1. Vaporization Cutting.
In laser vaporization cutting, the material surface temperature rises to its boiling point so rapidly that melting due to heat conduction is avoided. Some material vaporizes and disappears, while the rest is ejected as extrusion from the bottom of the kerf by the auxiliary gas flow. This requires very high laser power.
2. Melting Cutting.
In laser melting cutting, the workpiece is locally melted, and the molten material is ejected by a gas flow. Because the material transfer only occurs in its liquid state, this process is called laser melting cutting.
3. Oxidation Melting Cutting (Laser Flame Cutting).
Melting cutting generally uses inert gases. If oxygen or other reactive gases are used instead, the material is ignited under laser beam irradiation, undergoing a vigorous chemical reaction with oxygen to generate another heat source, further heating the material. This is called oxidation melting cutting.
4. Controlled Fracture Cutting.
For brittle materials easily damaged by heat, high-speed, controlled cutting using laser beam heating is called controlled fracture cutting. The main process of this cutting method is as follows: a laser beam heats a small area of brittle material, causing a large thermal gradient and severe mechanical deformation in that area, leading to the formation of cracks in the material. As long as a uniform heating gradient is maintained, the laser beam can guide the cracks to form in any desired direction.