Unlikely I know but
theoretically is it possible that the laser could function as a sort of repair tool…
in order to cut out part of a printed model and allow a replacement part to be printed and inserted in the space created?
Maybe. A couple of cautions though.
First, burning plastic stinks. Not only will it stink up whatever area you are in, but it could also dirty your laser lens.
Second, the laser focal length would require you to be able to get close the area you are cutting. If the print has any parts you want to keep that stick up above the cutout area, they would likely interfere with using the laser in this manner. This same limitation will keep you from cutting out an area more that a few millimeters thick.
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Adding on to this, burning plastic not only smells, but tends to be toxic, so if you want to use the laser on a print, make sure you have very good ventilation for the fumes and maybe look up the SDS for the material.
As jcknox mentioned, you probably won’t be able to cut things that are too thick, as you can eventually get the issue of the laser being blocked by your material before reaching the cutting area of the laser (the laser is not a line, but a cone and if you are too far from the tip of the cone, there isn’t enough energy to cut). You can adjust the focal distance if you need to reach past obstacles that the head might run into as discussed here but be aware that this will mess up the calibration routines of the machine and may void your warranty.
thanks to both
its just hypothetical…