Advantages and disadvantages of laser cutting machines compared with ordinary cutting tools

In recent years, with the rapid development of laser technology, more and more users choose laser cutting machines for processing, and laser cutting technology has gradually occupied a place in the market. Common cutting equipment includes water jet cutting machines, plasma cutting machines, punching machines and CNC engraving machines, etc. So, what factors make laser cutting machines stand out in the fierce market competition? Today we will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of laser cutting technology in cutting equipment by comparing the characteristics of common cutting machines.

Advantage 1: High precision

Laser cutting uses a high-power density laser beam to scan the surface of the material, heat the material to thousands to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius in a very short time, melt or vaporize the material, and then use high-pressure gas to blow away the melted or vaporized chemicals from the cutting seam to achieve the purpose of cutting the material. Laser cutting replaces the traditional mechanical knife with an invisible beam. The mechanical part of the laser head has no contact with the workpiece, and will not cause scratches on the surface of the workpiece during operation. In addition, due to the small diameter of the beam and the smaller contact surface with the material, the cutting accuracy is higher. The working principle of the plasma cutting machine is to use the heat of the high-temperature plasma arc to melt the metal part at the cut of the workpiece, and use the momentum of the high-speed plasma to take away the molten metal to form an incision. Its cutting seam is larger, so the precision is lower than that of the laser cutting machine. The water jet cutting machine uses a supercharger to pressurize water and spray it from a small nozzle, converting the pressure energy into kinetic energy, and uses the kinetic energy of this high-speed jet to impact and destroy the workpiece to achieve the purpose of cutting and forming. The diameter of the water column is larger than the diameter of the laser beam, which leads to a larger cutting seam of the water jet cutting machine, so the cutting precision is lower than that of the laser cutting machine.

Advantage 2: Fast cutting speed

The laser cutting machine can release huge energy to cut metal in a very short time with the extremely high energy of the laser source, so it has a lightning-fast cutting speed, especially when cutting thin metal sheets, the laser cutting machine is faster than the water jet, plasma cutting machine and other cutting speeds.

Advantage 3: Less waste and low maintenance cost

Compared with water jet and plasma cutting, laser cutting does not require the use of other media other than the laser source for cutting, which greatly reduces the cost of using the laser cutting machine. Users do not need to frequently change and adjust the parameters of various media, and also save a lot of operating time.

Advantage 4: High flexibility

Laser cutting machines can not only be used to process various graphics on flat plates, but also to cut pipes, including round pipes, square pipes, rectangular pipes, elliptical pipes, hexagonal pipes, C-shaped steels, angle steels, H-shaped steels and other special-shaped pipes. It can also be used to cut 3D materials.

Advantage 5: Batch processing

Due to its fast cutting speed, high precision, and ability to be operated through a computer system, laser cutting machines are often used for batch processing. In addition, in order to improve processing efficiency, laser cutting machine manufacturers have also developed a series of accessories, such as exchange platforms, coiling devices, automatic feeding platforms, etc. These devices can save you the time and labor required for changing materials in batch processing. These devices also greatly reduce the labor cost in production, which is not possible with other processing methods.

Advantage 6: Few material restrictions

Laser cutting machines are divided into fiber laser cutting machines and CO2 laser cutting machines. Fiber laser cutting machines can cut metal materials, CO2 laser cutting machines can generally cut metal and non-metal materials, while plasma cutting machines can only cut metal. Water jets require the machine to allow the material to come into contact with water. Some materials that cannot come into contact with water for a long time are difficult to process.

Advantage 7: Smooth cutting surface, no secondary processing required

The cutting surface of the material processed by the laser cutting machine is smooth and can be used directly without secondary processing, saving more labor costs and the time required to complete the workpiece. The surface of the material cut by the plasma cutting machine has slag and requires secondary processing.

Advantage 8: Less pollution and less noise

Compared with water jets and plasma cutting machines, laser cutting machines have less noise and less exhaust emissions when processing parts. They will not produce wastewater to pollute the environment, and there is no need to worry about how to treat the wastewater or increase the cost of wastewater treatment.

Although laser cutting machines have many advantages, there are also some aspects that they cannot replace other cutting machines. Let's talk about the disadvantages of laser cutting machines.

Disadvantage 1: Initial cost

Although the cutting efficiency and use cost of laser cutting machines are lower than those of water jet and plasma cutting machines, the cost of purchasing a laser cutting machine is much higher than that of purchasing a water jet and plasma cutting machine. For some low-cost entrepreneurs, it may be difficult to purchase a cutting machine.

Disadvantage 2: Limited cutting thickness

Due to the limited laser power of the laser cutting machine, the cutting thickness of laser cutting is also limited. For cutting some thick plates, water jet and plasma cutting have advantages.

Disadvantage 3: Difficult to cut highly reflective materials

Due to the characteristics of lasers, laser cutting machines are difficult to cut highly reflective materials such as aluminum, gold, and copper. Special laser sources and cutting heads are required for cutting. The price of such laser sources and cutting heads is relatively high, and the cutting speed is relatively slow. The water jet cutting machine is a physical cutting machine that does not react with highly reflective materials and can be used for mass cutting.

As a leading laser cutting machine supplier in China, SUNNA insists on providing customers with the best machines and services. If you have any questions about laser cutting machines, want to know more models and prices, and get more cutting parameters, please feel free to contact us.