Thorsten Frauenpreiss

Laser beam sources with higher output powers and improved beam qualities have expanded the range of laser applications. Most system's lasers have power higher than 2 kW. Higher power does not always increase the speed, however. Increasing the power during thermal cutting value may cause increased heat-affected zones on the material and place higher demands on the motion system, thus limiting the cutting speed. A new patented cutting machine, the diffusion-cooled CO₂ slab laser, may offer improved beam quality and smaller focus diameters under conditions comparable to conventional fast-axial-flow CO₂ laser with 4-kW output power.