Comparison of laser cutting machine accuracy, speed, effect and stability

Guide: judging the performance of laser cutting machine, including cutting accuracy, speed, effect and stability, etc., are several ways to judge the cutting quality of laser cutting machine, and it is also some of the issues that buyers are most concerned about.

Cutting accuracy of laser cutting machine

Laser cutting machines have the advantages of high cutting precision, fast speed, not limited by cutting patterns, and low processing costs, and are gradually replacing traditional metal cutting process equipment. At present, the application range of laser cutting machines is getting wider and wider, and the cutting accuracy of laser cutting machines is related to the processing technology, so it is also one of the most concerned issues for buyers. For the understanding of laser cutting accuracy, many people have certain misunderstandings. In fact, the cutting accuracy of the laser cutting machine does not completely depend on the equipment itself, but is affected by many factors. Next, let’s take a brief look at which factors are most likely to affect the cutting accuracy of the laser cutting machine.

• a. The spot size of the laser beam after passing through the focusing. The smaller the spot after the laser beam is concentrated, the higher the cutting accuracy.
• b. The positioning accuracy of the worktable determines the repeatability of the cutting. The higher the table precision, the higher the cutting precision.
• c. The larger the thickness of the workpiece, the lower the precision and the larger the kerf. Since the laser beam is tapered, the slit is also tapered, which is also stainless steel. The slit of 0.3mm stainless steel is much smaller than that of 2mm stainless steel.
• d. The workpiece material has a certain influence on the laser cutting accuracy. In the same case, stainless steel can be cut more accurately than aluminum, and the cut surface is smoother.

Laser cutting machine cutting speed and cutting effect

Laser cutting has no burrs, wrinkles and high precision. For many mechanical and electrical manufacturing industries, because the modern CNC laser cutting system controlled by computer program can easily cut workpieces of different shapes and sizes, it is often preferred over punching and molding processes; although the processing speed of laser cutting machines is still slow. Compared with die punching, it has no mold consumption, no need to repair the mold, and saves the time to replace the mold, thereby saving the processing cost and reducing the production cost, so it is more cost-effective in general. In the metalworking industry, where industrial manufacturing systems play a significant role, many metal materials, regardless of their hardness, can be cut without distortion. However, for highly reflective materials such as gold, silver, copper and aluminum alloys, laser cutting is difficult or even impossible because they are also good heat transfer conductors.

Add auxiliary gas suitable for the material to be cut during the laser cutting process. When steel is cut, oxygen is used as an auxiliary gas to produce an exothermic chemical reaction with molten metal to oxidize the material, while helping to blow away the slag in the kerf. Compressed air is used to cut plastics such as polypropylene, and inert gas is used to cut flammable materials such as cotton and paper. The auxiliary vapor entering the nozzle also cools the focusing lens, preventing fumes from entering the lens holder and contaminating the lens and causing it to overheat. The choice of the cutting speed of the laser cutting machine is actually very important. The optimal cutting speed range can be selected according to the equipment instructions or determined by experiments. Due to the thickness of the material, the material is different, the melting point, the thermal conductivity and the melting point. After the surface tension and other factors, the cutting speed also changes accordingly.

main performance:

• a. A moderate increase in the cutting speed can improve the quality of the incision, that is, the incision is slightly narrowed, the surface of the incision is smoother, and the deformation can be reduced.
• b. The cutting speed is too fast, so that the cutting line energy is lower than the required value, and the jet in the slit cannot quickly blow off the melted cutting melt, resulting in a large amount of back drag. Surface quality declines.
• c. When the cutting speed is too low, since the cutting place is the anode of the plasma arc, in order to maintain the stability of the arc itself, the anode spot or anode area must find a place for conducting current near the cutting seam closest to the arc, and at the same time, it will send the current to the jet. More heat is transmitted in the radial direction, so the incision is widened, and the molten material on both sides of the incision gathers and solidifies at the bottom edge, forming slag that is not easy to clean, and the upper edge of the incision is rounded due to excessive heating and melting.
• d. When the speed is extremely low, the arc will even be extinguished due to the excessively wide cut. It can be seen that good cutting quality and cutting speed are inseparable.

The stability of laser cutting machine

How to measure whether the stability and performance of a laser cutting machine is good is a problem that many buyers are concerned about. Now the common laser cutting machine on the market is mainly composed of main engine, guide rail, rack and pinion or ball screw, transmission mechanism and other components. Let’s make a simple analysis from these components.

The main engine consists of a beam and two longitudinal end frames. The machine gantry consists of an end frame and a beam. The beam adopts a rectangular square tube structure, which is tempered to remove internal stress and has high strength and rigidity. Multiple mobile trolleys can be installed on the beam. The lateral movement devices all use energy chains. The mechanical part realizes high-precision rack and pinion transmission, and the guide rails are made of high-precision special imported guide rails. The precision-machined sliding guide rails are fastened on the concrete or steel frame foundation with supports, and are equipped with adjusting bolts for easy installation and operation. Adjustment. The longitudinal drive system is installed in the longitudinal end frame, and the low-position design makes the transmission more reasonable and stable.

There are two front and rear rolling wheels at the bottom of the longitudinal end frame, which can roll smoothly along the guide rail. The front and rear ends are equipped with guide rail scrapers to ensure that the surface of the guide rail is free of debris. Both sides of the bottom are equipped with eccentric clamping wheels with guiding function. To improve the guiding accuracy of the machine, the machine is equipped with high-strength linear guide rails (horizontal transmission or high-precision grinding guide rails) in the horizontal transmission and cutting torch lifting. and eliminates the gap.