Critical Tips for Industrial and Manufacturing Professionals and Consumers

If an employee of a manufacturing business is tasked with using the facility's laser technology to cut plastic, they should take the following two safety precautions whilst carrying out their work.

1. Wear sealed safety goggles 

One of the most crucial precautions employees should take before partaking in any plastic laser cutting work is to put on a pair of sealed safety goggles. These goggles will serve two purposes. Firstly, they will prevent any plastic shards that become airborne when the laser hits the plastic from striking the wearer in the eye.

This is important to note, as these plastic shards are likely to be both very sharp and hot; as such, if they hit an employee in the eye, that individual could sustain severe corneal lacerations and burns. Secondly, they will prevent the plastic fumes that are released into the air when the plastic is being cut by the laser from entering their eyes and causing eye irritation and temporary vision impairment.

This, in turn, will ensure that the wearer does not accidentally misdirect the laser beam because their eyes are hurting and their sight has been temporarily affected by the fumes.

2. Avoid standing too close to the laser

Employees who use laser technology to cut pieces of plastic in manufacturing facilities will usually only need to programme the laser machinery and then supervise it as the laser beam cuts through the plastic.

As such, there is usually no need for the person operating the machinery to stand close to the laser beam. However, if the machinery has been malfunctioning and the laser beam has not been moving in the direction that it is supposed to, the operator may be tempted to move closer to the beam, to ensure that it is cutting through the plastic in the correct way.

It is important for employees not to do this, even if the machinery is not working in the way that it is supposed to, as standing too close to the laser beam could put them at risk of being very badly injured. It could, for example, put them at risk of being burned by the flying sparks that the laser beam creates during the cutting process. Due to the extreme heat of the laser, these sparks could cause third-degree burns.

Given this, employees should never get too close to the laser whilst it is being used to cut through a piece of plastic.