Laser cutting machine is a kind of industrial equipment using high power density laser beam for precise cutting of materials, its core principle is to make the material local rapid melting, vaporization or ablation through laser energy, and with the aid of auxiliary gas blowing molten material, so as to achieve efficient and accurate cutting effect.
1. Basic composition
Laser cutting machine is mainly composed of the following core components:
Laser generator: Produces high energy laser beams (such as CO₂, fiber, YAG, etc.).
Light guide system: The laser beam is focused to a tiny focal point (up to 0.1mm minimum) through mirrors and lenses.
CNC motion system: Control the cutting head or table to move according to the preset path to achieve complex graphic cutting.
Auxiliary systems: including air sources (such as oxygen, nitrogen), cooling units and smoke exhaust equipment to improve cutting quality and stability.
Second, the working principle
Energy focusing: The power density of a laser beam focused through a lens can reach 10⁶~10⁷ W/cm², instantly heating the material to the melting or boiling point.
Material removal: The melted or vaporized material is blown away by coaxial high-pressure gas to form a narrow slit (typical width 0.1~0.3mm).
Dynamic cutting: Through the CNC system to control the focus position and the relative movement of the material, to achieve continuous cutting.
Three, the main types
According to the laser source and processing characteristics can be divided into:
Gas laser cutting machine (such as CO₂ laser) : suitable for non-metal and thicker metal cutting, but higher energy consumption.
Fiber laser cutting machine: solid state laser source, energy efficiency is 70% higher than CO₂, especially suitable for thin metal processing.
YAG solid state laser: high peak power, often used for precision drilling and special material processing.
Disc laser: High power and beam quality, suitable for cutting highly reflective materials.
Fourth, core advantages
Excellent accuracy: repeated positioning accuracy can reach ±0.03mm, no burrs in the incision, reducing the need for secondary processing.
Materials widely adapted: can process carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium alloy and other metals, as well as wood, plastic, ceramics and other non-metallic.
High efficiency and energy saving: the cutting speed can reach 30m/min (thin sheet), 3 to 5 times faster than the traditional plasma cutting.
Flexible production: Quickly switch graphics through CAD/CAM programming to adapt to small batch customized production.
5. Application fields
Industrial manufacturing: automotive body covering parts, aircraft engine blades, Marine structural parts and other precision processing.
Electronics industry: mobile phone metal shell, PCB microhole processing, semiconductor packaging material cutting.
Creative processing: artwork hollowing, architectural model making, personalized leather carving, etc.
New energy field: lithium battery pole ear cutting, solar chip fragmentation and other clean energy equipment manufacturing.
6. Development trend
China's laser cutting technology has an annual growth rate of 25%, and the market share of fiber lasers has exceeded 60%. In the future, it will develop in the direction of higher power (more than 20kW), intelligent process database, multi-axis linkage 3D cutting []. The current equipment price ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions, and the investment payback period is about 2-3 years, which is especially suitable for sheet metal, mold and other industries requiring high-precision processing.
