The present study discusses cw CO2‐laser cutting of wire‐wound resistors. Based on the three‐dimensional mathematical model developed, we computed the evolution of the temperature field in the sample and the phase change, as functions of the laser beam power and processing speed. The temperature dependence of the thermophysical coefficients and the dependence of light‐absorption coefficient on the laser beam angle on incidence are taken into account. Experimental results are presented for the minimum laser power that provides cutting of the sample at different speeds. A reasonable agreement between the experimental and theoretical results is found. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.