Smaller versions were once known to be occasionally carried by Terminator Marines for cutting through bulkheads when exploring Space Hulks, but this practice is no longer prevalent. The intensity of the beam increases as it extends further from the weapon, becoming increasingly dangerous, until it reaches the focal point where the beam is so intense that the energy has to be released in a violent explosion.

The more dense the material of the target the more energy that is converted, making conversion beamers particularly good against heavily armoured troops, vehicles and buildings. A heavily armoured target or dense material will be rent apart as its matter explodes. The conversion beamer fires a high intensity energy beam, which transforms matter into pure energy.