Many manufacturers have turned to laser cutting, attracted by its speed. But with gold at $4,000, this technology hides two enormous costs: metal sublimation and chronic energy inefficiency.

1. The Direct Cost: What Vaporizes, Is Lost Forever

Laser cutting is a thermal process. It uses a beam of light to melt and vaporize the metal. That metal doesn’t become recoverable dust: It’s vapor. It’s sublimated metal. And it’s lost forever.

In a CNC milling process, however, the cutting is mechanical. A tool physically removes the material, producing fine chips. This waste is not lost. It’s gold. It’s silver. And it is 100% recoverable.

When one gram of gold is worth over €120, the chips from a Faro CNC machine are not waste. They are an asset that goes back to the foundry. The dust from a laser is a pure cost.

2. The Hidden Cost: Energy Inefficiency and Reflection

Precious metals like silver and gold are notoriously highly reflective. Their surface acts like a mirror, reflecting much of the laser’s light.

Modern laser manufacturers claim to have “solved” this problem with expensive back-reflection isolators and safety systems to prevent the machine from destroying itself. But this doesn’t solve the underlying problem: reflected energy is wasted energy.

To cut, the laser must overcome this reflectivity, using massive amounts of power to force the absorption of a tiny fraction of the energy. It is a process of staggering energy inefficiency: an enormous amount of energy (kW) is spent for a job that requires far less.

CNC milling is the exact opposite. As a mechanical process, it is indifferent to reflectivity. All its energy is used for one purpose: moving a tool and cutting the material.

This is why Faro CNC machines, like the F1 and F35, are engineered for maximum efficiency: they run on a standard **single-phase 230V** power supply and have a maximum consumption of just **3 kW**. As we often mention, their energy consumption is comparable to a hairdryer.

The Winning Strategy: “Same Design, Less Metal”

With raw material and energy costs at all-time highs, the only strategy is total efficiency.

This is where Faro technology excels where the laser cannot compete:

• Energy Efficiency: Very low consumption (single-phase 3kW) versus the high power draw of lasers needed for reflective metals.
• Material Efficiency (0.15 mm): The **Faro F1** can mill, contour, and diamond-cut sheets with thicknesses down to **0.15 mm**, enabling lightweight yet high-finish pieces.
• Total Recovery: Zero sublimation. All removed material is a 100% recoverable asset.

Conclusion: Stop Paying to Waste

In the $4,000 gold era, choosing a laser means paying twice: paying to vaporize precious raw material and paying massive energy bills for an intrinsically inefficient process.

Choosing a Faro CNC solution means investing in total control: maximum material recovery and minimal energy expenditure.