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Industry · Photonics

Laser Equipment

Ground racks, helical pinions, and high-rigidity drive components for laser cutting, marking, and welding gantries.

Laser-cutting machines live on the rack. A cumulative pitch error of 0.05 mm over 2 m means the cut head misses its target at the far end of the table — unacceptable for sheet-metal cutting and structural marking. Wolfer grinds racks after induction-hardening so the finished part holds Class 6 accuracy across long one-piece lengths.

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What we ship

Parts we make for laser equipment.

Ground gear racks

One piece up to 2 m, induction-hardened, Class 6 ground flank

Helical pinions

Matched to 19°31'42" rack profile, custom bore and keyway

Z-axis gear shafts

Quenched-and-tempered steel, ground bearing journals for low-runout

Galvo-scanner timing belt pulleys

High-precision micro-pulleys for scanner-head drives

Laser-cutting OEMs are our largest single industry. The reason is simple — they need racks, and most rack suppliers are happy to ship them milled-and-hardened (Class 7). We grind after hardening, so distortion is removed from the flank and the cut head tracks where the controller says it does.

For helical racks (the modern standard at speeds above ~ 60 m/min), we cut to the standard 19°31'42" helix that matches commodity helical pinions — meaning the customer can stay with their existing pinion supplier and just upgrade the rack.

Beyond racks we ship the matched pinions, the spiral bevel gears that drive head-rotation axes, and the timing belt pulleys / couplings that drive the auxiliary axes (Z-axis, focus, gas-jet positioning).

Products this vertical buys

Linked to full product specs.

Each card opens the product detail page with full capability matrix, materials, and standards.

Gear Racks

Class 6 ground, helical or straight, splice-grade joining

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Matched pinions

Cut from the same drawing pack — helix and pitch match the rack

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Gear Shafts

Stepped shafts for Z-axis and focus drives

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Couplings

Zero-backlash couplings and locking assemblies for axis drives

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Engineering requirements

What makes laser parts different.

Long one-piece lengths

Up to 2 m on the gear grinder; longer via dowelled splice joints

Splice-pitch matching

≤ 0.03 mm pitch error across joint — dowelled splice + post-assembly grind

High surface hardness

HRC 58–62 induction-hardened flanks — for pinion-on-rack wear life

Helical or straight

Helical for ≥ 60 m/min head speeds; straight for cost-sensitive low-speed

Matched pinion supply

Cut pinion + rack as a set, guaranteed profile / pitch match

Customers

Active laser customers.

A selection of internationally known names — the full list lives where it matters, in our shipping records.

HAN'S LASER

Case studies

Representative outcomes.

0.04 mm pitch accuracy across 12 m

12 m laser cutting bed — spliced ground rack

Six 2-m racks joined at dowelled pads, ground after assembly. Used on a sheet-metal cutting OEM's flagship gantry.

−5 dB noise vs. straight rack

Helical pinion + rack set

Switched a customer from straight to helical drive — cut head smoother at 100 m/min, audible noise drop measured by customer QC.

FAQ

Common questions from laser buyers.

What is the longest one-piece rack you can grind?

Two meters in a single piece on our gear grinder. For longer travels, racks are dowelled at the ends and ground after assembly — pitch accuracy across joints is held to ≤ 0.03 mm.

Do you cut helical or straight racks?

Both. Helical (19°31'42") is the modern default for speeds above ~ 60 m/min — smoother and quieter. Straight is more economical for slower positioning.

Can you supply the matched pinion?

Yes — we cut the pinion from the same drawing pack as the rack, so flank profile and module are guaranteed to match. The pinion ships with the rack as a set.

Related industries

Verticals we also serve.

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Spindle drives, ATC tool-change indexers, and rotary-table gears for CNC machine builders.

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Conveyor drives, packaging-line motion, and AGV transmissions for high-mix automation builders.

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Semiconductor Equipment

Vacuum-compatible couplings and clean-environment transmission components for wafer-handling and inspection equipment.

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Building laser equipment?

24-hour quote · engineering review within one business day · ≤ 30 days to ship after approval.

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