Cutting Tables For CO2 Plotter Lasers

For low power (<100w) CO2 cutting lasers one element of the machine that is often overlooked and misunderstood is the worktable.

The design and type of worktable can have a significant difference on the performance of the laser machine, the working life of its components and the quality of its output.

Most systems that are commonly available on the market today will consist of one or a combination of the following worktables:

• A stainless steel plate: This type of worktable is usually found in machines designed primarily as a laser engraver. For most laser cutting applications this type of table produces very undesirable results and requires significant maintenance (cleaning) even after the smallest of jobs.
• Honeycomb table: This type of worktable is manufactured from very thin aluminium that is glued and extruded to form a honeycomb structure onto which materials are cut. The design of this table is to minimise backward reflection and to allow hot gases and particulates to pass away from the underside of the material.
• Lamella table: This type of worktable incorporates thin bars that are usually made from anodised aluminium and indicates that the system has truly been designed as a laser cutting machine.

Most users would have had experience of a honeycomb table because this is the type of table supplied by most of the major EU and US laser machine manufacturers. Such tables are not very robust as the honeycomb material was never intended to be used in this way and will quickly deteriorate by way of bending and impact damage as well as contaminating very fast.

Therefore a honeycomb table is deemed a consumable item because it cannot be cleaned or repaired and with frequent use will require replacement in a number of months if it is to perform correctly. This is not a cheap item so it is therefore no wonder why equipment manufacturers like to incorporate this table in their machines!

It is however a good solution for laser cutting textiles and similar non-rigid materials.

For laser cutting acrylic, laser cutting wood and other rigid sheet materials a lamella table is a far more robust solution. In a good machine the lamella bars are very strong, allowing materials of a greater size/thickness/weight to be laser cut and the bars can be easily and quickly cleaned. It’s therefore common for these bars to last for several years of heavy use and replacement bars are often very low cost.

For best results when laser cutting rigid materials a high performance laser fume extraction unit should be combined with a lamella table as this combination delivers the ultimate solution in almost every aspect.