Different Requirements For Fiber Laser Cutting Machine Cutting Different Materials

As the name suggests, Fiber laser cutting machine create patterns and designs by cutting into materials. A powerful laser beam is the source that melts, burns, or vaporizes the material.

Different Requirements For Fiber Laser Cutting Machine Cutting Different Materials

Essentially, laser cutting is a fabrication process that uses a thin, focused, laser beam to cut and etch materials into custom designs, patterns, and shapes as specified by a designer. This non-contact, thermal-based fabrication process is ideal for several materials, including wood, glass, paper, metal, plastic, and gemstone. It’s also capable of producing intricate parts without needing a custom-designed tool.

steel

Laser cutter processes the steel with oxygen as an auxiliary gas will get a better processing results. Since oxygen is used as the processing gas, the cutting edge is slightly oxidized. For plates up to 4 mm thick, high pressure cutting can be performed with nitrogen as the process gas. In this case, the cutting edge will not be oxidized. For plates with a thickness of 10 mm or more, oiling the surface of the work piece during processing can achieve better results.

Stainless Steel

First, oxygen is used as the auxiliary gas, and the edge of the cut is oxidized to a certain extent, and then nitrogen is used to obtain the edge of the oxidized and burr-free, and no further treatment is required. Moreover, coating the oil film on the surface of the board will result in better perforation without sacrificing processing quality.

Aluminum

Despite the high reflectivity and thermal conductivity of aluminum, aluminum with a thickness of less than 6 mm can be cut, and whether it can be cut depending on the alloy type and laser capability. When cut with oxygen, the cutting surface is rough and hard. When nitrogen is used, the cutting surface is smooth. Pure aluminum is very difficult to cut because of its high purity, and aluminum can only be cut when a "reflective absorption" device is installed on the laser cutter because that the reflection will destroy the optical components.

Titanium

Titanium sheet is best treated with argon and nitrogen as auxiliary gases.

Copper and brass

Both materials have high reflectivity and very good thermal conductivity. Fiber laser cutting machine of brass having a thickness of 1 mm or less can be cut with nitrogen; copper having a thickness of 2 mm or less must be cut with oxygen as an auxiliary gas. It is worth noting that copper and brass can only be cut when a "reflective absorption" device is installed on the laser cutter because that the reflection will destroy the optical components.

Synthetic material

When cutting synthetic materials, keep in mind the dangers of cutting and dangerous substances that may be emitted. Laser-cut machinable synthetic materials mainly include thermoplastics and artificial rubber.

Organic material

There is a danger of fire when Laser cuts all organic material. Nitrogen can be used as an auxiliary gas during processing, or compressed air can be used as an auxiliary gas. These materials like wood, leather, cardboard and paper can be cut with laser cutter but the edges will be burnt.

Key Advantages of Fiber laser cutting machine

1. High productivity

High travel speeds and deep penetration both contribute to high productivity of laser cutting processes. Typical travel speeds for production laser cutting processes are up to 10 meters per minute.

Thinner metal sheets ranging from 0.1 to 2 mm are typically cut faster while thicker sheets require lower speeds.

These speeds surpass traditional cutting technologies which range from 0.25 to 2 meters per minute.

A 4kW laser machine can cut up to 25 mm in a single pass.

In addition, since Fiber laser cutting machine is a non-contact process, it does not only have lower fixture costs but also shorter loading and unloading time.

2. Low heat output

An advantage of the high speeds is that it minimises heat diffusion into the surrounding material. With this, heat affected zones (HAZs) are narrower and there is a lower chance of thermal damage to nearby components.

Laser cutters are also ideal in the manufacture of medical devices. This is because lasers can cut precisely, without damaging heat-sensitive components. This ability made possible the construction of miniature devices.

3. Parts are ready for the next process

Once parts are taken from the sheet after cutting they are usually perfectly prepared for their next task. Edges are clean and ready for assembly or welding etc.

Other advantages of Fiber laser cutting machine

The two advantages above have spawned multiple benefits, including:

Excellent edge quality

Look at the laser cutter as a very small cutting tool. Since the laser utilizes a highly focused spot, less heat is put into the sheet metal leading to a narrower path of material or HAZ

Narrower HAZs, in turn, lead to cleaner edges and precise cuts to a higher tolerance.

Reduced warping

Given that laser cutting is a noncontact process, there is usually little work piece distortion or warping. This produces a high quality metal sheet.

No tooling costs

Laser cutting doesn’t require any hard tools. Hence there is no need for tool storage, tool changeover, and tool sharpening. This reduces costly downtime between jobs and inefficiencies in long runs as well.

Inexpensive prototyping

Since there are no retooling costs prototypes can be quickly reprogrammed to easily overcome any potential production problems.

Less set-up time

With no hard tools needed, it also takes a shorter time to set-up laser cutters. The only things you need to do is to program the machine and load and unload the material accordingly.

Eliminates scrap

Close nesting of parts allows efficient use of materials and the ability to either reduce or even eliminate scrap.

Automation and customization benefits

Lastly, laser cutting can easily be repeated and is easy to automate. The process can be simplified by utilizing computer-numerically controlled (CNC) manipulators and robots.

That’s why it provides endless customization opportunities.

Machine Parameters