When working with sheet metal, one of the most difficult tasks is its cutting. This is especially true when it comes to rolled metal of a fairly large thickness. It is not always possible to accurately and accurately cut blanks from such material. However, there is a modern technique that allows this procedure to be carried out with a high degree of accuracy. It is called laser cutting.
This technology uses a high-power laser , which has a focused beam. This equipment is controlled by a computer. Solid-state, fiber, and gas CO2 lasers are applicable in laser cutting technology. Moreover, this device can operate in both continuous and pulsed modes. Of course, the cost of equipment for this kind of cutting is quite high. Therefore, most often such services are provided by a special enterprise called a laser cutting center.
Let's note the main advantages of this technology :
- Thanks to the high power of the laser beam, even hard metal workpieces can be cut and processed;
- Ability to process and cut brittle or easily deformable materials due to the absence of mechanical contact;
- When it comes to the release of batches of products, then compared with the manufacture of molds, laser cutting is more economically viable and profitable;
- When working with thin sheets of steel, it is possible to cut them at a fairly high speed;
- Highest precision and ability to cut the most varied and complex workpiece shapes. This is possible thanks to the computer-controlled laser. All that the operator needs in this case is to create a graphic file and transfer it to the control computer of the device.
Various types of metals can be laser cut. In addition, each of them can have a different thickness. So, a steel sheet can be cut with its thickness from 0.2 to 20 mm, stainless steel sheet - from 0.2 to 30 mm, from brass - from 0.2 to 12 mm, from aluminum and its alloys - from 0, 2 to 20 mm, copper - from 0.2 to 15 mm.
The laser cutting machine must have a cooling system to function properly. It can be a blower or a heat exchanger.
Usually, companies specializing in laser cutting offer other services, among which sheet metal bending is one of the most popular.
