At Subcon Laser, we love to keep up with the latest news and trends within the laser cutting industry. One of the best ways to do this, we think, is to read plenty of blogs on the subject. Blogs are a fantastic way of gaining a personal opinion on the latest sector issues. Sometimes, onsite content can be informative but it lacks any personal feeling. This is why blogs are so important: they are created by individuals who are passionate about their sector and spend the time researching their topic.
There are many blogs out there which specialise in laser cutting. Some focus on news within the industry, others look at design created by laser cutting, but each one is unique and fantastically informative. As you might have guessed, we are passionate about continually improving our knowledge of the laser cutting industry. Nevertheless, you might be interested to know that not all of the blogs in this article centre around the industrial sector. We like to keep up to date with the creative and design sectors too.
So, without further ad0, here is a summary of some of our favourite blogs on the internet.
The Laser Cutting Blog
The Laser Cutting Blog is a wonderful resource for people who want to talk about the technology, applications, and processes involved in laser cutting. The blog is produced by LasX Industries, a firm specialising in laser cutting, and was created to encourage inter-corporate conversation on many of the most important topics within various industries. Amongst others, this includes laser cutting in theC packaging, electronic, medical, and graphic arts sectors.
The overall purpose of the Laser Cutting Blog is to give readers a greater depth of understanding regarding the various news events of that week. This includes discussion on the latest technological appliances which companies can use to improve their laser cutting process. LasX Industries is a company which specialises in manufacturing and designing laser cutting technology, so you know that they know their stuff. Throughout their blogs, the LasX writers try to use their keen expertise to give practical and useful advice to their readers.
Amongst others, the Laser Cutting Blog covers a range of topics which can be useful for people within the laser cutting industry and beyond. Writing, on average, 2-3 entries per month, the Laser Cutting Blog discusses some of the main events and news articles over the past few weeks. For example, in January 2014, the website wrote an interesting blog on the recent Converters Expo. In the following month, moreover, the Laser Cutting Blog did a fantastic entry on the top 5 laser cutting designs of all time. This blog was written in celebration of Valentines day and offered a delightful yet informative summary of the most incredible designs created by laser technology.
The Laser Cutting Blog is a good option for people who want to keep up to date with the latest goings on the laser cutting industry. The only downside, however, is that they don’t always update their website as much as one might like. Moreover, it would be great to see some longer content from the experts at LasX. Nevertheless, we are big fans of this blog and we check it regularly to learn about the latest developments in our sector.
The CNC Blog
For those of you that are fascinated by laser cutting in the industrial sector, like us, then you’ll love the CNC blog. Created by ESAB cutting systems, a leading manufacturer of laser cutting equipment, the blog is a real must-read. They cater to a wide range of audiences; from people who are beginners (‘How does laser cutting work?’) to the experts (‘How to troubleshoot Plasma Cut Quality’), there really is something for everyone.
The great thing about the ESAB blog is that the website is divided into useful categories surrounding different types of laser cutting. This includes oxy-fuel cutting, waterjet cutting, and laser cutting. In addition to this, many of the blogs have been inspired by questions and queries from colleagues within the industry. This means that the CNC blog is one of the few blogs catered specifically towards professionals in the laser cutting industry. For this reason, many of these blogs are very technical and represent a niche part of the sector.
For our own interests, there have been several blogs by the CNC which we’ve found especially interesting. Topics such as ‘What is the best way to cut steel plate?’ are a fantastic way to introduce complex themes in an accessible way. We think this type of blogging is very important because it appeals to people who aren’t just in the laser cutting industry. It’s something that even our customers can access and build up a knowledge upon.
Like the Laser Cutting Blog, however, we’d love to see more from the CNC blog. They typically produce one blog per week but they have been somewhat slower recently. Nevertheless, the CNC blog is a fantastic way to gain a general technological understanding of the main methods/processes in laser cutting.
Cut Laser Cut Blog
While our main interest here at Subcon Laser is blogs about industrial cutting, there are many useful blogs out there for laser cutting the creative and design sectors. One of the most engaging, moreover, is the Cut Laser Cut blog which focuses on laser cutting and engraving. This is especially interesting because it really showcases the variety of materials that can be altered through laser cutting. We couldn’t call ourselves in laser cutting if we didn’t keep up with these things, after all.
The Cut Laser Cut blog is a great resource for finding out about how the fashion and artistic industry utilises lasers in their designs. In the past, this blog has written about some fascinating examples, such as jewellery and shoes, which have been created using lasers. However, their most recent blog explores the use of lasers by artists who create primarily with paper. Myriam Dion, for instance, has utilised lasers to create wonderfully intricate patterns and images for her paper art. Examples like this really demonstrate how flexible lasers are. Interestingly for us, they also prove that laser cutting doesn’t have to be a harsh industrial process. It can also be creative and incredibly delicate work.
Like the other blogs in this entry, however, we would love to see more from the writers at Cut Laser Cut. As technology continues to develop at an incredible rate, it’s becoming easier and more accessible for designers to incorporate laser cutting into their work.
The University of Minnesota: Department of Art blog
The University of Minesota has is a good example of a blog which is focussed on giving laser cutting advice to entrepreneus and designers. Although not based in the UK, the Art Department blog is particularly useful to aspiring designers because it has been partly inspired by the courses available and designs created within the University. From clothing, to graphic design, and laser-cut kitchen appliances; this blog has been designed to encourage young people to explore the creative options of laser cutting in their work. Although this is not something we specialise in, we are always interested in learning more about the potentials of laser cutting more generally.
The most useful aspect of this blog is that it’s not just pretty, it’s also incredibly informative. Amongst the categories, there is a section of video demonstrations which shows people how to use laser cutters in a safe environment. Additionally, there is also a vast array of project photographs from students and staff who have used laser cutters in their work. They are particularly interesting because they document the step by step process; including lots of photographs along the way. These blog entries also give readers several tips and tricks to improve their own work.
We think this is a fantastic blog because it showcases the up and coming talent within the laser cutting industry. In addition to this, we believe that students often come up with the most interesting and creative uses of laser cutting. A great example of this is the Anthony R. Kling blog which looks at some fantastic examples of laser cutting using clothing, wood, and acrylic.
The Chelsea Workbench blog
Based in Chelsea, London, this blog is another good example of how laser cutting can be useful in the creative industries. Chelsea Workbench work primarily with wood and they have consistently been writing blogs on laser cutting since 2011 (something we love). This blog is based primarily around the individual projects within the company, with many photographs which detail the level of expertise involved in laser cutting with wood.
Many of the individuals who work here are students studying for a BA in Art and Design. They create a variety of pieces, all made from work, each varying in size and intricacy of the work. We really like this blog because, like the one from the University of Minnesota, it showcases all of the incredible talent in the industry. The technology that the students use is some of the most cutting edge equipment on the market. For this reason, the students here are all very knowledgeable within their respective interests.
More than anything else, we are excited to see about the interesting things that people can do with lasers while designing with wood. As the students are currently studying for their BA, it’s interesting to see how their projects evolve and how they utilise laser technology to create their designs.
The 5 Best Blogs about Laser Cutting
We are fascinated by keeping up to date with the latest news and technological developments within the laser cutting industry. This is a particularly exciting time for our sector, and we are passionate about investing time and energy into learning as much as we can.
While we genuinely enjoy all of the blogs in this article (and consider them to be some of the best), we would still love to see more blogs dedicated to laser cutting. As you can see, there aren’t many blogs dedicated specifically to industrial laser cutting. This is something we find disappointing; after all, laser cutting doesn’t have to involve design to be interesting. Every day, as technology continues to develop, there are more advancements and news updates which made laser cutting one of the most exciting industries out there.
In the future, we would really enjoy seeing more blogs on the technical aspects of laser cutting. Many of our clients are interesting in learning more about the laser cutting process itself; so there’s definitely a gap in this market for laser bloggers. Moreover, it would be great to see more blogs about the different equipment which is being used in industrial laser cutting. Before you write this off as somewhat boring, we are passionate about keeping up to date with the latest developments.
Altogether, we hope that several of the blogs on the list will continue to produce content and update their blogs. We think it’s so important for businesses to continually produce blogs and we are passionate about doing so ourselves.
What do you think? Are there any blogs that we’ve crucially missed out? Alternatively, do you think there needs to be more blogs dedicated to industrial-level laser cutting? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think!
