Comparison of traditional cutting and laser cutting

With the rapid development of the metal processing industry today, due to production needs, the demand for cutting metal materials of different materials, thicknesses and shapes has greatly increased, which poses severe challenges to the metal cutting process. Competition in the metal processing industry has become increasingly fierce. Nowadays, the metal cutting process on the market is facing the process of changing from the old to the new. There are also many ways. So, how to choose the most suitable equipment among the many metal processing methods?

First of all, let's first understand the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional cutting process; the traditional cutting process is mainly completed by CNC shears, punches, flame cutting, plasma cutting, high-pressure water cutting and other equipment.

1.  Shearing Machine

Shearing machine, also known as shearing machine, is a machine that uses one blade to reciprocate linear motion relative to the other blade to cut the plate. It is a kind of forging machinery, mainly suitable for sheet metal processing that only requires straight-line cutting. This equipment has low cost and simple operation. The purpose is relatively single, not flexible, and does not support cutting a variety of graphics patterns.

2. (CNC/Turret) Punch

The punch is a punching press, which is mainly suitable for cutting simple patterns such as square holes and round holes, which improves the flexibility of curve processing. Some specific sheet metal workpieces can be processed at one time, and the processing speed of thin plates is fast. Disadvantages: First, the ability to stamp thick metal plates is limited, and the main processing objects are carbon steel plates with a size of less than 2mm. Second, punch processing is highly dependent on molds, and mold development cycles are long, production costs are increased, and the degree of flexibility is not high. The third is that the processing surface of the thick steel plate is not smooth, and it is easy to produce collapse grooves, and the conventional forming will cause certain damage to the outer surface of the material, and the processing noise is loud.

3. Flame cutting

Flame cutting is the initial thermal cutting method, that is, gas cutting. The traditional flame cutting has experienced acetylene gas cutting, propane cutting, and now the widely used natural gas cutting. The cost of flame cutting equipment is low, it supports the cutting of thick steel plates, and the market has a very large stock; its disadvantages are that the cutting thermal deformation is too large, the slit is too wide, and the utilization rate of the plate is low. It is only suitable for rough processing of the product and requires secondary processing. .

4. Plasma cutting

Plasma cutting is a processing method that uses the heat of a high-temperature plasma arc to melt and evaporate the metal part or part of the incision of the workpiece, and uses the momentum of the high-speed plasma to remove the molten metal to form an incision. The advantage is that the cutting speed is fast, the cutting surface is smooth, and it supports various metals that are difficult to cut by oxygen, especially for non-ferrous metals. The disadvantage is that the cutting seam is wider, the cutting surface is not smooth, and it is easy to produce a large amount of metal dust, glare, etc. Problem, production safety cannot be effectively guaranteed.

5. High pressure water cutting

High-pressure water cutting, commonly known as "water jet" cutting, this method uses high-speed water jet cutting technology, has the characteristics of strong cutting power, low cost, applied to cutting a variety of materials, and adaptable to thick plate cutting. The disadvantage is "water jet cutting". "When cutting with high hardness or thick plates, the speed becomes slow, the operating environment is chaotic, and the consumables are high.

The above-mentioned traditional cutting processes are well-known and applied by manufacturers due to their price advantages and functions. However, in the production process, the disadvantages of the traditional cutting processes are quickly revealed. Rough metal processing and the need for a large amount of mold support have led to increased production costs and a waste of time and manpower is particularly serious. In addition, news of complex production processes, uneven product quality, and production speeds that cannot keep up with order requirements are common. In order to overcome this production problem and conform to the development of the times, intelligent and efficient fiber laser cutting machines have emerged.

Zoro

www.xtlaser.com

xintian152@xtlaser.com

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