4 commonly used cutting methods for laser cutting machines

Laser cutting is a non-contact processing method with high energy and good density controllability. Laser cutting technology has now been widely used in the processing of metal and non-metal materials. Today Leapion Laser will share the 4 common cutting methods and their characteristics of laser cutting machines, as follows:

1. Melting and cutting of laser cutting

In laser melting and cutting, the workpiece is partially melted and the molten material is sprayed out with the help of airflow. Because the transfer of the material only occurs in its liquid state, the process is called laser melting and cutting. When laser melting and cutting, of course, the material is heated to a certain temperature to melt, and then non-oxidizing gas is sprayed through a nozzle coaxial with the beam, and the liquid metal is discharged by the gas pressure to form an incision. The energy required for laser melting and cutting is only 1/10 of that of vaporization cutting, and the metal does not need to be completely vaporized.

This laser melting cutting is mainly used for cutting some materials that are not easy to oxidize or active metals, such as stainless steel, titanium, aluminum and their alloys.

2. Vaporized cutting of laser cutting

In the process of laser vaporization and cutting, the high-energy and high-density laser beam is used to heat the workpiece to increase the temperature and vaporize the material into steam in a short time. When the steam is ejected, it will form on the material A cut, so that the cutting effect is achieved.

However, the heat of vaporization of general materials is very large, so the surface temperature of the material rises to the boiling point temperature so fast, enough to avoid melting caused by heat conduction, so part of the material vaporizes into steam and disappears, and part of the material is sprayed from the bottom of the slit. The auxiliary gas stream blows away. In this case, very high laser power is required.

Laser vaporization cutting is mostly used for cutting extremely thin metal materials and non-metal materials (such as paper, cloth, wood, plastic, rubber, etc.).

3. Oxidation melting cutting of laser cutting

Melting and cutting generally use inert gas. If it is replaced by oxygen or other active gases, the material is ignited under the irradiation of the laser beam, and a fierce chemical reaction occurs with oxygen to generate another heat source to further heat the material, which is called oxidative melting and cutting . Due to this effect, for structural steel of the same thickness, the cutting rate that can be obtained by this method is higher than that of melting cutting. On the other hand, this method may have worse cut quality compared to fusion cutting. In fact, it will produce wider kerf, obvious roughness, increased heat-affected zone and worse edge quality. Laser flame cutting is not good when processing precision models and sharp corners (there is a danger of burning off the sharp corners).

Laser oxygen melting and cutting are now mainly used by metal laser cutting machines: cutting carbon steel, titanium steel and heat-treated steel and other easily oxidized metal materials.

4. Controlled fracture cutting of laser cutting

For brittle materials that are easily damaged by heat, high-speed and controllable cutting is performed by laser beam heating, which is called controlled fracture cutting. The main content of this cutting process is: the laser beam heats a small area of brittle material, causing a large thermal gradient and severe mechanical deformation in this area, causing the material to form cracks. As long as a uniform heating gradient is maintained, the laser beam can guide cracks in any desired direction.

This kind of cutting generally uses brittle materials.

For more information and inquiries about laser cutting machines, please pay attention to Leapion Laser.