Questions, answered.

Set correctly, no. Pulsed lasers remove coatings with very little heat into the part. Continuous-wave lasers put in more heat, so on thin sheet we lower power or increase speed to avoid discolouration.

Rust, mill scale, paint, powder coat, oil and grease, oxide and heat tint after welding, rubber residue in tyre moulds and carbon deposits. Results depend on coating thickness and power, so we recommend a sample test.

Neither is better in general. Pulsed is for delicate surfaces and precision; continuous-wave is for speed on heavy rust and paint. Many workshops that do both buy one of each.

No blasting media or chemicals. You replace the protective lens in the cleaning head from time to time and run fume extraction.

It depends on power, material and joint. As a rough guide, a 1500 W machine handles most stainless and carbon steel sheet up to a few millimetres in one pass; higher power extends this. Our power guide has a typical thickness table.

With good fit-up, laser seams on thin material are typically as strong as TIG seams, with less distortion. Poor fit-up or wide gaps favour TIG or MIG, or laser welding with filler wire.

Yes. Aluminium reflects more and conducts heat away faster, so it needs more power and clean surfaces. Many shops clean the joint with a laser cleaner first.

Jewelry welders deliver short, precise pulses under magnification for small precious-metal parts. Handheld fiber welders run continuously at high power to join sheet metal.

A fiber laser at 1064 nm. For black marks on anodized aluminium or colour marks on stainless steel, choose a MOPA fiber laser.

Many plastics, yes, but results vary with colour and additives. UV lasers mark a wider range of plastics with less heat and cleaner contrast.

A marker mounted over a production line that marks products while they move, synchronised with an encoder. It is used for dates, batch codes and logos on packaging, pipes and cables.

Fiber laser sources are commonly rated for tens of thousands of hours. CO2 glass tubes have a much shorter life and are replaced as a consumable; RF CO2 tubes last longer.

Carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, copper and galvanized sheet. It is not used for wood or acrylic; for those, use a CO2 laser.

Oxygen for thicker carbon steel, nitrogen for clean, oxide-free edges on stainless and aluminium, and compressed air for low-cost cutting of thin sheet.

Not practically at these power levels. It can mark coated or anodized metal; for cutting metal, use a fiber laser.

Typically up to about 10–15 mm in one pass, depending on speed and edge quality required. We can test your material.

Painted interior walls, tiles, glass, wood, canvas, metal and many boards. Textured or uneven walls reduce quality; a primer coat improves adhesion and colour.

It depends on the rail height of the model, commonly around 2 to 3.5 metres. Longer rails are available on request.