Coherent Inc., Santa Clara, CA, says it has updated its META laser cutting platform with improved performance and greater ease-of-use.
The META platform features a unibody chassis design, a rigid single weldment that improves mechanical stability for the system, resulting in faster cutting speeds and better positioning reliability. Also, the cutting bed has been enlarged to accommodate standard European sheet sizes (1.25 × 1.25 m). The control system also has been "significantly upgraded" by changing the operator interface to an industrial-type controller: an ergonomic monitor/keyboard assembly directly mounted on the side of the chassis. All interface cables for this system are now contained within the machine assembly. There also is a new multilingual software interface with greater system automation. Other features include automatic focus, advanced capacitive height sensing, and a fully integrated machine vision system.
Configured with a 1 kW CO2 laser (such as a Coherent Diamond E-1000), the META system can process a wide range of both metals (stainless steel in thicknesses of up to 3mm, aluminum of up to 2 mm, and mild steel of up to 6 mm) and non-metals (plastics, wood, fabrics, leather, paper and thin films).