Best Way to Cut Aluminum Sheet

In the metal processing industry, aluminum plates are the most widely used. Many furniture decorations and architectural decorations use aluminum plates, so how to cut aluminum plates? Whether it is aluminum block, plate or metal plate, it mainly depends on the type of aluminum, whether it is aluminum or its alloy, and also depends on the size and thickness of the aluminum material, the required cutting quality and internal structure.

The best way to cut small and thin aluminum plates: saw or shear can be used, here are some handles or power tools for your reference.

1.Handling electric shears/handling metal shears/metal scissors: thinner processing (1-2 mm), suitable for straight and curved metal cutting;

2.Band saw: very suitable for processing thicker plates;

3.Circular saw/table saw/mitre saw: very suitable for straight cutting. It cannot be used to cut curves.

4.Reciprocating saw/jig saw: a tool dedicated to cutting curves;

5.Sharp utility knife + straight edge: multi-function, a tool to solve various other problems

If you want to cut large or thick aluminum sheets, you can choose a CNC cutting machine.

We mainly introduce related specific machine types, shearing machine, CNC laser cutting machine, CNC plasma cutting machine, CNC milling machine.

1. Hydraulic shears

We provide professional hydraulic shears and trimming machines, which are mainly used for processing metal plates, but this type of cutting machine is mainly used for thick wire cutting, and usually cannot perform high-precision cutting;

2. CNC laser cutting machine for aluminum plate cutting

Metal laser cutting machine is the most common machine for cutting aluminum sheet. It uses a fiber laser source, which can cut aluminum plates of different thicknesses, with great flexibility and strong applicability. But there are some precautions that you need to know: Aluminum is sensitive to high temperatures, and it needs to be protected by adding nitrogen during its processing to keep the original color of the aluminum plate unchanged and prevent the aluminum plate from oxidizing; cutting the aluminum plate with a laser machine is usually very fast , So fast cutting will inevitably produce small burrs. However, slow cutting may not achieve the processing effect, and may easily lead to deformation or cracking of the aluminum material, so it is necessary to set the correct cutting parameters. Fiber laser cutting machine is mainly used to cut aluminum materials below 25mm: 2000W can be used to cut 6-8mm aluminum, 4000W can be used to cut 12mm aluminum, and 6000W can be used to cut 16mm aluminum;

3. Application of CNC plasma cutting machine in aluminum plate cutting

CNC plasma cutting machine is also a common machine for cutting aluminum plates. It can usually cut thick aluminum with a cutting thickness of 100mm. The heat emitted by the CNC plasma cutting machine will cause some physical or chemical changes to the edge of the material. Because plasma machine cutting will produce dust pollution, we must take effective measures to control dust and collect dust.

4.CNC router machine can also be used to process aluminum plates

Router machine cutting is to achieve the effect of engraving on aluminum materials through the process of milling, so it is more suitable for engraving patterns and patterns on aluminum, rather than cutting. However, one of the biggest advantages of CNC router machine is that it can be equipped with different tools to achieve different functions, such as changing its tools to saws to realize thin aluminum cutting. For CNC router machine, we can usually use water cooling method to cool the workpiece.

5. CNC milling machine for aluminum plate cutting

The working principle and method of CNC milling machine is similar to CNC router machine. Generally speaking, milling machines have higher power, not only for aluminum, but also for other metal milling. Although the processing speed of CNC milling machine is not very fast, it can carry out high-quality, high-precision cutting. So it is not suitable for mass cutting production, but for single, small amount of cutting or engraving.

6. Application of water jet in aluminum plate cutting

Water jet cutting is a high-pressure cutting method, but it is not a very convenient method for cutting aluminum plates.

We recommend that you use a saw or shear to cut a small piece of aluminum, and then use a CNC plasma cutting machine or laser cutting machine to engrave the pattern. There are some other methods not mentioned: such as wire cutting, stamping cutting, etc., they can also process aluminum, mainly for cutting for special purposes.