¶ Use handheld cutting mode
The beam does not stop being dangerous when it gets through the sheet. Plan what is behind the cut as well as the reflections and sparks in front. All of it belongs inside the controlled laser area.
Danger: Provide a suitable beam termination
Do not cut toward a wall, floor, person, cylinder, cable, window, or unknown backing. Use a non-combustible support and beam-management arrangement designed for the actual wavelength and power. Thin metal becoming penetrated does not make the beam harmless.
¶ Setup
- Complete the handheld conversion under isolation.
- Identify clean, uncoated material and thickness; assess the fume/fire hazard.
- Remove combustible debris and establish barriers/PPE/access control.
- Provide local extraction that captures fumes without creating an unstable workpiece.
- Fit the correct clean cutting tip/nozzle and confirm the protective window is undamaged.
- Connect the specified assist gas through compatible rated hardware and verify stable delivery.
- Attach any required work/contact clamp to clean metal in the documented configuration.
- Select handheld cutting mode and a verified baseline for the actual source and material.
¶ Controlled test
Clamp a short representative coupon so the offcut cannot fall onto a hose or person. Plan the line, body position, cable route, transmitted-beam zone, and stop point. Keep the head at the specified geometry and maintain a steady travel direction. Trigger only after the tip/contact/safety state is correct; release before changing position.
Afterward, isolate or place the system in its documented safe state before examining the kerf. Use tools suitable for hot, sharp metal.
¶ Diagnose without guessing
- No penetration: confirm correct mode/source/process, head/tip, focus/stand-off, gas, clean optics, material thickness, and actual output before adding energy.
- Large ragged kerf: check travel consistency, tip condition/geometry, gas, focus, and excessive heat input.
- Cut starts then stops: check contact/work clamp, trigger, gas stability, source/chiller alarms, cable/connector movement, and protective-window condition.
- Sparks or beam toward the operator: stop immediately and redesign direction, support, and beam termination.
If the table can do the job more predictably and keep the beam enclosed, use the table. Taking the head off just because you can is not an improvement.
¶ Official Gweike video
This is Gweike's own walkthrough. Keep the checks above, watch the sequence, then prove the result on your machine.
- 14. Handheld Cutting
- Full playlist: Gweike M-Series official videos
¶ Official Gweike walkthrough
Handheld cut: power down, remove the wire kit, fit the cutting nozzle, set the documented air/assist starting pressure, ground the conductive table, set scan width to 0, manual wire mode off, start at the sheet edge so a pierce blowout is in scrap.