Which laser is most widely used for laser cutting?

The laser market feels like a maze. Choose the wrong source and every hour of production bleeds cash. I have walked that maze for years, and this guide is your shortcut to the exit.

Fiber lasers dominate modern cutting. They slice metal at record speed, save energy, and stay calibrated for years. That balance of precision, uptime, and low cost has pushed them ahead of CO₂ and diode rivals across global factories.

Most buyers still worry about edge cases, hybrid materials, and future upgrades. Read on and you will see how each laser family performs, where it fails, and how to build a roadmap that grows with your orders—without draining your budget.

Which laser is most commonly used?

The industry clings to old myths. Many teams believe CO₂ is still the default. The data, my field notes, and our quarterly sales at Kirin Laser all tell a different story.

Fiber lasers are now the most purchased, installed, and scaled laser sources for cutting worldwide. Their uptake has crossed 70 % of new metal‑cutting installations and is racing past 20 % compound annual growth.

The cost equation that pushed fiber ahead

1. Operating budget

Five‑Year Cost Driver	Fiber (6 kW)	CO₂ (6 kW)	Delta
Power (USD 0.12/kWh)	\$64 000	\$182 000	–65 %
Scheduled service1	\$12 000	\$38 000	–68 %
Consumables & optics	\$4 500	\$32 000	–86 %
Total	\$80 500	\$252 000	–68 %

A sealed Yb‑doped fiber module holds alignment for 100 000 h. By contrast, a CO₂ resonator needs purge gas, mirror cleaning, and realignment every few hundred hours. Add electricity, and the break‑even point for fiber arrives in under two years for most shifts.

2. Throughput gains²

• Absorption: 1 µm fiber wavelength couples four times better into steel than 10.6 µm CO₂ light.
• Pierce Time: Typical 6 mm stainless pierce drops from 1.4 s (CO₂) to 0.4 s (fiber).
• Feed Rate: On 3 mm aluminum, fiber outruns CO₂ by 230 %.

Each saved second compounds across thousands of nests.

3. Sustainability credit³

Global OEMs now audit Scope 2 emissions. A 60 % lower kWh per part becomes a line‑item advantage in bids. One European client landed a wind‑turbine contract largely because their fiber lines met the buyer’s carbon scorecard.

When fiber is not the answer

• Acrylic POS signage: CO₂ leaves a clear, flame‑polished edge that fiber cannot match.
• Thick MDF prototypes: Fiber chars wood and drags smoke into optics.
• Budget sub‑1 kW hobby shops: Low‑power glass CO₂ tubes still win on upfront price.

Knowing these edges keeps procurement honest.

Which laser is used for laser cutting?

“Laser cutting” is one phrase, but three beam families share the work: fiber, CO₂, and diode. Each earns its keep by matching wavelength to material absorption.

Fiber leads metal, CO₂ owns organics, and direct‑diode covers micro and niche alloys. Choosing by wavelength first—and price second—avoids 80 % of performance headaches.

Material match matrix

Material Class	Ideal Source	Typical Thickness Range	Edge Quality Need	Cut Gas
Carbon steel	Fiber4	0.5–30 mm	Oxidized OK or bright	O₂ / N₂
Stainless, aluminum	Fiber	0.3–25 mm	Bright, oxide‑free	N₂
Brass, copper	Fiber (IPG green option if thick)	0.3–12 mm	Bright	N₂
Acrylic & PMMA	CO₂5	1–25 mm	Flame‑polished clear	Air
Birch plywood	CO₂	1–18 mm	Smooth, minimal char	Air
Lithium foil, Kapton	Blue/UV diode	0.02–0.2 mm	Micro kerf ≤ 40 µm	Air

Why “one size fits all” fails

Beam‑material physics

• Reflectivity: Metals reflect up to 95 % of long‑wave CO₂ light, risking back‑flash that cracks ZnSe lenses.
• Photon energy: Shorter‑wave fiber photons break metal bonds with less heat spread, shrinking the heat‑affected zone.
• Thermal diffusion: Wood and acrylic burn when fiber’s peak intensity meets their low ablation threshold.

Gas dynamics

CO₂ beams often rely on assist air because edges self‑polish. Fiber needs N₂⁶ or O₂ to eject molten metal cleanly. The wrong gas multiplies burr height and dross.

I still recall a guitar‑body maker who purchased a 4 kW fiber because the brochure said “all materials.” We spent a day showing why their maple blanks charred beyond salvage, then swapped in a 200 W sealed CO₂ head that left buttery edges at half the feed. Lesson: wavelength first, watt second.

Is a CO₂ or diode laser better?

Buyers frame this as a duel, yet the two rarely compete on the same battlefield. Each shines only when its core strengths align with the job spec.

CO₂ lasers excel in wide‑area, mid‑to‑high power scanning of organics. Direct diodes shine in compact, high‑efficiency printing, micro‑cutting, and emerging additive markets where every watt counts.

Factor‑by‑factor breakdown

Optical efficiency and footprint

Metric	CO₂ RF 300 W	Direct Diode 300 W
Wall‑plug efficiency7	~10 %	40–55 %
Cooling	Water, 18 °C	Fan or TEC
Footprint (source only)	0.6 m²	0.15 m²
Alignment mirrors	3+	0–1

Diodes shrink into OEM kiosks and mobile repair units where floor space is gold.

Beam quality and symmetry⁸

CO₂’s gas resonator outputs near‑perfect Gaussian TEM₀₀ below 2 kW, widening as power rises. Diodes start with a rectangular fast‑slow axis. Fiber coupling can round it, but at added cost.

Application	Winner	Technical Rationale
3D acrylic signage	CO₂	Smooth edge, Gaussian spot
Fine copper busbar trimming	Diode	High absorption at 450 nm, low HAZ
1 mm Ti medical stent cutting	Diode (fiber‑coupled)	Micro kerf, 10 µs pulse shaping
15 mm pine furniture panels	CO₂	Thick organics, large spot benefit

Maintenance profiles⁹

• CO₂ RF metal tube: 20 000 h life; mirror cleaning every 250 h; window swaps yearly.
• Glass CO₂ tube: 6 000 h life; gas refill required; fragile.
• Diode stacks: 30 000 h mean life; fans scrub easy; no resonator optics.

I helped a PCB plant switch from glass CO₂ to a 100 W blue diode for FR‑4 depaneling. We cut maintenance visits from six per year to one checkup every 18 months. The savings covered the new head in fourteen months.

What is the most common industrial laser?

We track cutting, welding, marking, cleaning, and cladding. The data converge on one conclusion.

Solid‑state fiber lasers form the backbone of industrial photonics today. Their modular design scales from 20 W markers to 40 kW plate cutters, letting OEMs like Kirin reuse the same seed‑source architecture for diverse tools.

Deeper dive: modular economics

Power ladder

Module Count	Power Output	Primary End Use
1	20–200 W	Date coding, micro‑weld
2–4	500 W–2 kW	Thin sheet cutting, battery tab weld
8‑12	4–6 kW	General fab, robot welding
20+	10–40 kW	Shipyard plate, offshore wind tower

A single pump‑block SKU feeds all rungs. Inventory risk drops and volume pricing improves.

Uptime analytics¹⁰

Our remote optic sensors watch back‑reflection and pump current. Predictive alerts now flag 90 % of faults a week before failure. Field swaps take under 30 min; older CO₂ tubes demanded half‑day rebuilds.

Integration case study

In 2024 I guided a farm‑equipment OEM through a full upgrade:

Line Item	Before (CO₂)	After (Fiber)
Machines in cell	6 × 4 kW	4 × 6 kW
Avg kWh per ton steel	580	270
Annual uptime	82 %	96 %
Scrap rate	3.8 %	1.1 %
ROI period11	—	20 months

The CFO first balked at capex, but energy rebates plus scrap savings sealed the deal. Today they quote new contracts 14 % lower than regional rivals.

When fiber faces limits¹²

• Highly transparent polymers: Absorb poorly at 1 µm; CO₂ or UV excels.
• Glass micro‑drilling: UV excimer still rules.
• Extreme surface roughness: Fiber’s smaller spot can lose focal tolerance; CO₂ with larger depth of field wins.

Knowing these boundaries keeps my sales team honest and my clients loyal.

Conclusion

Laser selection is not a battle of brand hype but a math‑and‑material exercise. Fiber lasers¹³ sit on top because the physics, cost curves, and uptime math all favor them for metal. CO₂ retains a solid niche in organics and thick acrylic art. Diodes break ground in micro and energy‑sensitive niches. Match wavelength to absorption, mind the full five‑year cost, and the best tool becomes obvious. At Kirin Laser I turn that match into machines that cut cleaner, ship sooner, and keep partners ahead of change.