I just did a job where I needed to cut some pockets, which were fairly small and intricate shapes out of a thin (.019 type: 3003-h14) sheet of aluminum. It went fairly well but I couldn’t cut some of the smaller details. I just received my 44 watt laser and was wondering if I could re-cut the job with my laser? Is that an impossibility? I’m new to lasers so would love to know if anyone has had any luck cutting aluminum with a more powerful laser. Thanks.
In general, it is not a good idea to attempt to cut highly reflective non-ferrous materials like brass and aluminum on a diode or CO2 laser. The beam reflects off the surface - which is a health risk (eye damage), fire hazard, and can actually reflect back up in to the lens system of the laser and damage it. There are coatings you can put on the metal - MoS2 and Cermark are examples - and then engrave or even cut thin materials in some cases.