Laser cutting utilizes a high-power laser beam controlled by a computer to cut the desired shape from a sheet or thin plate of metal. The laser beam is strong enough to be used on various materials such as metals, composites, wood, and plywood. However, in most industrial and fabrication units, lasers are used on materials such as steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Sheet metal fabrication has been conventionally carried out with the help of plasma and waterjet cutting, but lasers advantageous in several ways.
Today, laser-aided cutting has become an important part of the services offered by most metal fabrication firms. There are several reasons for this shift. Lasers need no tooling development and set-up costs. Moreover, laser beams do not wear as other tooling does.
Laser-aided cutting is a much faster process as compared to plasma and mechanical cutting methods, and produces parts with clean finish and edges. The wattage of the laser cutting machines determines the power of their laser beams, and the thickness of material that they can cut.
Here are some advantages of this cutting method:
Various industries need parts with intricate contours manufactured in short lead times. Lasers make it very easy to produce complex, flat metal shapes in very large or very small volumes. Sheet metal fabrication becomes easier with lasers.
Material wastage has always been a concern of industries and this concern is effectively addressed by laser-aided cutting techniques. CNC software can be used to program parts and then nest them in the most optimum positions using a computerized process. This ensures that the most complex parts are produced whilst minimizing material wastage.
When it comes to mechanical cutting processes, part rejection rate is slightly higher as some parts get damaged when they come in contact with the cutting tools. However, in laser-enabled cutting techniques, there is no mechanical contact with the metal being cut. This produces clean, damage free parts that donâEUR(TM)t need to undergo secondary finishing operations.
Laser cutting can be effectively clubbed with other metal fabrication processes such as forming, punching, machining, welding, and so on to produce a fully finished component under a single roof.
It is a faster and more repeatable process as compared with plasma cutting and water-jet cutting. All these factors ultimately give you more value for every dollar.
However, it is important to note at this point that custom laser cutting as a process needs to be handled by an experienced firm. It is ideal to choose a firm that possesses at least a decade or two of experience in laser-aided cutting. Laser cut compoents are integrated with machines and equipment used in industries such as: computers, electronics, food processing equipment, automobiles, aerospace, telecommunications, agricultural machinery, industrial machinery, and so on.
