Fiber laser cutting machine are effective in cutting these 7 metals, but some tips should be remembered!

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Carbon steel

Because carbon steel contains carbon, it does not reflect light strongly and absorbs light beams very well. Carbon steel is the most suitable for fiber laser cutting machine processing among all metal materials, and it also has the best effect. Therefore, carbon steel fiber laser cutting machines have an unshakable position in carbon steel processing.

The application of carbon steel is becoming more and more extensive. Modern laser cutting machines can cut carbon steel plates with a maximum thickness of up to 20MM. The slits of carbon steel cut by the oxidation melting cutting mechanism can be controlled within a satisfactory width range, and the slits of thin plates can be as narrow as about 0.1MM.

Stainless steel

The fiber laser cutting machine cuts stainless steel, using the energy released when the laser beam is irradiated to the surface of the steel plate to melt and evaporate the stainless steel. For the manufacturing industry that uses stainless steel thin plates as the main components, using laser to cut stainless steel is a fast and effective processing method. The most important process parameters affecting the quality of stainless steel cutting are cutting speed, laser power, air pressure, etc.

Compared with low carbon steel, stainless steel cutting requires higher laser power and oxygen pressure. Although stainless steel cutting can achieve a satisfactory cutting effect, it is difficult to obtain a completely slag-free cut. High-pressure nitrogen and laser beam coaxial injection are often used to blow away the molten metal so that no oxide will form on the cutting surface. This is a good method, but it is more expensive than traditional oxygen cutting. One way to replace pure nitrogen is to use filtered workshop compressed air, which is composed of 78% nitrogen.

When laser cutting mirror stainless steel, in order to prevent serious burns on the plate, a laser film needs to be applied!

Aluminum and alloys

Although fiber laser cutting machines can be widely used in the processing of various metal and non-metal materials. However, some materials, such as copper, aluminum and its alloys, are difficult to process by laser cutting due to their own characteristics (high reflectivity).

At present, fiber lasers and YAG lasers are widely used for aluminum plate laser cutting. These two devices have excellent performance in cutting aluminum or other materials, such as stainless steel and carbon steel, but they cannot process thicker aluminum. Generally, the thickest thickness that can be cut by 6000W is 16mm, and 4500W can also cut 12mm, but the processing cost is high. The auxiliary gas used is mainly used to blow away the molten product from the cutting area, and usually a better cut surface quality can be obtained. For some aluminum alloys, it is necessary to prevent the generation of intergranular microcracks on the surface of the cut seam.

Copper and alloys

Pure copper (red copper) basically cannot be cut with a CO2 laser beam due to its high reflectivity. Brass (copper alloy) uses higher laser power, and the auxiliary gas uses air or oxygen to cut thinner plates.

Titanium and alloys

The titanium alloy laser cutting quality commonly used in the aircraft manufacturing industry is good. Although there will be a little sticky slag at the bottom of the cut seam, it is easy to clean. Pure titanium can couple the heat energy converted by the focused laser beam very well. When the auxiliary gas uses oxygen, the chemical reaction is intense and the cutting speed is fast, but it is easy to generate an oxide layer on the cutting edge, which may cause overburning if not careful. For the sake of safety, it is better to use air as the auxiliary gas to ensure the cutting quality.

Alloy steel

Most alloy structural steels and alloy tool steels can be cut with fiber laser cutting machine to obtain good cutting edge quality. Even for some high-strength materials, as long as the process parameters are properly controlled, straight, non-sticky cutting edges can be obtained. However, for high-speed tool steels and hot die steels containing tungsten, melting and sticking will occur during laser cutting.

Nickel alloy

Nickel-based alloys are also called super alloys, and there are many varieties. Most of them can be cut by oxidation melting.