I wouldn't call myself a movie buff, exactly, but I have seen many films in my day. Some left a lasting impression on me because of their message or their imagery. One such film is Goldfinger, the third in the sequence of James Bond movies that air frequently even to the present.

There is one scene in that movie that brings me to the topic of this month's column. That scene has agent 007, James Bond, strapped horizontally and spread-eagled on his back to a golden platen. He was placed there by henchmen of the movie's antagonist, arch villain Auric Goldfinger. Between James Bond's splayed legs moves a high-powered laser beam, heading north towards the top of the spy's inseam, cutting through the metal and threatening to cut Bond in half as well. The scene is vaguely reminiscent of a Perils of Pauline episode, only a high tech version shot a mere two years after the invention of the laser.

Fear not! As his fans will tell you, James Bond managed to talk his way out of that particular peril. But it is the laser beam, and not Bond's fate, that brings me to my topic the laser cutting of metal. Goldfinger pushed laser technology directly into the mind of the public. It was a new science that was only recently science fiction and has since become a mainstay in today's manufacturing environment.

During my years of involvement with the manufacture of metal parts and the fabrication of assemblies, I am fortunate to have been exposed to many fascinating technologies. But few have been more inspiring than watching a beam of focused light cut metal.

CO2 and Nd:YAG are the two most popular laser types used for cutting sheet and plate metal. Lasers are also used to cut plastics, ceramics, polymers and natural materials such as wood, but it's metal in which we're most interested. Most laser sources are mounted on 2-axis heads for cutting sheet/plate metal parts, and some 6-axis, robot-mounted lasers are used to cut more complex parts from 3-dimensional work pieces.

Laser cutting has become much more automated since James Bond was "on the table," with CAD/CAM systems controlling the cutting sequence and pattern. The precise motion of the computer numerically controlled (CNC) laser cutting head is amazing to watch. Once the laser makes its first piercing cut, the unit traces out the cutting pattern smoothly and seemingly without effort. The cuts are precise and smooth, making subsequent fit-up and joining operations much more accurate. Both simple and complex part geometries can be cut with equal ease, and the small heat-affected zone of a laser cut minimizes or eliminates part warping.

For the sake of danger and excitement, moviegoers were fortunate that James Bond's experience with an industrial laser was left in the movie and didn't become a pile of film left behind on a director's cutting room floor. Lucky, too, for agent 007 that lasers and automation had not achieved great power or sophistication 40 years ago, or he surely would have met a premature end.

And finally, let's tip our hats to those in the laser cutting industry who brought their concentrated form of light from science fiction to manufacturing fact. They have made us all more productive and more efficient.