cutting mild steel with co2

[arthurvenet]

hi guys would anybody now if a 80 watt co2 laser cutter, set up correctly with pure oxygen feeding into the laser head can cut thin mild steel. maybe some one can steer me in the right direction for some information if it can be done .
thanks

[baccus61]

Can you pierce a hole without using O2 in the steel?
I reckon if you can pierce then you will probably be able to cut.
I have blown a couple of holes in my stainless steel table top with the 100 watt laser and it took about 0.5 sec to do it. (took that long to realise it and turn off the laser). I reckon the power was set to about 90% and the table top is 0.6mm martensitic stainless. (magnetic type)
If you can borrow an Oxy set from someone then it probably wouldn't hurt to try but if you are using a glass tube one then don't expect the life to be very long as you will need to run it at MAx for too long.
Kern Lasers use a 150 watt Coherent laser and they cut 1/8 mild steel with theirs but it is an RF tube and can handle the sustained power output.
Rich.

(Look up Kern lasers on youtube for a bit of fun).

[arthurvenet]

hi rich thanks for the reply, the 80 watt co2 glass tube i bought is a 4000 hours life span i have only used 5 hours on it, if i was to go ahead with it how many hours would i get out of it . is yours an rf laser? i will have look at kerns web site
thanks arthur

[maralb]

hello Bacus61, possible to speak about your tube 100W RECI and power supply?
and true that the power suppli and regulated to low voltage for giving long-life to the tube?
the power to be it originates them RECI or Compatible Power Supply
thanks

[baccus61]

Hi maralb,
Yes, the tube will not last very long if you run it at full power for a long time. The full power oxidises/tarnishes the electrodes at each end of the tube so you don't get the correct settings when you want them.
I not really sure how it all works but the life time is seriously reduced if run at full power a lot of the time.
Tim might be able to shed some light on the subject as he has been in the business a long time.
Rich

[baccus61]

Hi Arthur,

I currently have a 100 watt glass tube, long life version. I still have the 30 watt RF laser tube and I will build a smaller laser table for the wife for the shop at a later date.

I don't really know how long the laser will last. It's like, " How long is a piece of string"
If you run the laser at 50% power for most of the time then you will probably get 6000-8000 hours out of it.
Some people on other forums have had nearly twice the life from their tubes and still going strong but at a reduced power and others, like me, had only several hours on them.

The tube I originally had was in storage for 8 months before I got to use it and it was almost depleted when I installed it. Apparently the epoxy resin out-gasses inside the tube contaminating the pure gasses. It's only Helium, Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide.

Also the epoxy might leak a small amount and because the tubes have negative pressure they suck in some air which can also contaminate the tube.

Rich.

[maralb]

Hi Rick,
to have a tube 100W RECI Laser
which type of power supply you have mounted?
you have had to lower the power from the regulation
thanks

[Tech_Marco]

FYI, I'm selling RECI laser tube. The tube must use a matched power supply or it may not get you full power