Hobby diode lasers do not cut sheet metal. They can mark anodised or coated metal, and some makers describe marking bare stainless steel under specific settings or with marking sprays. Cutting metal is the work of fibre lasers and industrial machines.
Metal reflects and conducts heat away quickly, and that is why hobby lasers treat it so differently from wood.
What diode lasers can do on metal
Anodised aluminium: the coloured layer is removed, revealing bright metal. Painted or coated metal: the coating is removed. Bare stainless steel: some makers describe a surface mark at slow speeds; results depend on power and settings. Marking sprays: a coating fused onto the surface.
Why diode lasers cannot cut metal
Metal reflects much of a diode laser’s wavelength and spreads heat away. The power reaching a small spot is far below what melting through sheet metal requires.
The machines for metal marking and cutting
Fibre laser markers engrave and colour-mark metals, and industrial fibre cutting machines cut sheet metal; neither is listed on this site.
Reading metal claims on laser listings
A diode laser listing that mentions metal usually means marking. The maker’s published materials list and example settings say which metals and finishes it covers.
If this page and the manufacturer’s manual disagree, follow the manual. Every laser power, speed, build volume, resolution, temperature and safety rating on this page is taken from the maker’s own documentation, with its unit as published and its source named — none of it is measured here. A figure is written the way the maker states it and is not converted into another convention, because the converted value would be a different number. And the point repeated rather than assumed: a laser module’s electrical power and its optical power are two different figures. The first is what the module draws; the second is what leaves the lens and reaches the material, and it is smaller. This page says which figure the maker publishes and never presents one as the other.
Questions makers ask before buying
What is a marking spray?
A coating applied before engraving that bonds to the metal under the laser, leaving a dark mark after the excess is washed off. Spray makers describe the process and the ventilation it needs.
Can a fibre laser marker cut metal?
Fibre laser markers mark and engrave metal; cutting sheet metal needs far more power than a desktop marker provides.
Last reviewed 15 September 2026