laser cutter for stones (granite)

HI

thank you for help but this cutter it will bee used od field where is no lab equipmentjust power source is it posible

Do you want to cut thick stone into slabs (for example, making granite countertops) or just etch designs on them?

If you just want to etch them, it shouldn't be too hard to find a two-axis mount for a laser unit. A high end laptop should be able to run the CADD/CAM software to instruct the laser where to burn.

Now, actually cutting granite slabs with a laser- that's a problem. A high power diode laser will spall granite: http://www.industrial-lasers.com/display_article/159194/39/ARCHI/none/Feat/Laser-surface-treatment-of-dimension-stones

If you used a single-axis mount set up to simply move the laser back and forth at a set speed on a straight line, it should in theory eventually cut through a granite slab. You might need a (very small) air compressor to blow the granite chips clear of the cut as the laser works. Whether this would be fast enough to be practical, or if the tradeoff in speed would make up for the elimination of tool costs, you will need to figure out for yourself.

If the single-axis unit works to cut granite slabs, then the two-axis unit would be able to cut them into intricate shapes.

Cut?

It is possible to cut SOME stone material with some LASER machines. I read an article a while ago about using a CO₂ LASER to cut natural granite that was 10mm thick, but it required a supersonic gas jet around the LASER beam, likely to blow out the material to keep it from building up. Here is a link to the article, but if you are not already a member, it will cost you to read it.

The issue that gets in the way of things like this is the false image given to us by Science Fiction of "beams" from guns that disintegrate solid matter. No such beam exists. LASER cutters work by heating up materials to the point of melting or sublimation (changing from a solid directly to a gas without passing through a liquid stage). Rock would not likely be subject to sublimation, so you will have to deal with molten rock particles in the cutting process, hence the high pressure gas stream (it would have to be an inert gas like argon to avoid having the gas burn, i.e. you cannot use plain air). So CAN you find a LASER that will cut 10mm thick stone slabs? Yes. Will the entire system weigh only 50kg? Highly unlikely considering that you will need a source of high pressure gas to go with it.

There are portable water jet cutting systems, but again, the 50kg limit is not likely, because you need a water source, pump, filters, grit and a lot of power.

As I understand it, the laser creates heat to melt the product being cut. The pressured air, usually an inert gas, is used to blow the melt away.

There are a number of issues; I really don’t see how a laser can cut stone with the heat being applied without thermal shock to the stone.

Now waterjet I can see, and there are portable units also.

If you recall the child Jessica McClure (Midland, Texas) that fell into a well 20-30 years ago, one of the oil rigs had a portable waterjet that could be used to get to the girl, but it was turned down big if there was a fissure, it would harm the girl.

But remember: a portable waterjet requires a lot of energy.