Narrow cut and small deformation of workpieces
The laser beam is focused into very small light spots, achieving a high power density at the focal point. At this point, the heat input by the beam far exceeds the part reflected, conducted, or diffused by the material, and the material quickly heats up to the point of vaporization, forming pores through evaporation. As the beam moves linearly relative to the material, the hole continuously forms a narrow slit. The cutting edge is minimally affected by heat, and there is basically no deformation of the workpiece.
During the cutting process, auxiliary vapor suitable for the material being cut is also added. During steel cutting, oxygen is used as an auxiliary vapor to generate exothermic chemical reactions with molten metal, oxidizing the material and helping to blow away the slag inside the cutting seam. Cutting polypropylene and other plastics uses compressed air, while cutting flammable materials such as cotton and paper uses inert gases. The auxiliary vapor entering the nozzle can also cool the focusing lens, preventing smoke and dust from entering the lens holder and contaminating the lens, leading to overheating of the lens.
Most organic and inorganic materials can be cut by laser. In the metal processing industry, which plays a significant role in industrial manufacturing systems, many metal materials, regardless of their hardness, can be cut without deformation. Of course, for high reflectivity materials such as gold, silver, copper, and aluminum alloys, they are also good heat transfer conductors, so laser cutting is difficult or even impossible to cut. Laser cutting has no burrs, wrinkles, and high precision, which is superior to plasma cutting. For many electromechanical manufacturing industries, modern laser cutting systems controlled by microcomputer programs can easily cut workpieces of different shapes and sizes, and are often preferred over punching and molding processes; Although its processing speed is still slower than die stamping, it does not consume molds, does not require mold repair, and saves time on mold replacement, thereby saving processing costs and reducing production costs. Therefore, overall, it is more cost-effective.
Contactless processing
After focusing the laser beam, it forms a very small point of action with extremely strong energy, which has many characteristics when applied to cutting. Firstly, laser
Light energyConverted into astonishing thermal energy and maintained in a very small area, it can provide ⑴ narrow straight edge cutting; ⑵ The smallest heat affected zone adjacent to the cutting edge; ⑶ Extremely small local deformation. Secondly, the laser beam does not apply any force to the workpiece, making it a non-contact cutting tool, which means that ⑴ the workpiece has no mechanical deformation; ⑵ No tool wear, let alone the issue of tool conversion; ⑶ Cutting materials does not need to consider their hardness, which means that the laser cutting ability is not affected by the hardness of the material being cut, and any hardness of material can be cut. Again, the laser beam has strong controllability, high adaptability, and flexibility, making it easy to combine with automation equipment and achieve automated cutting processes Due to the absence of restrictions on cutting workpieces, laser beams have unlimited ability to perform contour cutting Combined with computers, the entire board can be laid out, saving materials.
Adaptability and flexibility
Compared with other conventional processing methods, laser cutting has greater adaptability. Firstly, compared with other thermal cutting methods, as a thermal cutting process, other methods cannot act on a very small area like laser beams, resulting in wide incisions, large heat affected zones, and significant workpiece deformation. Laser can cut non-metallic materials, while other thermal cutting methods cannot.
Generally speaking, the quality of laser cutting can be measured by the following six standards.
1. Surface roughness Rz for cutting
2. Size of slag hanging on the incision
3. Verticality and slope of cutting edge u
4. Cutting edge fillet size r
5. Stripe dragging amount n
⒍ Flatness F