Overview
General Description
The LasX LaserSharp Dual LPM100 and LPM250 is a laser processing system that is integrated in-line with a roll-to-roll handling system that allows roll-fed and stationary operating modes. The LMP100 is a 100W pulsed fiber laser (wavelength = 1064 nm), and the LMP250 is a 250W sealed CO2 diffusion cooled laser (wavelength = 10.6 micrometers). Either or both lasers can be used to cut, ablate, or selectively heat materials in vector, raster, or drill modes. When materials are stationary, processing is limited to the field of view for each laser. When operated in roll-to-roll mode, processing is unlimited in the material travel direction, and repeated patterns may be triggered with a photodiode and/or camera-based registration mark sensor. Alternatively, repeated patterns may be prompted after a periodic distance (precisely measured by encoder wheel) in the absence of registration marks.
A wide variety of materials may be processed using the lasers to achieve various outcomes. This includes:
- cutting shapes and patterns from rolls of plastic film or paper or from stationary plastic sheets
- selectively heating to pattern phase changes or partially melt plastics to imprint identification marks
- ablating a thin metal layer from a plastic substrate to pattern circuitry, electrodes, or other electronic devices and components
- cutting through a silicon wafer to create a hole of a desired shape at a location of interest
- cutting metallic foils is also possible in some cases
CAD or image files may be imported to define the pattern to be traced by the laser. Accepted files are JPG, PNG, BMP, PDF, DXT, and DWG. These must be converted to the RCPX files used by the LasX LightGuide software, and some files may not convert or may convert with poor fidelity. It is recommended to check the file conversion from your preferred software with a few simple features prior to making a detailed design. For vector and drill-only features, the LightGuide software may be used to draw features and create RCPX files directly.
Specifications
| Module: | LPM100 | LPM250 |
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| Field of View (mm x mm) | 169 x 169 | 270 x 270 |
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| Maximum Power (W) | 100 | 250 |
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| Power Range (W) | 10 to 100 | 25 to 250 |
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| Laser Wavelength (nm) | 1064 | 10,600 |
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| Laser Type | pulsed fiber | sealed CO2 |
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Technology Overview
Laser processing uses focused, coherent light, often of a single wavelength or tight spectral band, to heat and modify materials. Because of the spatial focusing and collimation of the laser, the energy transferred by the light beam is of high intensity at the small point where the beam contacts a material. If the material absorbs light at the wavelength or spectral range of the laser, the material will heat up at that point, often quite rapidly and dramatically. This rapid absorption of energy locally can accomplish a phase change of the material, which might also include melting locally. This could be a means to cut a material. Another way a material may be cut or ablated is by thermal expansion; in this case, the region contacting the beam heats up and expands rapidly relative to the nearby material, which remains closer to ambient temperature. The resulting thermal stress results in the heated material separating from the neighboring material. Finally, heating via the laser beam can result in a local chemical change, especially when multiple materials are present either in the sample or when the atmosphere near the sample is reactive with the sample (this includes combustion of organic or metallic samples in the presence of oxygen).
Precise shapes may be cut or rastered on a sample by programming the laser with a CAD drawing and software that precisely positions mirrors to direct the laser beam to desired positions to trace out the design. Processing is tuned to achieve the desired outcome (cutting, "marking" or partial melting, ablation, sintering, etc. Tuning parameters include laser power level and process speed (rate that the beam travels along the programmed path), as well as repeat tracing, focus offset, pulsing frequency, and line spacing and angle (in the case of rastering). For the LasX system, there are no default process settings defined; typically trial and error is used to define a process for a given material set, design, and desired outcome.
