Tip! How to improve the cutting quality of metal laser cutting machines?

XT Metal Laser Cutting Machine

As the saying goes, ‘A good horse with a good saddle’, the cutting quality is only good when the laser cutting machine is used correctly. On the contrary, even if a good laser cutting machine is purchased, the cutting quality cannot be improved due to the inability to adjust the equipment. Laser cutting of the cross-section will form vertical patterns, and the depth of the patterns determines the roughness of the cutting surface. The shallower the patterns, the smoother the cutting cross-section. Roughness not only affects the appearance of edges, but also affects friction characteristics. In most cases, it is necessary to minimize roughness, so the shallower the texture, the higher the cutting quality.

verticality

If the thickness of the sheet metal exceeds 10mm, the perpendicularity of the cutting edge is very important. When away from the focal point, the laser beam becomes divergent, and the cutting widens towards the top or bottom based on the position of the focal point. The cutting edge deviates by a few millimeters from the vertical line, and the more perpendicular the edge is, the higher the cutting quality.

Cutting width

The cutting width generally does not affect the cutting quality. It only has a significant impact when a particularly precise contour is formed inside the component. This is because the cutting width determines the minimum inner diameter of the contour. As the thickness of the sheet increases, the cutting width also increases. So to ensure equal high accuracy, regardless of the width of the incision, the workpiece in the processing area of the laser cutting machine should be constant.

Striation

When high-speed cutting thick plates, molten metal does not appear in the incision below the vertical laser beam, but instead sprays out at the back of the laser beam. As a result, curved patterns formed at the cutting edge, closely following the moving laser beam. To correct this problem, reducing the feed rate at the end of the cutting process can greatly eliminate the formation of patterns.

burr

The formation of burrs is a very important factor determining the quality of laser cutting, as the removal of burrs requires additional work, so the severity and quantity of burrs can directly determine the cutting quality.

Material deposition

The laser cutting machine first touches a special layer of oily liquid on the surface of the workpiece before starting to melt and pierce. During the cutting process, due to gasification and the use of various materials, customers use air to blow away the incision, but upward or downward discharge can also form deposits on the surface.

Heat affected area

In laser cutting, the area near the incision is heated. At the same time, the structure of the metal undergoes changes. For example, some metals may harden. The heat affected zone refers to the depth of the area where the internal structure changes.

deformation

If cutting causes the component to heat up sharply, it will deform. This is particularly important in fine machining, as the contours and connecting pieces here are usually only a few tenths of a millimeter wide. Controlling laser power and using short laser pulses can reduce component heating and avoid deformation.

About XT Laser

Jinan XT Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2004 and is located in Jinan, Quanzhou City. The company is committed to providing advanced laser cutting machines, marking machines, welding machines, cleaning machines, and supporting automation systems in the global laser industry, as well as a full process service experience. It is a professional laser industrial application solution provider that integrates research and development, production, and sales.

XT Laser adheres to innovation orientation and has a research and development team of nearly 100 people. It has a 28000 square meter industrial park base and a 20000 square meter intelligent equipment center factory area in Jinan. After years of hard work, the market has spread to over 160 countries and regions around the world, with over 40 service outlets and nearly a hundred agents established worldwide, creating a three-hour rapid response service chain to provide customers with 24-hour protection and provide full lifecycle services for products and customers.

In the future, XT Laser will continue to deepen its efforts in the field of laser processing, solidify the foundation of its products, create high-quality laser intelligent manufacturing products, achieve full coverage of direct sales and service networks in key global regions, and stride forward on the path of promoting the revitalization of national industries.