How to use metal laser cutting machine

Laser cutting metal often produces high-quality cuts without the need for a secondary finishing process.

However, many metals are reflective, so how to overcome these challenges?

You need to set the optimal parameters to cut metal.

Start by preparing your design for laser cutting the metal. It is always recommended that the thickness of the cutting element is greater than the thickness of the workpiece. This ensures the structural integrity of the design.

It also helps reduce heat shadowing in specific areas and prevents metal from overheating.

Set the best parameters according to the type of metal so that the metal laser cutting machine can maintain good working condition.

Laser Power

Power is one of the most important laser parameters of a metal laser cutting machine, which determines the laser's ability to cut different materials.

The higher the power, the better the laser's cutting capabilities.

If you want to cut metal plates above 10mm, please choose a cutting power above 1KW.

Cutting Speed

The cutting speed of your metal laser cutting machine determines your productivity. The faster the speed, the shorter the processing time and the higher the productivity.

Try to use high power and low speed when cutting thick metal.

Slowing down the cutting speed increases the dwell time of the laser, which increases the amount of energy absorbed by the metal and creates more heat to vaporize it.

Auxiliary Gas

Auxiliary gas plays a vital role in metal laser cutting. It protects the focusing lens from debris generated during the cutting process and is beneficial to obtaining good cutting results.

Auxiliary gas also helps increase productivity.

Common auxiliary gases include oxygen, nitrogen and air.

Air is the cheapest of these assist gases and usually protects the focusing lens, but it has no significant effect on the quality or speed of metal cutting.

Oxygen accelerates the evaporation of metal and can increase cutting speed. However, for metals that are highly susceptible to oxidation reactions with oxygen, the use of oxygen is not recommended because it can create an oxide layer.

Nitrogen is beneficial in providing the best cutting results and can be used on all metals, but is more expensive.

Exhaust System

The exhaust system handles the fumes generated during the cutting process. The smoke generated during the cutting process will endanger the health of the operator and affect the cutting effect.

Laser Focus

The laser focus affects the cutting effect of the metal laser cutting machine. When cutting thick metal, the laser focus can be set at 1/3 of the thickness of the workpiece. This gives the best results.

Cutting Test

Metal laser cutting machines have different parameters for cutting different metals. Before cutting a workpiece, you should always test the cut on the same scrap metal. Cutting tests before cutting can help you understand the processing characteristics of the material and find the optimal cutting power, speed, focus, etc. This also helps reduce your production costs.