What are the limitations of laser cutting systems?
Laser cutting systems can make cuts as small as the laser beam diameter, which can be as little as 210 microns in high-end systems. Material limitations are sometimes an issue. Although the precise definition of thick is changing and dependent on material grade, laser cutting on thick polycarbonate substrates continues to be beyond the current systems’ capabilities because material discoloration usually occurs. If polycarbonates are too thick for laser cutting, the best technology fit is usually with the highprecision, optically registered steelrule die or hard-tool cutting systems that can de-liver high registration accuracy. For especially long runs with many hundreds of thousands of linear feet, the expenses for tooling are insignificant contributors to the overall job cost, and the delays for making tooling are easy to absorb. Tool-based cutting systems (rotary die cutters, optically registered gap presses, platen presses) will continue to be the cutting method of choice for these
