In the arena of modern manufacturing, efficiency is the eternal trump card. And laser cutting technology, precisely because of its astonishing "light-speed" cutting capability, has become the core engine driving precision manufacturing. It uses a focused high-energy laser beam as an invisible sharp blade to achieve high-speed and precise cutting on a wide range of materials such as metal, plastic and wood, completely transforming the appearance of traditional processing methods.
By irradiating the material to be cut with a high-power-density laser beam, the material is rapidly heated to the vaporization temperature, evaporating to form holes. As the beam moves over the material, these holes continuously form very narrow (such as about 0.1mm) cutting seams, thus completing the cutting of the material.
(1) Good cutting quality: Due to the small laser spot, high energy density and fast cutting speed, laser cutting can achieve better cutting quality.
♦ The cut edge of laser cutting is narrow and fine, with both sides of the slit parallel and perpendicular to the surface. The dimensional accuracy of the cut parts can reach ±0.05mm.
♦ The cutting surface is smooth and beautiful, with a surface roughness of only a few tens of microns. Even laser cutting can be used as the final process without mechanical processing, and the parts can be used directly.
♦After laser cutting, the width of the heat-affected zone of the material is very small, and the performance of the material near the cut seam is almost unaffected. Moreover, the workpiece deformation is small, the cutting accuracy is high, the geometric shape of the cut seam is good, and the cross-sectional shape of the cut seam presents a relatively regular rectangle.
(2) High cutting efficiency: Due to the transmission characteristics of laser, laser cutting machines are generally equipped with multiple CNC worktables, and the entire cutting process can be fully numerically controlled. During operation, simply by changing the numerical control program, it can be applied to the cutting of parts of different shapes. It can perform both two-dimensional and three-dimensional cutting.
(3) Fast cutting speed: ♦ Thin plate cutting as fast as lightning: When facing 1mm thick carbon steel plates, modern laser cutting machines can easily achieve a cutting speed of 15-20 meters per minute. It only takes a few seconds to cut a thin sheet the size of an A4 paper.
♦The efficiency of medium and thick plates is remarkable: Even when dealing with 10mm thick carbon steel plates, the cutting speed can still be maintained at around 1-2 meters per minute, which is much higher than that of flame cutting or plasma cutting.
♦ Non-metallic cutting is more rapid: When cutting non-metallic materials such as acrylic, wood boards or fabrics, the speed can often reach tens of meters per minute, demonstrating extremely high processing efficiency.
(4) Non-contact cutting: During laser cutting, the cutting torch does not come into contact with the workpiece, and there is no wear of the tool. When processing parts of different shapes, there is no need to change the "cutting tools"; only the output parameters of the laser need to be altered. The laser cutting process features low noise, minimal vibration and no pollution.
(5) A wide variety of materials can be cut: metal matrix composites, leather, wood and fibers, etc. However, for different materials, due to their own thermal physical properties and different absorption rates of laser, they exhibit different adaptability to laser cutting.
(6) Disadvantages: Due to the limitations of laser power and equipment size, laser cutting can only cut medium and small thickness plates and pipes. Moreover, as the thickness of the workpiece increases, the cutting speed drops significantly. Laser cutting equipment is expensive and requires a large one-time investment.
The comprehensive efficiency far exceeds that of the traditional Laser utilizes the excitation of substances to generate light, which has a strong temperature. When it comes into contact with materials, it can quickly melt on the material surface, forming a hole. Through the movement of the positioning point, a cutting is achieved. Therefore, compared with traditional cutting methods, this cutting method has smaller gaps and can save a lot of materials. However, it is defined and analyzed based on the cutting effect. The materials cut by laser can achieve satisfactory cutting results with high precision. This inherits the advantages of laser and is something that ordinary cutting methods cannot match. Compared with traditional cutting methods, laser cutting is easier to understand and learn. It has absolute advantages in terms of processing effect and speed as required by merchants. Therefore, it is believed that in the future selection of cutting methods, laser cutting machines will be the demand of the general public. Laser cutting integrates high-speed cutting, high precision, no need for mold opening, and flexible production. Its overall production efficiency far exceeds that of traditional processes such as punch presses, wire cutting, water jet cutting, and plasma cutting. It has significant advantages especially in small-batch, multi-variety, or complex graphic processing.
Laser cutting, this "invisible sharp knife" forged by light beams, is cutting out the future picture of manufacturing at an unprecedented speed. It is not only a symbol of the efficiency revolution, but also a perfect combination of precision and flexibility. With the continuous leaps in technology, laser cutting will continue to drive modern industry to accelerate on the path of precision manufacturing at its remarkable "speed of light", constantly reshaping the way products are realized from concept to finished product.