The fiber laser cutting machine works by focusing a beam of laser light onto a piece of material. The laser light is so high powered, that when focused, it raises the temperature of the material to be cut high enough to melt or vaporize the material, in the small area the beam is focused. Often, an assist gas is used to help push the molten material from the cut area. To cut shapes, the laser head is moved, using some form of gantry to position the beam over new material, causing a line to be cut instead of a small pinhole. The types of motion systems include rack and pinions, ball screws, and linear motors. Linear motors are most expensive, but are fastest and most accurate. Rack and pinions provide nearly the same speed and accuracy, but for a lower price. Some small hobbyist lasers might also use timing belt and stepper motors to move their laser head. In all cases, a system with serves, and encoder feedback adds greatly to machine cutting accuracy, as does a rigid frame, isolated from vibration.
