BALTEK® in laser test

Laser cutting of balsa core material

BALTEK^® is a structural core material made of balsa wood, which is used in a sandwich structure. Thanks to end-grain balsa, BALTEK^® is very low weight and high strength at the same time. Moreover, the honeycomb-like cell structure gives this core material optimal physical properties. The BALTEK^®product portfolio is continually further developed by 3A Composites Core Material (Airex AG). eurolaser took a close look at one of BALTEK^® products, BALTEK^®SB.100, and tested it for its suitability for laser cutting in its own application laboratory.

Benefits of cutting BALTEK® SB.100 with CO₂ lasers:

No chippings – so no cleaning of area around the machine necessary
Laser cutting of extremely fine, virtually radius-free contours
No clamping or fixing of the wooden panels necessary

Less breakage and waste because laser cutting is a contactless process
No tool wear – consistently high cutting quality
High level of precision and repeat accuracy during laser cutting

Properties of BALTEK® SB.100

Very high specific stiffness and rigidity
Good reaction to fire
Ecological product
Seamless traceability and high-quality wood through strict process controls

Very wide operating temperature range from -212°C to +163°C
Excellent fatigue and impact resistance
Good sound absorption and thermal insulation
Excellent chemical resistance

Burr-free edges – no post-processing necessary

Fields of application of BALTEK® SB.100

BALTEK^® SB.100 is used in many different areas as core material with a sandwich structure. For example, it is installed in bulkhead partitions in the maritime and aviation industries. In wind turbines, the balsa core material can be found in the rotor blades, whereas it is used for housing, for example, in industrial components.

The processing tests at eurolaser demonstrated that BALTEK^® SB.100 can be cut and engraved perfectly with our CO₂ laser systems. Outstanding results can be achieved with our laser systems even with a material thicknesses of 25.5 mm. The tests were carried out on our XL-1600 laser system with 400 Watt.

On request we will send you a detailed report of the BALTEK^® SB.100 laser cutting test.