new laser vs. old laser

[fab3]

This is just a curious question I have. Is the edge quality better on a newer laser compared to an old one? For example, is a well tuned resonator from the late eighties going to produce a cut as nice as a good resonator from lets say the early 2000's, or are they one in the same? Any comments are appreciated.

 

[Foostrap]

On a Fanuc resonator, the cut quality will be better on newer resonators. They have made a lot of improvements over the years to the beam quality and stability resulting in smoother cuts on the most recent resonators. On the machine builder side (at least LVD as that’s my experience), improvements have also been made to get better cut quality (new application features, new parameters, better beam delivery system, higher speeds, ...).
That being said, you can still get a good cut on an old and well maintained machine.
I cannot comment for other resonator manufacturers or machine builders, but I would assume similar improvements have been made over the years.

 

[HenryRollins]

If you purchase a used machine, try to get a record of what service has been done by the manufacturer over the past 2 years.
-HR

 

[krugtech]

Depends on what you're planning on cutting.

Chris Krug

http://krugtech.com/

Maximum Up-time, Minimum BS