Metal Laser Cutting: Options and Challenges
By: David C
Tags: Cutting, Laser

Laser cutting is a fast and efficient way to cut parts and products from traditionally hard to manipulate materials such as metals — making it one of the most popular techniques in modern manufacturing. Offering a way to not only reduce the time it takes to cut shapes and patterns, it also produces a far cleaner, burr free end result that is often critical when making a product from many smaller, intricate parts. If you’re considering this method for your business, then you may be wondering what options are available to you, and what the ideal choice for your needs is.

When getting the various components your business requires laser cut perfectly to size and shape, you have two choices — flat sheet and rotary cutting. Whilst one option isn’t necessarily superior to the other — they provide precise cutting — they do have some distinct differences that could make one preferable to the other. We’ve taken a closer look at both metal laser cutting options to help you decide.

Flat Sheet Laser Cutting

As its name suggests, this option focuses specifically on cutting components out of flat pieces of material. This is done via directing a high-powered CO2 laser beam at a series of fixed and moving mirrors until it reaches the cutting head, at which point it is focused to a pinpoint and directed at the material in question. A computer-controlled system is used to power the cutting head and ensure it remains steady, as well as allowing you to pre-program the shape or pattern you’re hoping to achieve.

There are a number of advantages to using this method, including:

• Square, clean and burr-free cuts

• Minimal heat output (less damage to surrounding material)

• Fast, quiet and highly efficient

The maximum sheet size that flat sheet metal laser cutting machines are able to accommodate is 3000mm x 15000mm and the maximum weight that it can work with is 890kg. Whilst this is a fairly broad range, it does place some limitations on the size and shape you are able to work with, and pre-cutting may be required prior to precise laser cutter machine.

Rotary Laser Cutting

This option (sometimes known as 3D cutting) is able to cut components out of round pieces of tube, pipe or RHS. It has a similar configuration to a woodworking lathe — the tube is clamped in place at one end and it rotates underneath the moving head until it has been cut. This method also uses a computer control to power the head and ensure it remains steady.

There are also a number of advantages to using this method, including:

• Accurate results with minimal waste

• Fast, clean and quiet

• Efficient and versatile

The minimum tube diameter that most metal laser cutting machinesare able to accommodate is 15mm whilst the maximum is 315mm. The maximum RHS capacity that these machines can work with is 200mm x 200mm. If you have particular requirements that aren’t listed here, reach out to your local premium laser cutting service to learn more about how your project can be completed.

If you are trying to choose between flat sheer and rotary metal laser cutting, we hope that the information provided above has given you a much better idea of which option will best meet your needs. Whichever option you choose, you can be confident the results will be crisp and precise — far better than if you were to attempt the cutting by hand or with a motorised blade. Laser literally melts the metal away, offering the cleanest lines possible in the shortest time frame.