How thick can a laser cutter cut? how many watts laser to cut steel? When people come to market for cnc laser metal cutting machine, they always have similar doubts and cannot decide to buy the best metal laser cutting machine for their work.
Laser cutting, as an emerging technology, has made great achievements in the past decades owing to the continuous R&D. It focuses high-energy heat on a very small point for cutting and enables the possibility for fabricators to cut different parts out of metal sheet & tube with the utmost precision.
laser cutting is widely applied in different fields, however, it is far from perfect and still under development, technical obstacles & limits exist to be overcome.
Here we will discuss some major factors that decide how thick can a laser cutter cut and provide some advice on how many watts laser to cut steel.
What Material Can A Laser Cut?
CNC lase metal cutting machine is mainly used for metal sheet & tube, different kinds of metal materials can be cut by it, including:
Carbon steel
Stainless steel
Aluminum
titanium
alloy steel
…
But not all metal materials is suitable for laser steel cutting machine, some high-reflective materials will reflect the laser beam generated by laser cutting machine, and the reflected energy will burn the lens on the laser head. Copper, for example, is a kind of high-reflective material, pay attention when cutting copper to avoid damage to lens and operators.
How Thick Can A Metal Laser Cutter Cut?
it is not easy to tell the exact cutting thickness by laser, as metal laser cutting machines of different laser powers are available, also, the actual material and cutting requirements will have to be taken into consideration to decide the actual cutting thickness.
Generally, the limit values of cutting thickness by different fiber laser cutting machines can be simply shown as below:
500W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 6mm for carbon steel; maximum 3mm for stainless steel; maximum 2mm for aluminum plate and maximum 2mm for copper plate;
1000W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 10mm for carbon steel; maximum 5mm for stainless steel; maximum 3mm for aluminum plate and maximum 3mm for copper plate;
2000W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 16mm for carbon steel; maximum 8mm for stainless steel; maximum 5mm for aluminum plate and maximum 5mm for copper plate;
3000W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 20mm for carbon steel; maximum 10mm for stainless steel; maximum 8mm for aluminum plate and maximum 8mm for copper plate;
4000W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 22mm for carbon steel; maximum 12mm for stainless steel; maximum 12mm for aluminum plate and maximum 10mm for copper plate;
6000W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 25mm for carbon steel; maximum 16mm for stainless steel; maximum 16mm for aluminum plate and maximum 12mm for copper plate;
8000W fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 25mm for carbon steel; maximum 25mm for stainless steel; maximum 20mm for aluminum plate and maximum 5mm for copper plate;
12KW fiber laser metal cutting machine
Maximum 30mm for carbon steel; maximum 30mm for stainless steel; maximum 25mm for aluminum plate and maximum 25mm for copper plate;
………
Notice: the parameters are for reference only, the actual cutting capacity is highly determined by the machine quality, the cutting environment, auxiliary gas, cutting speed and other factors.
For example, the cutting ability of the carbon steel mainly relies on oxygen combustion, and the cutting ability of stainless steel mainly relies on power. Generally, a 1000w fiber laser cutting machine can cut carbon steel plates of about 10mm, and stainless steel plates are slightly difficult to cut. If the cutting thickness is to be increased, the edge effect and speed must be sacrificed.
How Many Watts CNC Laser Metal Cutting Machine To Choose
With the continuous development of the industry, the metal fabrication industry put forward new requirements over the accuracy, cutting speed and cutting thickness. The laser power that can be achieved by cnc laser metal cutting machine is getting higher. So, how many watts laser is the best to cut steel? how to how to choose the affordabl laser cutter machine.
The Materials & Plate Thickness
The actual laser power of the laser metal cutting machine has a lot to do with the actual material and the cutting thickness.
Laser has different effects on different metal materials, and laser power varies from metal materials. For example, at the same thickness, the laser power of cutting carbon steel is lower than that of stainless steel, and the laser power of cutting stainless steel is lower than that of copper.
In addition to the characteristics of the metal itself, the laser power is also closely related to the thickness of the material. For the same metal plate, the cutting power required to cut plate of 10mm is less than that of 20mm. The cutting thickness also affects the smoothness of the cutting surface of the metal plate.
Besides, the auxiliary gas used can also affect the laser cutting surface. To ensure the excellent cutting surface of metal plates below 3mm with no burrs, nitrogen is the best option, followed by oxygen, and air comes the last.
The Fiber Laser Power
Many cnc laser metal cutting machines are available on the market ranging from 1000W to 20kW. The plate thickness of most metal manufacturers lies between 8mm-12mm. If laser cutting of this thickness lasts for a long time, the 4000W-6000W laser cutting machine is recommended; If it is copper plate with high reflection characteristics, fiber laser cutting machine above 6000W is recommended. For steel plate of 5mm-8mm thick, it is recommended to use 2000W-4000W laser cutting machine, whiles 1000W fiber laser will be quite enough for high precision cutting of plates with small thickness.
Main Parts of The Laser metal cutter Machine
Generally, different options of fiber laser sources are available, eg, German IPG, China Raycus, etc, Different brands have their own performance & advantages, also, their price differs much, choose the right one in accordance with your budget & working requirements;
The laser cutting head has different types of autofocus and manual focus, whose working efficiency & automation are quite different, you can buy one according to work needs.
At the same time, pay attention to other parts such as driving motors, guide rail, machine bed, etc. They all have great affects on the cutting accuracy of the machine.
Conclusion
The actual laser power and corresponding cutting thickness determine the working performance and working efficiency, so, you will have to be very careful when come into market for the CNC laser metal cutting machine.
JeesunCNC has been in the laser field since the 2015, and can provide different kinds of metal laser cutting machine for customers all over the world, please contact us if you have any interest in or inquiry over the laser machine, will revert with the best solution soon.
