Laser cutting is a valuable tool for designs that require extreme accuracy and repeatability. Using computer-controlled, high-powered lasers, manufacturers can melt or vaporize materials—generally metal—to create precision components. Lasers may also be used to mark or brand existing products and components.
Laser-cut parts are integral to many industrial machines and manufactured products. Custom laser cutting services are utilized in myriad industries, including:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Healthcare
- Machine tool manufacturing
- Food and beverage
- Appliance
- Construction
- Hardware
- Recreational/hobbyists
Custom laser cutting is a versatile tool, used for many different purposes. For example:
- Automakers employ custom laser cutting to mark many of the internal car parts they produce.
- Healthcare applications use laser cutting services in the manufacturing of medical devices and to mark metallic components for traceability.
- Manufacturers use laser cutting in the construction of a variety of steel and metal stamped assemblies.
- Sporting goods use laser cutting to create shallow draw ball stencils for golfers.
Laser cut parts can be manufactured to meet highly complex and precise design standards. A wide range of materials can be laser cut, such as:
- Steel
- Stainless steel
- Aluminum
- Brass
- Copper
Military and Defense Applications
Laser cut parts are utilized by all branches of the military in a number of diverse environments, including a range of ground, air, and sea applications. For example, the process is used to create high-stress armor plating for military vehicles such as the HEMTT, HMMWV (Humvee), and the M915 tractor.
Precision metallic parts manufactured for military and defense applications must possess the ability to withstand extreme conditions without critical failure, deliver extreme real-world performance, and be fabricated on schedule and under budget. Quality military-grade laser cut parts deliver on those important demands.
The precise nature of custom laser cutting, particularly when applied to steel, ensures that the process utilizes the material in the most efficient way possible. This has the benefit of reducing downtime between tasks, lowering any risk of injury to the operators of devices and machines, minimizing the risk of flaws and failures in those components themselves, and reducing waste in the manufacturing process.
In addition, defense applications require an added layer of stringent requirements on all manufactured parts. Custom laser cutting is ideal for meeting MIL-SPEC requirements due to the high level of precision offered by the process.
Your Fabrication Solution
All of these attributes make custom laser cutting a primary process for creating the machines and parts that power efficient and effective military and defense applications. You should always choose a custom laser cutting solution that offers end-to-end services, such as product development, precision metal stamping, tooling services, and related services that add extra value such as deburring, welding, plating, and printing. Other services that enhance your custom laser cutting solution include in-house design, reverse engineering, and fast prototyping, and laser die cutting.
Resources:
- Custom Laser Cutting
- Laser Cutting Advantages & Disadvantages
- The Benefits of Laser Cutting to the Design for Manufacturing Process
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