Carbon fiber, which is also known as Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer or CFRP, consists of long strands of carbon reinforcing material, typically woven together to form a fabric and then bound together by a polymer matrix material. Laser cutting carbon fiber can be done with either a CO₂ laser or a fiber laser, but the highest quality cut is achieved when using MultiWave Hybrid™ technology, which combines a 10.6 micron wavelength CO₂ laser beam and a 1.06 micron fiber laser beam into a single hybrid laser beam. The Multiwave Hybrid laser beam enables the fiber laser to cut through the carbon reinforcing material, while the CO₂ laser removes the polymer matrix material. Laser cutting carbon fiber is beneficial because it reduces edge damage compared to the traditional method of mechanical cutting.

• SAMPE publication on “Cutting Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Using Multiple Laser Wavelengths”