Laser Cutting Sheet Metal: Steps Following The Laser Cutting For Specific Edge And Decorative Styles

Posted on: 29 December 2018

Laser cutting for sheet metal produces very sharp and precise edges. What you do with these edges after the metal has been cut is up to you and up to the customer. Here are just a few of the steps following the laser cutting to create specific edge and decorative styles. 

Grinding

​If the customer has asked for sheet metal to be transformed into lightweight blades, you grind the edges of the cut pieces until a hair-thin sharp edge appears on each piece of metal intended to become a knife.​ ​If the blade is to be beveled and sharp on both sides, then the cut pieces are ground to a thin edge on both sides. 

Heat-Tempered

​Maybe the customer wants his/her products to be very strong. After cutting the items out of sheet metal with a laser, the items can be heat-tempered. Placing the items in a forge until they are red-hot and then flash-cooling them in a cold pool of water does the trick. The process may be repeated to achieve maximum tensile strength in the metal products.

Oiled and Fired

​Oiling metal and then firing it puts a beautiful finish on the metal. The finish becomes most prominent along the laser-cut edges where the tiny metal fibers left behind from the laser glow, melt, and dance into the metal after the oiled product is lit on fire. There are a few other finishes that really add some dazzle to the metal as well, but this one really emphasizes the precise beauty of the laser cutting.

Laser Etching

​This is laser cutting at its most finest. Either before or after the objects are laser-cut from metal, the CNC laser machine is programmed to laser-etch into the metal. What happens here is that the laser's power is turned down just a little bit, and then the laser lightly cuts and carves designs or lettering and numbers into the metal objects. It is an especially useful tool when manufacturers want to leave their trademarks on the items they create. An example of this is creating jewelry tags marked with company-specific initials, gold or silver purity contents, and/or trademark symbols. 

More Customization on Orders

The best thing about laser CNC machines is that they can handle practically any customization a customer orders. The machine can programmed to cut light, deep, or anywhere in between. A little creativity and ingenuity in this process goes a long way.

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