Laser cutting of steel, aluminium and stainless steel

Laser cutting means precise to measure cutting of metal plates by means of electric power, oxygen or nitrogen and inert gasses (e.g. helium).

In the core of a laser a fiercely concentrated beam of light is generated. By concentrating this light beam into a very small focus, an extremely high energy density is created. That is why the laser is the perfect fit for cutting metals. Laser cutters use gas to generate the laser beam.

To this end, a combination of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen and helium is used. This mixture is called the gas source.

Laser cutting

Laser cutting can be compared to autogenous cutting. Because the laser beam contains a much higher energy value, it replaces the autogenous flame. Thanks to the laser beam, the material to be cut is locally brought to ignition temperature, after which the material is burnt in the edge by the addition of cutting oxygen. Due to the hereby generated kinetic energy, the slag is blown out of the edge.

For the laser cutting of low and non-alloy steel mainly oxygen is used. The laser cutting of aluminium or stainless steel demands the use of nitrogen. Should oxygen be used for the two latter materials, then in this case a very hard, difficult to remove oxide layer would be created. In order to avoid this, the use of nitrogen is preferred.

Laser cutting results into an ultra fine edge and very little loss of material. The heated zone therefore is very small. Thanks to laser cutting, complex contours can be cut without any problems.

A large freedom of form is also offered by laser cutting. It is an interesting option for the cutting of complex forms out of products which is more difficult to realize with conventional manipulations like punching or cutting.

CO2 laser cutting can be used for different kinds of materials such as metal, stainless steel, wood or Plexiglas, and other.

Due to their thermal conductivity properties and high reflection, materials like cupper, messing, bronze and aluminium can only be cut with a laser in very special circumstances. To reduce the reflection, a coating can be applied on the material to be cut.

A great advantage of CNC controlled laser cutting, is the short set-up time of the machines, thanks to which laser cutting is applicable for small and medium-sized series. The cutting precision achieved by laser cutting is a tolerance of only 0.2 mm.

Through laser cutting we can handle plate gauges of 25 mm (steel), 20 mm (stainless steel) or 15 mm (aluminium).

In short, laser cutting is an excellent sheet metal processing technique, which thanks to its extreme precision guarantees fast, economic and absolutely high-quality end products.