If a majority of the metal being cut is at the top range of this chart the 200w laser upgrade would be strongly advised.
Laser cutting 1 4 steel.
Sheet metal cutting requires a power density of 10 6 watts in 2 source.
After cooling down the cut hardens and is very hard to thread.
Laser cutting in the processing of the limit material is inefficient and the effect will be reduced cannot be continuous processing.
Metal thicknesses shown are approximate.
Mike klos laser mechanisms converting to millimeters that s 1550 watts mm 2.
The laser cutting process is suitable for cutting mild steel from gauge thickness up to about 1 25 inch.
Below are examples of 12 6 and 3 2mm 1 2 1 4 and 10ga mild steel cut with oxygen on a 2kw fiber laser and examples of the same part cut with 1 variable changed to show how it affected the cut quality.
Customers often choose laser cutting for its cost effectiveness cutting tolerances as close as 003 repeatability 001 and for its cutting capacity up to 3 4 carbon steel and 5 8 stainless steel.
This makes sense only for material thicknesses of at least 1 5 mm.
The examples of the adjustments made will be similar for any co 2 or fiber laser cutting mild steel with o 2.
However the 200w laser will cut at a higher feed rate.
For this reason it s a good practice to pierce with a laser and perform some drilling as explained in the previous tip before thread cutting.
For the cutting of high anti corrosive materials such as copper and aluminum attention should be paid to adjusting the process.
Steel for example melts and evaporates when it s laser cut.
Laser cut 1 4 steel at this thickness we switch to oxygen assist gas to add additional energy to the cut hence the glassy look on the edge laser cut 3 8 steel at this thickness this part starts to exhibit minor gouging or stepping due to the increased material temperature.
The 200w laser is specified to cut the same thicknesses as the 150w laser.
1in 2 645mm 2 a 100 watt laser can achieve a power density of 1550 watts mm 2 in a spot size that is 0 6452mm 2 a spot size that is 0 6452mm 2 has a diameter of of 28mm or 280 micron using area pi d 2 2 280 micron.
