go next

Build on Laser Cutting with Precision Measurement (Introduction to Precision Measurement), Press Brake Operation (Introduction to Press Brake), Waterjet Cutting (Introduction to Waterjet Cutting), Oxy-Fuel Cutting (Introduction to Oxy-Fuel Cutting), Blueprint Reading, and CNC Machining. Safety: Laser Safety (ANSI Z136.1), Fire Safety & Prevention, Respiratory Protection, Hazardous Materials Handling.