News from ‘Sience Direct’
An article from ‘Annals of Nuclear Energy’ said that 10kW fiber laser cutting machine can cut 150mm steel plate. From the passages, testers stated that at a cutting speed of 30mm/min, the 10kW fiber laser cutter was able to cut stainless steel and carbon steel plates up to 100mm thick, and both achieved narrow kerf widths of no more than 5mm. After trying thicker plates, it was found that a 150mm thick stainless steel plate could be cut at a speed of 3mm/min. In addition, large size stainless steel tubes can also be cut. When testing the round-trip cutting speed of 50mm/min and 100mm/min, a 165mm pipe could be cut. This shows that very high cutting levels can be achieved with a 10kW fiber laser cutting machine. By using a more powerful fiber laser cutting machine, people can process thicker sheet metal, which greatly improves factory productivity and saves labor costs.
Different Plates On Fiber Laser Cutting Machine
Fiber laser cutting machine can cut metal sheets of various materials, including stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, aluminum, silver, brass, galvanized sheet, titanium, etc. When processing different metal materials, the thickness of the fiber laser cutting machine can be cut differently. At the same time, the different power of the fiber cutting machine also has an impact on the thickness of the processed plate.
The following is a scary of the thickness of different material plates processed using fiber laser cutting machines of different power:
Power（kW） | Max. Thickness of Different Plates（MM） | |||
Carbon Steel | Stainless Steel | Aluminum Plate | Copper Plate | |
0.5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
1 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
2 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
3 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
6 | 22 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
12 | 45 | 50 | 40 | 40 |
Main Factors Affecting Cutting Thickness
Item | Photo | Description |
Laser Light Path |
| The laser cutting machine itself uses a flying laseral system, the beam from the laser generator through the reflector A, B, C to the cutting head of the focusing lens, focused on the surface of the material to be processed to form a light spot. The reflector A is fixed on the body； the reflector B moves in the x-direction with the of the beam； the reflector C moves in the y-direction with the of the z-axis. |
Laser Generator |
| Laser generator is divided into continuous laser generator and pulsed laser generator from operation. Pulsed laser generator is a laser generator with a single laser pulse width less than 0.25 seconds and works only once at a certain interval, which has a larger output power and is suitable for laser marking, cutting, ranging, etc. |
Cutting Head |
| The beams produced in the laser unit are carried by the fiber cable up to the cutting head. The cutting head transfers the beams from the fiber cable to the processing surface. |
Focus Position |
| The distance from the focal point to the upper surface of the cutting piecework, the focal point position above the piecework is generally called positive focal point, the focal point position below the piecework is generally called negative focal point. Change the focal point position, that is, to change the plate surface and the internal spot size, the focal length becomes larger, the spot becomes thicker, the slit becomes wider and wider, which in turn affects the heating area, the size of the slit and slag removal ability. |
Power VS Speed VS Thickness
The Current Market Situation
10kW fiber laser cutting machine has greatly accelerated the reform of the field of metal plate processing. The current 10kW fiber laser cutting machine processing thickness of up to 40 aluminum alloy plate, stainless steel plate 50, the higher the power of the cutting machine cutting speed faster and more efficient, the current market also continues to launch 12kW and 15kW fiber laser cutting machine, welcomed by the sheet metal market.
6,000W Fiber Laser Cutting Machine VS 10,000W Fiber Laser Cutting Machine
In addition to cutting thickness, the cutting efficiency in the thin sheet area increases exponentially with the power of the laser cutting machine. For example, when processing stainless steel plates from 3 to 10 , a 10 kW laser cutting machine can cut at more than twice the speed of a 6 kW. Meanwhile, in cutting carbon steel, the 10 kW fiber laser cutting machine can achieve speeds of 18 to 20 /sec. Below, a video comparing 6000W and 10000W fiber cutting machines cutting plate thickness.
6,000W Thickness Comparison:
10,000W Thickness Comparison:
Conclusion
In the process of practical application, fiber laser cutting machine can cut a variety of metal plates, tubes, mainly for stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel, silicon steel, spring steel, aluminum, aluminum alloy, galvanized plate, aluminized zinc version, pickled plate, copper, silver, gold, Chin and other metal plates and tubes cutting.
Fiber laser cutting machine cutting capacity with the quality of the cutting machine, laser type, cutting environment, cutting speed and many other factors, the use of auxiliary gas can also improve a certain cutting capacity, so there is no an absolute standard to judge its cutting thickness. If only the pursuit of thickness, is the cost of sacrificing the edge effect as well as speed. So when choosing the power of fiber laser cutting machine, not just look at the maximum thickness it can cut, but also need to measure the accuracy and fineness of the finished cut metal.
Fiber laser cutting machine can be used in a wide range of applications: metal sheet processing, advertising signage word production, high and low voltage electrical cabinet production, mechanical parts, kitchenware, automotive, machinery, metal crafts, saw blades, electrical parts, eye industry, spring pieces, circuit boards, electric kettles, medical microelectronics, hardware, knives and measuring instruments and other related industries.