Peter T
Established Member
Sorry but lasers are not, IMHO, used for sharpening.
Industrial lasers have a great many uses but sharpening is not one of them. I did find a video on YouTube that showed the whole Swann Morton production line for disposable scalpel blades and that clearly showed the edge being ground.
I have seen laser hardening of thin plate dies, but this is done to harden an already sharp edge.
I wonder if the confusion stems from the term "Laser Scalpel". This device is not a cutting blade as such but is a laser device that's used to perform scalpel like cuts. This uses the focussed beam from a CO2 laser. The beam is delivered by means of an articulated arm which is manipulated by the surgeon to make the incisions.
The use of lasers in the operating theatre is not without its hazards. There was at least one reported case where the surgeon forgot to turn off the laser after making an incision and set fire to the operating table!
Industrial lasers have a great many uses but sharpening is not one of them. I did find a video on YouTube that showed the whole Swann Morton production line for disposable scalpel blades and that clearly showed the edge being ground.
I have seen laser hardening of thin plate dies, but this is done to harden an already sharp edge.
I wonder if the confusion stems from the term "Laser Scalpel". This device is not a cutting blade as such but is a laser device that's used to perform scalpel like cuts. This uses the focussed beam from a CO2 laser. The beam is delivered by means of an articulated arm which is manipulated by the surgeon to make the incisions.
The use of lasers in the operating theatre is not without its hazards. There was at least one reported case where the surgeon forgot to turn off the laser after making an incision and set fire to the operating table!
