Do You Know How To Choose Fiber Or Plasma?

In the cutting field, plasma cutting, especially fine plasma cutting, has been applied in many industrial fields. However, with the development of laser technology such as fiber optics, laser cutting machines have also begun to be favored by some users in recent years. So, compared with laser cutting, which cutting method is more suitable for the company's product production? From the perspective of users, we will allow users to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the two cutting processes, so as to provide reference for engineers who purchase cutting products and production process design in the future.

 1. Application of plasma cutting machine and laser cutting machine Laser cutting machine: The laser cutting machine is mainly used for medium and thin plates, and is mainly used for the preparation of carbon steel and stainless steel plates with a thickness of less than 8mm, especially if the shape is complex and the cutting surface accuracy is required. High parts. In addition to cutting various high melting point materials, heat-resistant alloys and super-hard alloys and other special metal materials, laser cutting machines can also cut semiconductor materials, non-metallic materials and composite materials. The laser has extremely high luminous intensity due to its almost non-divergent directivity. The laser cutting speed is fast, the processing accuracy is high, and the cutting seam is narrow. Compared with plasma cutting, the heat-affected zone is small, the cutting plate deformation is small, and the cutting surface is not damaged. Generally, subsequent processing is not required. The plasma cutting machine can be used for cutting various metal materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, copper, cast iron, carbon steel, etc. The thickness of the plate is generally 6-40mm. Taking 260A plasma cutting as an example, the maximum cutting thickness can reach 60mm. The plasma cutting speed is fast, the slit is narrow, and the incision is flat, allowing low cost, and has significant energy saving and economic effects. 2. Plasma cutting machine VS laser cutting machine 1. The working principle of plasma cutting is to use oxygen or nitrogen as the working gas, using the heat of the high temperature plasma arc to locally melt and evaporate the metal at the incision of the workpiece, and remove it with the momentum of the high-speed plasma flow A processing method of molten metal to form slits. Plasma cutting is suitable for cutting various metal materials, mainly for medium and thick plates. The advantages are fast cutting speed, narrow kerf, small heat-affected zone, small deformation, and low operating cost; the disadvantage is that the verticality of the section has an inclination angle of 0.5°~1.5° and the cut is hardened. Laser cutting is a laser beam generated by a laser, transmitted through a series of mirrors, and finally focused by a focusing mirror to the surface of the workpiece, generating a local high temperature at the focal point, causing the heated point of the workpiece to instantly melt or vaporize to form a slit. At the same time, an auxiliary gas is added to blow out the slag at the slit during the cutting process, and finally achieve the purpose of processing. Laser cutting is mainly based on medium and thin plates, and the range of cutting materials is very wide (metal, non-metal, ceramic, glass, etc.). Because the laser has the characteristics of high direction, high brightness, high intensity, etc., the laser cutting speed is fast, the processing accuracy is high, and the slit is very narrow. Generally, subsequent processing is not required. In summary, in terms of cutting materials, laser cutting has a wider selection of materials than plasma cutting; in thin plate cutting, laser cutting has more significant advantages; and in terms of cost, plasma cutting is cheaper than laser cutting a lot of. 2. Compared with the general cutting method, the laser cutting machine has some significant advantages: ①The laser cutting has a small kerf, and the cutting surface can be directly used for welding without grinding. ②Laser cutting machine is fast: the speed of cutting thin plate can reach 10m/min, which is much faster than that of plasma cutting machine. ③The laser cutting machine has good cutting quality: small deformation, low surface roughness value, and small bevel. ④The laser cutting machine has high accuracy: the positioning accuracy can reach 0.05mm, and the repeat positioning accuracy can reach 0.02mm. ⑤Laser cutting machine cuts a wide range of materials: In addition to cutting metal, it can also cut wood, plastic, rubber, PVC, leather, textiles and organic glass and other materials, with a wide range of applications. Disadvantages of laser cutting: laser cutting costs are high, initial investment and later maintenance require higher costs; currently, lasers are more cost-effective in cutting thin plates, but are low in efficiency when cutting medium and thick plates. Unless the quality requirements are high, it is not suitable Use laser cutting. Advantages of plasma cutting: In the process of cutting medium and thick plates, a very high cutting speed can be achieved, which is much higher than that of laser and flame. The initial equipment investment is lower than that of the laser, and the later maintenance cost is also lower than that of the laser. Disadvantages of plasma cutting: ①Poor verticality of the cutting surface: a large bevel will be produced on one side of the cutting surface, and the verticality will be poor. ② Produce more cutting slag: during the cutting process, cutting slag will be generated below the cutting surface. In order not to affect the quality of the subsequent process, this cutting slag must be removed by grinding, which also increases labor costs. ③ Harmful gas and arc light will be generated: The principle of plasma cutting determines that harmful dust and arc light will be generated during the cutting process. However, underwater plasma cutting has also appeared to avoid this defect. ④ The later cutting nozzles will consume more, and the current cutting nozzles are mainly imported, and the cost is higher. 3. According to our previous experience, the comparison between laser cutting machine and plasma cutting machine is as follows: First, the laser cutting machine will not damage the workpiece, while the plasma cutting machine has large or small damage to the plate, especially during the cutting process. When there is a problem with the cutting nozzle of the torch of the plasma cutting machine, it will cause obvious defects to the plate. Second, because the laser beam is focused into a small spot, the slit of the laser cutting machine is narrow, and the slit of the plasma cutting machine is slightly larger than that of the laser cutting machine. Third, the laser cutting machine is fast: the cutting speed can reach 10m/min, which is much faster than that of the plasma cutting machine. Fourth, the laser cutting machine has a smooth cutting surface, no burrs, and good cutting quality. It is a non-contact cutting. The cutting edge is little affected by heat, and there is basically no thermal deformation of the workpiece. It completely avoids the collapse of the material when the material is punched. Need secondary processing. However, the thickness of the cut sheet is limited and the processing cost is high. The plasma cutting machine can cut steel plates above 6-40mm according to different models and power sizes, and the processing cost is relatively low. Fifth, the laser cutting machine has high precision: the positioning accuracy of the laser cutting machine is 0.05mm, and the repeated positioning accuracy is 0.02 mm, but the working environment is demanding. Although the processing accuracy of the plasma cutting machine is not as good as that of the laser cutting machine, it has lower requirements for the working environment and is mobile It is more flexible and has a wider range of adapting to cutting, and the requirements for the skill and water quality of personnel are lower than that of laser cutting. 4. The advantages of the laser cutting machine are: higher cutting accuracy, fast speed, small plate deformation, suitable for the preparation of parts with complex shapes, but as far as our company's equipment is concerned, the cutting thickness is limited, under normal circumstances: 8mm For the following plates, a single piece with high precision requirements is used for cutting with a laser cutting machine. The cutting cost is relatively high, and there are certain requirements for the cleanliness of the plate. The advantages of plasma cutting machine are: wide cutting area, can cut all metal plates; cutting speed and high efficiency; cutting accuracy is higher than CNC flame cutting, fine plasma cutting has higher accuracy. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to cut thick plates, especially steel plates above 20 mm, and requires a high-power plasma power source, and the cost is relatively high. 

3. Future development trend The development direction of high-efficiency laser cutting machine is as follows: (1) Cutting efficiency is further improved. To develop a high-efficiency and high-precision CNC laser cutting machine to increase the cutting speed, not only must the beam quality be improved, the cutting process must be changed, but a more important aspect is the use of linear motors to drive it to have greater acceleration and moving speed. (2) Flexible processing of laser cutting. Improve the multi-degree of freedom of the laser cutting machine, which is suitable for the processing of more complex curved workpieces. Develop high-precision fiber laser cutting machine, promote the application in two-dimensional and three-dimensional, and improve flexible processing. (3) Increasing the laser cutting of large-format and large-thick plates. Master the laser transmission technology of long optical path, thick plate cutting technology, high-power laser optical path design and manufacturing technology, and develop large-format large thick plate laser cutting equipment. (4) The intelligent upgrade of the cutting machine. Furthermore, the laser is combined with CNC technology, optical technology, and positioning of high-precision workpieces, and the functional parts of the laser cutting machine are combined with other processing methods to make a multifunctional laser processing machine. In the future, high-efficiency cutting machines should develop in two ways. One is the upgrading of the current technology. For example, the thickness of laser cutting will be higher and higher, and the cost will be lower and lower. The dust and arc defects of plasma cutting have been reduced a lot with the emergence of underwater plasma. The other direction is that new cutting media and cutting methods will appear, from ancient flame cutting to later plasma, laser, and water cutting, all of which are promoted with the emergence of new technologies. In the future, the development direction of high-efficiency cutting machines should be: fine plasma cutting, because fine plasma cutting has made the cutting quality close to the level of laser cutting. At present, with the maturity of high-power plasma cutting technology, the cutting thickness has exceeded 150mm, which has broadened the CNC plasma cutting machine. Cutting range.

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