Laser cutting is a process reaction in sheet metal processing, and it is the "processing center" in sheet metal processing.

Advantages of metal laser cutting

Laser cutting has a high level of flexibility, fast cutting speed, high consumption efficiency, and short product consumption cycle, winning a widespread market for customers. Metal laser cutting without cutting force, processing without deformation; No tool wear, good data compliance; Whether it is a simple or complex part, it can be cut by laser fine rapid prototyping in one step; Its narrow cutting seam, good cutting quality, high automation level, cumbersome operation, low labor intensity, and no pollution; Can complete automatic cutting layout, nesting, improving the application rate of data, low consumption costs, and good economic benefits. The effective lifetime of this technology is long. Currently, laser cutting is mostly used for plates with a thickness exceeding 2mm in foreign countries. Many foreign experts disagree that the next 30-40 years will be a golden period for the development of laser processing technology (the direction of sheet metal processing).
 

Application of Metal Laser Cutting

Generally speaking, it is recommended to use laser cutting for cutting non-metallic materials such as carbon steel plates within 20mm, stainless steel plates within 10mm, and acrylic and wood plates. Steel plates within 20-50mm are recommended to use plasma cutting, and thicker steel plates are recommended to use flame cutting. When processing copper, aluminum, and other highly reflective laser materials, and fragile non-metallic materials such as glass, marble, etc., water jet cutting is used. Manufacturers on chassis and cabinets within 1mm use CNC punches in the sheet metal processing industry with relatively large batches and relatively single types, and other cutting tools are used to implement cutting processing.

Firstly, as the mainstream of traditional laser cutting machines, CO2 lasers are used, which can stably cut carbon steel within 20mm, stainless steel within 10mm, and aluminum alloy below 8mm; Secondly, fiber lasers cutting have obvious advantages in cutting thin plates within 4mm, and due to the influence of solid-state laser wavelength, their quality in cutting thick plates is poor. Laser cutting machines are not universal, with a wavelength of 10.6 um for CO2 lasers and 1.06 um for solid-state lasers such as YAG or fiber lasers. The former is relatively easy to be absorbed by non-metals and can cut non-metallic materials such as wood, acrylic, PP, and plexiglass with high quality, while the latter is not easy to be absorbed by non-metals, so it is not possible to cut non-metallic materials. However, when copper, silver Pure aluminum and other highly reflective materials are unavoidable.

How to choose and purchase metal cutting machines

With the rapid development of laser technology and the continuous improvement of consumer technology, laser cutting, as a fine blanking equipment, is quietly replacing traditional punching and shearing equipment. In the face of dizziness and miscellaneous types of laser cutting machines, as well as the indiscriminate boasting of some businesses, laser cutting machine buyers are even confused.

Judging from the application scope of laser cutting machines and the technical requirements put forward by users today, the future development direction of laser cutting machines is undoubtedly high power, large format, high efficiency, one-time molding, and high intelligence. The widespread application of the wide format series in the locomotive industry and the heavy industry has brought efficient and high-quality consumption power to users; High speed and precision cutting machines are widely used in construction machinery and high value-added production and operation industries; As an external processing industry, the cantilever laser cutting machine with high cost performance is the best choice.

In addition, the flexible processing system of fiber laser and robot has a long history of high position in the automotive industry and supporting industries, which was previously monopolized by foreign integrators. In recent years, due to the financial crisis and the constant improvement of consumer technology in the automotive industry, many foreign high-end and national brands have tasted crabs, and the arrogance and mystery of foreign ultra-high prices have been uncovered and torn apart, In recent years, we have provided automotive users with welding of car body in white, laser weakening of car dashboard, laser welding of car safety airbag, robot flexible cutting machines for car bumpers, doors, and center pillars, laser welding of car bumpers, online welding systems for car exhaust pipes, and laser automatic cutting equipment for car shift sleeves. It can be seen that domestic enterprises have possessed certain strength through stable and efficient consumption on the user site for 24 hours.

There are many factors to consider when selecting a laser cutting machine. In addition to considering the maximum size of the currently processed workpiece, the material, the maximum thickness required to be cut, and the size of the original data, there is also a greater need to consider the future development direction. For example, the maximum workpiece size to be processed after the technical modification of the product being made, the format of the data provided by the steel market for my product, which type of material is the most economical, and the loading and unloading time. The laser cutting machine is a modern equipment with high investment and high output. Every minute saved in time can mean an extra ten yuan. The current situation of peripheral laser cutting machines is also a key point that laser cutting machine buyers must pay attention to. In the fierce market competition, it is necessary to prevent homogeneous competition as much as possible.

In industries such as railway locomotives, heavy industry, and construction machinery, the contour of the parts that need to be processed is not too complex. In order to enhance the processing ability and efficiency, it is recommended to use the wide format series, which is generally 3-4.5 meters wide and 6-30 meters long. This can complete the one-time processing of medium and thick plates, saving time and materials. When there are relatively many workpieces with a thickness exceeding 20mm, wide format and precision plasma (flame cutting is added when the thickness exceeds 45mm) common rail cutting equipment is the best choice. It is suitable for processing 3-50mm or even thicker steel plates, and the simultaneous cutting of thin and thick plates will greatly improve the processing efficiency. For local small workpiece, high-speed and high-precision series is the best choice.

About HGTECH: HGTECH is the pioneer and leader of laser industrial application in China, and the authoritative provider of global laser processing solutions. We have comprehensively arranged laser intelligent machine, measurement and automation production lines, and smart factory construction to provide overall solutions for intelligent manufacturing.