Sheet metal processing, which accounts for one-third of metal processing, has a wide range of applications and has almost appeared in all industries. If you count the cutting process of sheet metal (the thickness of the metal sheet is less than 6mm), it is nothing more than laser cutting, plasma cutting, flame cutting, shearing machine, stamping, etc. Among them, laser cutting has emerged and flourished in recent years. In the field of metal sheet cutting, from micron-scale ultra-thin sheets to thick plates of tens of millimeters, they can be perfectly and effectively cut. In a sense, laser cutting machines have brought about a craft revolution to sheet metal processing. Compared with traditional cutting methods, laser cutting is easier to understand and learn, and has absolute advantages in the processing effect and speed required by merchants. Therefore, I believe that in the future selection of cutting methods, laser cutting machines will be the general trend.
Laser technology has accumulated a lot of strength after a century
So, why is laser cutting so awesome? Let’s first introduce some of the origins and principles related to laser cutting technology. Laser technology is one of the four major inventions that are as famous as atomic energy, semiconductors and computers in the 20th century. It is called the "fastest knife", the "most accurate ruler" and the "brightest light". However, this technology did not break through the original technical bottleneck until the 21st century. At the same time, through the combination of laser technology and advanced equipment, it promoted the development of advanced equipment manufacturing industry. The application of laser technology has now penetrated into various industries such as metal processing, steel, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, and medical equipment.
The cut material is irradiated with a high-power density laser beam, so that the material is quickly heated to the vaporization temperature and evaporated to form holes. As the beam moves the material, the holes continuously form very narrow width (such as about 0.1mm) cuts to complete the cutting of the material - this is laser cutting (Laser). Laser cutting is highly efficient, high energy density and soft, whether in terms of accuracy, speed or efficiency, it is the only choice in the sheet metal cutting industry. As a precision machining method, laser cutting can cut almost all materials, including two-dimensional cutting or three-dimensional cutting of thin metal plates. The laser can focus into extremely small spots and can be fine and precisely processed, such as fine narrow slits and micro-holes. In addition, it does not require any use of ** during processing, and it is non-contact processing and has no mechanical deformation. Some traditional boards with difficult or low quality cutting problems can be easily solved after laser cutting, especially in the cutting of some carbon steel plates, laser cutting has an unshakable position.
In recent years, laser cutting technology has gradually become the key skill of various manufacturers to "compete with each other". Due to its wide application, it can be divided into four categories: laser vaporization cutting, laser melting and melting cutting, laser oxygen cutting, and laser scribe and controlled fracture. It is worth mentioning that laser melting\melting can cut all meltable materials, such as metals.
When cutting stainless steel with laser, most of them will be subjected to a coaxial injection of high-pressure nitrogen and laser beam to blow away molten metal so that no oxide will be formed on the cutting surface. This is a great approach, but it is more costly than traditional oxygen cutting. One alternative to pure nitrogen is to use filtered workshop compressed air, which consists of 78% nitrogen. The use of filtered compressed air in laser cutting is faster than that in using oxygen or nitrogen - generally, although some initial investment in some equipment, filtered, and compressed air is required, its long-term cost is still lower than the cost of "traditional" auxiliary gases. Laser energy is now in a focal position, and using compressed air can produce plasma balls on the surface of metal, with the effect similar to the cutting effect produced by a CNC plasma cutting machine using electricity. Plasma transports heat more effectively than light.
Compressed air assisted cutting can also achieve the same edge mass as the component cutting using oxygen or nitrogen. The cutting edges need to be cleaned enough to allow most powder coatings to adhere without the need for secondary cleaning. The size of the resonator is a significant limitation when choosing to use compressed air for assisted laser cutting for the first time. However, nowadays, high wattage laser cutting machines—usually above 4000W—make air assistance an effective way to cut steel, stainless steel and aluminum with thicknesses up to 1/8 inch (about 3mm). Laser cutting machines with 6000W resonant cavity can even cut materials up to 3/8 inches (about 9.5 mm).
