At present, the thermal cutting technology applied in the industry mainly includes flame, plasma, and laser cutting technology. From carbon dioxide cutting to kilowatt-level fiber laser cutting machine, and then to 12kW+ fiber laser cutting machine, laser cutting technology is increasingly widely used in the solid processing industry with its advantages of being faster, more accurate, and more convenient.
What is a fiber laser cutter and how exactly does it work?
As the name suggests, laser cutting is the process of cutting materials using fiber laser equipment.
The energy released when the laser beam is irradiated on the surface of the workpiece to melt and evaporate to achieve the purpose of cutting. It uses a high-power, high-density laser beam to scan the surface of the material, which can be heated to thousands or even tens of thousands of degrees Celsius in a short period. Laser cutting uses an invisible beam of light instead of traditional mechanical knives. For details.
Optical fiber laser cutting machine works on stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, aluminum plate, copper, titanium, and other metal materials. Depending on the material and thickness of the metal sheet and the laser power, the cutting thickness of the fiber laser cutter is also different. So, how thick can it cut?
If it is simply calculated according to the theoretical situation, every time the fiber laser cutting machine increases the power of 100W, it can cut additional sheet metal with a thickness of 1mm. But this is not the case. Let’s take a 1,500W fiber laser cutting machine as an example, it can theoretically cut carbon steel plates up to 16mm thick. However, when the equipment is in operation, the electrical energy is converted into light energy and then converted into heat energy, which will cause a certain amount of energy loss. Therefore, the actual cutting thickness value is not the theoretical value.
*Note: As gas purity, on-site voltage and current, plate type and operator expertise are different, the cutting parameters above are only for your reference.
In addition to cutting sheet metal materials, in the actual application process, the cutting ability of the fiber laser cutting machine is also related to various factors such as the quality of the cutting machine, the type of laser source, the cutting environment, the cutting speed, and the auxiliary gas. Therefore, there is no absolute standard to judge its cutting thickness.
1. Focus position
The focus of the laser cutting machine can be aligned, and the cutting accuracy and precision can meet the expected requirements.
2. Cutting speed
In fact, no matter what the material is, the cutting speed can be very consistent with the material, so the cutting effect is the best at this time. Too fast or too slow will affect laser cutting.
3. Working power and mode of laser equipment
It has been proved by research that the higher the power of the laser equipment, the better the effect will be when cutting the same plate. Therefore, the higher the laser power, the thicker the plate can be cut.
4. Auxiliary gas pressure and type
The higher the pressure of the auxiliary gas, the higher the purity of the gas, the fewer impurities attached to the material, and the smoother the cutting edge. Generally speaking, different gases have different cutting effects. Oxygen-cutting speed is the fastest. Nitrogen-cutting has the best effect and low cost.