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Kerf
The width of material removed by the laser beam during cutting. Kerf width is a function of beam spot size and material type, typically ranging from 0.004 to 0.020 inches. Kerf must be compensated for in part programming to maintain dimensional accuracy.
The kerf is simply the slit your laser beam creates by melting material away, and its width is determined by the focused laser beam's spot diameter plus the lateral movement of material at the edges as it melts and flows. A typical kerf ranges from 0.004 inches on thin sheet cut with tight beam focus to 0.020 inches on thick plate or with slightly defocused conditions, representing material you must account for in your part design.
When nesting multiple parts, kerf width directly determines the minimum spacing between adjacent cuts, neglect this dimension and adjacent parts will interfere or your nesting will waste material. Our CAM software compensates for kerf by offsetting cutting paths inward by half the kerf width, ensuring your finished parts maintain dimensional accuracy regardless of whether they're cut from the edge of the sheet or from interior material.
Understanding kerf is essential to getting the dimensional accuracy and yield you expect from our laser cutting services.
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