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Laser Cutting Machines and Their Attributes

Laser Cutting Machines and Their Attributes

Laser cutting machines allow metal fabricators to create high-quality parts that require very little, if any, finishing work. As the high-powered laser is cutting, excess material is either melts, burns or vaporizes away. A high pressure jet of gas also blows away any debris, resulting in a highly finished surface cut.

Two types of laser cutting machines in use today are CO2 and Nd:YAG. CO2 laser cutting machines were one of the first gas lasers and are the most common variety of laser cutting machine. They offer an excellent power input output ratio, as efficient as 20 percent. Nd:YAG lasers are solid state and use a crystal as a lasing medium. They cut  steel and other alloys in the metal working industry.

Laser Cutting vs. Mechanical Cutting

Laser cutting machines are distinct from traditional mechanical cutters. Since the laser never makes physical contact with the metal, there is little to no wear on the equipment, and there is less opportunity for the material to become contaminated. Laser cutting machines also cut metal with higher precision than that of mechanical means.

In mechanical cutting, there is usually a wide heat affected zone that can cause material warping from time to time. Thanks to laser cutting machines, the heat affected zone is kept small, thus reducing the possibility of warped material. Although laser cutting offers numerous advantages, it also consumes a very high level of energy, making it more difficult for a conventional machine shop to incorporate into its metal fabrication system.

Benefits of Laser Cutting Machines

Laser cutting machines offer a substantial number of benefits for consideration when selecting a cutting device. Besides its advantages over conventional mechanical cutting, laser cutting is a quiet process. Safety is also important and, as a result, most laser machines are fully enclosed to prevent accidents.

Lasers are equipped with computer touch screens, so workers can plot out design alterations for prototypes and large part runs. The lasers progress quickly because of high feed rates and equipment speed. Workers can also cut multiple jobs in one run by storing inventory on site.

Laser Cutting Machine Considerations

While exceptional for cutting steel and other hard metals, laser cutting machines typically do not function well on highly reflective metals, like copper and aluminum. Since these metals easily reflect the laser’s light and also absorb its heat, highly-powered beams are required to cut them.

When piercing, laser cutting machines create slightly tapered holes. due to the hole entry being slightly larger in diameter than the exit.

Since laser cutting melts the material in the beam’s path, metal can harden in the puncture, especially in heat treated material. While this may be beneficial for some applications, this issue can be detrimental to those requiring further work, like threading.

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more cutting machine information

In every machining system, one simply can’t ignore the important role that cutting tools play. Oftentimes, the quality of a finished product would rely on the quality of the cutting tools. The quality and the performance of cutting tools would also directly affect a machining system’s overall productivity. It is because of their importance that manufacturers would take into consideration several criteria before eventually buying a piece of cutting tool for their machining system. Included in these criteria are the tools ability to last long under rigorous operating conditions and their capability to perform at very high speeds. Also important is the tool’s resistance to wear and tear, including resistance to breakage, edge and flank wear, cratering or top wear, chipping, built-up edge (BUE), deformation, and thermal cracking.

1. Kinds Of Tools

As the demand for better cutting tools increase, cutting tool suppliers also continuously develop products that can pass manufacturers’ demands. Through the years, a lot of materials for the manufacture of cutting tools have been experimented upon; some have passed the standards while others were simply dropped. Today, there are only two types of cutting tools heavily favored in the machining industry: high speed steel (HSS) cutting tools and carbide cutting tools; and it seems that carbide cutting tools have slightly overtaken the other in popularity. So, what advantages do carbide cutting tools have over their HSS counterparts? Considering their lead in popularity, it is clear that the benefits of carbide cutting tools outnumber that of HSS cutting tools. And we’ll understand these benefits better if we know what carbide really is.

2. What is Carbide?

In chemistry, carbides refer to any group of compounds made up of carbon and one other element that can be a metal, boron, or silicon. There are actually many compounds belonging to this group, among the more popular of which includes:

- Calcium Carbide – Aluminum Carbide – Silicon Carbide – Tungsten Carbide – Iron Carbide

3. Industrial Uses of Carbide

In the 20th century, carbides have been used for a lot of industrial applications. Carbides used in industrial applications are often called cemented carbide products and are classified in three major grades:

- Wear grades Used primarily in dies, machine and tool guides

- Impact grades Higher shock resistance carbide products used for dies, particularly for stamping and forming

- Cutting tool grades Carbide tools used for cutting

4. Carbide Cutting Tools

Cutting tool grades of carbides are further subdivided into two groups: cast-iron carbides and steel-grade carbides. As their name implies, cast-iron carbides are specifically made for cutting cast-iron materials. These carbides are more resistant to abrasive wear, protecting the carbide cutting tool from edge wear due to the high abrasiveness of cast-iron. Steel-grade carbides, on the other hand, are specially made to resist cratering and heat deformation that may be caused by the long chips of steel on higher cutting speeds. Whichever grade of carbide is used in a carbide cutting tool, the main carbide material used in its manufacture is tungsten carbide (WC) with a cobalt binder. Tungsten carbide is well known for its hardness and resistance to abrasive wear. Cobalt, on the other hand, is used to further toughen the tool’s surface.

5. Other Variants

Aside from tungsten carbide and cobalt, other alloying materials are added in the manufacture of carbide cutting tools. Among them is titanium carbide and tantalum carbide. Titanium carbide helps the carbide cutting tool to resist cratering while tantalum carbide can reduce heat deformations in the tool. Also commonly used in the cutting industry today are coated carbide cutting tools. Aside from the basic carbide materials, titanium carbide, titanium nitride, ceramic coating, diamond coating or titanium carbonitride are used as coating materials. The different coating materials aid the carbide cutting tool differently, although they are generally used to further toughen the cutting tool.

6. Benefits of Carbide Cutting Tools

- Toughness – Exceptional resistance to abrasion – Superior wear resistance – Resistance to cratering – Resistance to thermal deformations

- High modulus of elasticity – Chemical inertness – Torsional strength twice that of HSS – Compressive strength

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