Laser cutting of glass

Traditionally, glass has been cut using a mechanical scribe and break process. This requires "scratching'' the glass with a tool such as diamond tip or cutting wheel. The glass is then mechanically broken along the scribe. "Scratching" the glass, however, causes fragmentation, edge chips, microcracks, and may generate particles on the surface. In addition, edge processing and cleaning may be required. The laser cutting technology utilizes a laser beam to apply heat to the glass. At first, the glass is heated locally by a CO2 laser beam. The next step is a defined cooling. On account of the quick heating followed by a fast cooling, tensions are caused within the glass. The consequence will be a vertical and smooth fracture along the cutting edge where the tension was induced without any edge chips or micro cracks. Owing these characteristics of the cutting edge, the mechanical strain capacity is increased considerably compared to conventional scribed and broken edges. Post processing like grinding will be reduced or will even become unnecessary. The production costs will be considerably reduced whereas the production quality will be improved simultaneously by the new laser cutting process in connection with the appropriate machines.