TL;DR:
Choosing between fiber and CO₂ laser engravers depends on your material needs, business goals, and desired precision. Fiber lasers excel with metals and efficiency, while CO₂ lasers are versatile across many materials. AP Lazer offers both types, including a dual system, with turnkey packages and unmatched support to grow your business.
- Fiber Lasers:
- Best for metals, some plastics, and organic materials
- High precision (0.01mm beam), speed, and energy efficiency
- Minimal maintenance and compact design
- CO₂ Lasers:
- Versatile for wood, stone, leather, paper, and some metals
- Excellent beam quality for detailed artwork
- Business Considerations:
- Choose based on materials, growth goals, and laser type
- AP Lazer offers dual fiber/CO₂ systems and full turnkey support packages
If you’re expanding your memorial or sign-making business, a laser cutter is an excellent tool addition. However, understanding the differences between fiber and CO lasers is essential before making any investments. You’ll need to understand each type of machine, your company’s niche, and your future goals before making any decisions.
Continue reading for AP Lazer’s complete guide to fiber lasers vs CO laser engravers.
Fiber Laser Engraving Machines
Fiber lasers are accurate and effective for engraving a wide range of materials. These are the lasers that companies use to engrave and cut serial numbers on stainless steel. They’re incredibly high-powered with few downsides.
Fiber lasers are most commonly used for high-speed cutting and engraving of metal. However, they also work well for plastics and organic materials.
Some of the benefits of using fiber lasers include:
- Effective for marking reflective metals (like aluminum, brass, copper, and silver) without metal coatings.
- Great for intricate detail. The incredibly focused beam of a fiber laser allows them to mark areas as small as 0.01mm.
- Higher speed and efficiency than CO lasers.
- Lower power consumption than CO lasers.
- Minimal maintenance, setup, and training are necessary.
- More compact than CO lasers.
- Produces clean, relatively smooth engravings.
CO Laser Engravers
CO2 laser cutters use a high-energy beam of carbon dioxide to make sharp, precise cuts. These laser engravers are ideal for use on a variety of materials. These laser beams use light, gas, and heat for contactless engraving and etching. The beam quality of CO laser engravers and cutters is incredibly high intensity.
CO laser cutting machines are excellent for engraving metal, stone, leather, wood, paper, and plastic. They’re ideal for cutting materials precisely or adding highly detailed artwork to multiple surfaces. However, because they differ in wavelength from fiber lasers, fiber engraving machines are often better for marking metal.
Which Laser Engraver (CO or Fiber) is Right for Your Business?
You want to choose a high-quality laser engraver to help your company grow. Apart from selecting the type of laser, you’ll also need to choose your brand. AP Lazer creates excellent lasers, as well as the world’s first dual-fiber CO2 laser machine. This dual system is the dream tool for any laser engraving business!
Each AP Lazer engraver features our signature open-architecture design. This system allows for laser engraving on surfaces of any size.
We also offer the best, most extensive tech support in the industry. We empower you to diversify your business and create priceless products instead of wasting time troubleshooting. We sell each machine in a turnkey package, with all accessories, hardware, and software included.
Take your business to the next level.
