A new melt electrospinning system equipped with a line-like laser beam melting device developed for the mass production of nanofibers is introduced; this system enables fibers to be produced from locally melted polymer sheets in the presence of an electric field. Using this system, fibers were produced from poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)(EVOH) and Nylon 6/12 sheets. The fiber formation mechanism was investigated with a video camera and a thermographic camera. It was found that (1) many Taylor cones are formed on the molten end surface of the sheet at almost regular intervals; (2) a single fiber is produced from the apex of each Taylor cone; and (3) the temperature in the Taylor cone changes markedly during the fiber production. Furthermore, it is found that fibers with an average diameter smaller than 1 mu m can be produced from EVOH and Nylon 6/12 sheets by the optimization of manufacturing parameters such as laser output power, voltage, sheet thickness and the feed rate of the sheet. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 116: 2998-3004, 2010