Laser cutting machines are exceptionally powerful machines that can drive efficiency, quality, and profits for your business, but they are also dangerous heavy equipment. That’s why it’s important to follow laser cutter safety tips to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you before, during, and after the operation.
Accurl values precision, efficiency, power, and innovation, but above all we value your safety. That’s why we put together these laser cutting safety guidelines to follow when using one of our world-class laser-cutting machines, or any other machine.
Laser Cutter Safety Tips
When it comes to laser cutter safety, you must consider protective equipment, operational guidelines, common risks, and maintenance, but there are also some basic safety tips to follow as well. These are the top 10 safety tips you must follow when operating a laser cutting machine.
1. Ensure Proper Training
No one should attempt to operate a laser cutting machine without proper and thorough training. This not only ensures safety for all operators, but also promotes better laser cutting results, less waste materials, and reduced wear and tear on the machine.
Accurl can provide training when you purchase one of our machines like our groundbreaking, high-performance compact laser cutting SMART Cube. That means your team is properly trained, without you wasting time, resources, or money on third-party training.
2. Wear Protective Gear
One of the essential safety tips for laser-cutting machines is to wear protective equipment for laser cutting. That includes laser safety glasses designed to match the laser wavelength of your specific machine, thereby protecting your eyes from damage.
All operators should also wear heat-resistant gloves, protective fire-retardant clothing, and all PPE as required by the owner, company, or manufacturer.
Additionally, depending on the machine and material, you should be equipped with a respirator or N95 mask. Finally, if the machine you use is loud, then it’s also smart to wear hearing protection.
3. Use Machine Safety Features
When deciding on a laser cutting machine, some key features to look for include cutting speed, laser type, CNC controls, and material type and thickness. However, other key features you’ll want to be aware of are the safety features.
More importantly, operators should be aware of these safety features like automatic shutoffs, emergency stops, warnings, and more to ensure they are fully protective. You should NEVER try to circumvent or ignore these built-in safety features. Doing so could lead to injury or even death.
4. Maintain Your Machine
Proper maintenance and cleaning can ensure safety as well as high performance. Some essential maintenance practices that can extend the lifespan of your laser-cutting machine and ensure operator safety include:
- Vacuum the cutting deck and internal cavity of the laser cutter regularly, to prevent fires
- Lubricate often to ensure smooth moving parts, reducing wear and tear and preventing damage or workplace accidents
- Clean exhaust fan & nozzles regularly to prevent fires, poor ventilation, and other hazards
- Keep a logbook detailing who used the laser cutter, what materials were cut, and when they used it as well as when the laser cutting machine was last cleaned.
5. Be Aware of Major Risks & Hazards
When operating a laser cutting machine, there are some major and minor risks that every operator should be aware of in order to reduce the likelihood of an accident or injury.
Here are some of the top risks that come with industrial laser cutting:
- Eye Damage: Looking at the laser beam with the naked eye can damage the retina, causing temporary or permanent vision impairment.
- Fire: Laser machines run very hot, and using one incorrectly can lead to fires
- Toxic Fumes: Depending on the type of laser as well as the type of material you’re cutting, toxic fumes can be released during operation, potentially contributing to serious internal injuries.
6. Never Leave a Machine Unattended During Operation
One of the first and most important tips for how to safely use a laser cutter is to never leave the machine unattended while it is cutting. Safe laser cutter operation requires a worker there at all times, even if it has cut thousands of materials without incident.
That’s because a fire could occur in an instant, or the laser could damage the material. If this happens under supervision, chances are that it would be a minor incident, but without an operator, it could lead to large-scale fire damage throughout the building.
7. Cut in Ventilated Area
Ventilation is another one of the more important laser cutter safety tips. This starts with universal laser cutting safety guidelines including exhaustion through approved ductwork on the outside of the building and correctly installed exhaust systems.
Even with proper exhaust systems, having a well-ventilated area is a good idea to avoid the build-up of toxic fumes, mico-debris, and other potential airborne hazards.
8. Be Careful with Material Handling
Before and after safe laser cutter operation, you and your team will have the handle the material. This should be done carefully as there could be sharp edges. Additionally, for all heavy equipment, proper braces & best lifting practices should always be followed.
Remember that immediately after the cutting process, the material will be extremely hot. That’s why you should also wait before removal and use protective equipment for laser cutting.
9. Have a Fire Extinguisher Handy
A fire extinguisher should always be mounted near the laser cutter. Fire is always a risk, so being prepared with an extinguisher ensures that any flames can be quickly put out before any damage or injury occurs.
Our experts at Accurl recommend having the fire extinguisher close enough that it can be safely and easily grabbed and utilized within 5 seconds.
10. Be Prepared at All Times
Accidents happen even when you follow laser cutter safety tips for how to safely use a laser cutter. That’s why you and your team should always be prepared with back-up plans, yearly safety training, proper maintenance practices, and more.
For example, do you and you team know what to do in case of a fire? If not, they should. The same goes for what to do if someone is injured, has eye damage, breathes in toxic fumes, or undergoes any injury in the workplace.
Conclusion
Now that you know the most important laser cutting safety guidelines including protective equipment for laser cutting, safe laser cutter operation, and essential safety tips for laser cutting machines, it’s time to put them into practice.
Additionally, if you need help with your laser cutting machine, want to upgrade to a more powerful, faster, and precise model, or need Accurl to train your team to use one of our machines, we’re here to help.
