Laser-Cutting Machines

edi leads the industry in CO₂ cutting capabilities.
We are the machining designers.
We know best how to optimize machine parameters.

We set our self apart from other cutting houses.

• Tighter Tolerances
• Quick Turn-around
• Lower Prices

Efficient Designs, Incorporated burst onto the laser-processing scene in 1993. Founded by a team of CO2 laser veterans and material scientists looking for a better way to cut alumina. While there were other people offering machines that cut metals wood plastics, no one provided a specific turnkey solution for the thriving electronics fed alumina industry. By forming key alliances, Edi developed innovative solutions to cutting alumina for industrial applications.

In addition, our Tucson, Arizona based facility is host to a world-class cutting job shop. Highly skilled technicians work diligently to meet your laser processing needs be it alumina, metals plastics, glass and most other materials. Consistent superior quality, quick turnaround and competitive prices remain our trademark.

The greatest use of industrial laser systems is in metal cutting, primarily two axes profiling of sheet goods that might otherwise have been blanked out by punch press, or fabricated by hand after laborious layout of the pattern. Currently most metal cutting falls within 0.375 inch and thinner, although C02 lasers now have the capability of being competitive with plasma arc cutting metals 0.500 inches and greater. The principal limiting factor to widespread use of laser metal cutting is manufacturing methodology. Laser cutting is ideal for batch processes, just-in-time, or low to medium volume production. Most laser cutting work is performed on generic or multipurpose material handling industrial laser systems, as opposed to dedicated automation controlled industrial systems.

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Laser light may be used to cut and score a wide variety of materials. With a laser cutting machine like this, paper and plastic can easily be scored and cut very precisely. Even plywood up to 1/4" thick can be cut on this small machine. Larger industrial machines can cut metal as well. Typically the plotting rate and power of the laser are modulated to select various levels of scoring and cutting.

This particular machine process is used primarily to create architectural models out of plastic. It has a cutting area of 3 feet by 2 feet, but larger machines have cutting areas of 8 feet by 4 feet. The major components are the gas tanks, the laser plotter itself, and the controller. These tanks provide nitrogen gas that is used to limit the burn rate when flamable materials like paper are being cut. A program on this PC reads a user's AutoCad DXF file from a floppy disk and controls the laser cutter. Profiles for the current material being cut are set by the operator here.

Scoring and multiple cutting layers are indicated by labeling the layers 1S, 2C and 3C in the input DXF file. The lines to be scored are given by the layer labeled 1S. All scoring is done before cutting is started. The width of the cuts and scores is approximately 0.009" on this machine.

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Efficient Designs, Incorporated - Links
EDI Machining, Cutting, Drilling and Scribing Services
Contact EDI
LIOA - Also Known As The: Laser Institute of America
Books Lasers

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Some content on this page excerpted from the article:
The Laser Cutting Machine
By: Paul Haeberli, Nov 1996