Boardeater cuts cardboard with ease

17 Jun 2002

The world's first laser system for processing cardboard has been developed by a German engineer.

From Opto & Laser Europe

A German engineer has developed the world's first laser system for scoring and cutting cardboard. Carl Lange's Boardeater system is based on a CO₂ laser and uses a tilted mirror to direct the beam.

Boardeater in action

The system can be used for creasing, cutting, scoring or perforating cardboard for packaging applications and is designed to provide more flexibility than the steel-rule die systems traditionally used in the packaging industry.

"Changing products using a steel-rule die can take anything up to eight days," explained Lange. "With the Boardeater, it takes only a few seconds."

Lange claims that, if an appropriate material is used, the laser leaves no burn marks on the cardboard. He says that the Boardeater can process a typical carton in around 2 s.

"This makes it ideal for small-to-medium production runs," said Lange. The Boardeater is available in powers ranging from 100 to 1500 W and is made by German company Marbach, the largest manufacturer of steel-rule dies in Europe.