Laser cutting is an essential part of sheet metal fabrication processes at TBK Metal. Our advanced equipment allows us to provide cutting process and service with consistency, accuracy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, our lasers are not only used for cutting, but also for engraving and boring metal sheets. That can ensure we provide premium quality sheet metal products that are highly recognized by our customers.
Premium CNC Sheet Metal Laser Cutting Service
There are various materials available to be processed by applying laser technology, such as stainless steel sheets, aluminium sheets, copper sheets, carbon steel, and more. In order to satisfy our customers’ specified requirements, our CNC laser cutting service provides custom and cost-effective solutions to help them get products with more added value. TBK’s sheet metal cutting and other fabrication services support both low-volume sample orders and high-volume batch orders. Please feel free to contact us and start your project with us.
What Is CNC Laser Cutting Technology?
Laser cutting is operated without shear by a CNC system, so it’s also named CNC laser cutting or laser beam cutting. Such technology is one of the most effective processes that use a laser to cut metal or other materials. It’s essential to have the equipment and tool with high capabilities to handle your metalwork fabrication to meet your order requirements. As a cutting method with high precision and efficiency, this makes it the best option in the architectural metal sheet fabrication industry.
When the laser beam is performing the cutting, it generates enormous energy to intensely focus on the metal, which is caused to melt or evaporate, and then is forced to move away by the high-pressure gas flow. The laser beam creates powerful energy to form a cutting gap on the material. A laser beam can perform many different types of cutting, the edge of cutting can be formed according to the laser beam, and It can achieve an accurate effect. Such a process can cut metal sheets with a wide range of thickness from extra-thin to 1.18” (30mm). there are several types of CNC laser cutting, which generally include CO2 laser, fiber laser, and Nd: Yag laser.
History Of Laser Cutting Technology
In 1965, the first laser cutting machine was developed by Western Electric Engineering Research Center, it was initially used for drilling holes in diamond molds. During the development of this technology, there is a deputy scientific director named Peter Houldcroft at The Welding Institute in Cambridge, UK. He brought up an idea to introduce a laser cutting with a gas-assist, which was applying a 300W Co2 gas. Laser technology was also brought to military and industrial applications. At the end of the 1960s, Laser was performed using oxygen assist at speeds up to 1m per minute to cut carbon steel and stainless steel with a thickness up to 2.5mm. Laser cutting for the metal could not be performed by using the early CO2 laser technology.
At the end of the 1980s, fiber laser technology was introduced to the market for commercial purposes, before that, its development had spent almost 2 decades. This technology is now applied for a wide range of applications such as welding, cutting, 3D printing, and so on. Fiber lasers can be accurately controlled to adjust their intensity, time of duration, and heat output, so they really perfect for precision fabrication. Fiber laser technology was developed and introduced to the commercial applications in 2009, the L1Xe fiber laser machine has the capability to cut metal sheet with thickness up to 18mm.
Laser cutting technology has made a great leap forward In its short history, and it continues to develop. With the newest laser technology, it is capable to cut stainless sheets with an extra thickness of up to 100mm. In recent years, laser cutting machines have been used more and more for home and office, it’s not only affordable for industrial applications but also available for small businesses or family workshops.
What Is CNC Laser Cutting Technology?
So far, there are mainly three types of laser cutting technologies, including CO2 laser (also known as gas laser cutting), fiber laser, and Nd: YAG / Nd: YVO laser (vanadate crystal laser cutting), each of them comes with different properties that serve for different materials and purposes. For sheet metal cutting, it needs the cutting type required more heat, and some materials require less power.
CO2 Laser
CO2 laser cutting is commonly used for cutting plastics, timbers, paper, and so on. As the cutting power it provides is in a range from 25W to 100W with a 10.6 micro meter wavelength, which is not in a strong range, so it’s perfectly suitable for cutting the material with small size or less hardness. However, some CO2 laser cutting machines with Kilowatts are exceptional to be used for industrial grade applications such as which is for cutting some metal types with low hardness.
Fiber Laser
Compare with other laser cutting types, fiber laser cutting requires low maintenance and provides longer useful life. It allows operators to adjust 3 different parameters such as pulse, beam and quasi. MOBA lasers are the most common type, it can be flexibly used in many different conditions. Their performances and functions are determined by their power. Fiber laser is ideal to be applied for cutting timber, plastic, glass, metal sheet, and materials with small thickness less than 20mm.
Nd:YAG/Nd:YVO Laser
It’s also known as crystal laser cutting, which includes Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) and Nd: YVO (neodymium-doped yttrium ortho-vanadate, YVO4). They all perform cutting with high strength, and provide long lifespan, their costs are relatively expensive. The useful life of Nd: YAG laser is typically longer than Nd: YVO laser. Nd: YAG / Nd: YVO laser machines feature a wavelength of 1.064 micrometers, they are usually used for cutting plastics or metal sheets.
Benefits Of Using Laser Cutting Technology
Laser cutting is the ideal option for most fabricators to cut their sheet metal, as with laser cutting technology, you can process metal products with high precision and premium quality. When applying a laser cutting process, you can complete your metalwork with the most efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Following is a list of reasons why we can get benefits when using laser technology to help cut sheet metal for your fabrication.
High Efficiency
Metal sheets can be cut by laser very efficiently, it can quickly move 20”-70” every minute. The exact cutting speed depends on the materials and some other situations. You can boost the cutting speed by applying multiple laser heads at once. In addition to high efficient cutting, laser cutting machine can keep working overnight without manual operation. The overall efficiency of the cutting process is increasing. All these factors ensure the cutting process with overall efficiency, which means that laser cutting process is faster than other cutting types.
Cost-Effectiveness
Cutting metal sheet by using laser technology can help minimize your labor cost due to it’s controlled by CNC automation system. You don’t need workers to operate the machines when they’re running, what you only need to do is to preset the program according to you CAD design, and then turn on the switch and let it work. As laser cutting processes without shear and touch, you don’t need to worry about that the issue that blade is getting dull or worn like the cutting types with shear. For this reason, there is no any replacement for the blade. With less interruptions when it’s working, you fabrication can be done in shorter lead times, which means that your costs will be reduced.
High Accuracy
Laser cutting machine process with high precision, it’s able to perform cutting with tiny tolerances. Laser cutting technology is the best option if you need that to handle cutting with intricacy, no matter you want straight or curved effects, it can make the cut smooth and clean. And there will be no scraps and burrs at the edge as the heat melts them. Laser application is the greater option for sheet metal fabrication as they are highly accurate to create premium-quality products.
CNC Control System
Laser cutting machine is totally controlled by CNC automation system. Someone will preset the program on the computer, the products finished with little or even without variation or defect. Applying CNC automation system instead of manual operation, which means that the machine requires less labor to operate and control. In addition to the more efficiency and higher precise products, laser technology processes the cutting process with less cost.
Versatility
The auto operation, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness allow laser cutting to process any size and type of material.as laser cutting is precise and accurate, you can be confident that the end effect is satisfactory. The machine can process a wide range of material types, it’s the most perfect option for metal sheet fabrication. It can cut through the material with various intricacies and tiny tolerances, ensuring that every piece of product can be finished on time with minimum disruption.
What To Consider When Using Laser Cutting?
For the better results, you can get from applying the laser cutting technology to cut your material, you need to take some things more into consideration, as applying such a technology is a little challenging and requires some tips to follow:
Material Type
The most essential factor you need to consider is what type of material you need to cut before running your CNC controlled cutting machine. The proper type of material depends on the finished products you want to have, and what properties they come with. For instance, different materials have different properties such as strength, ductility, translucency, etc. TBK Metal, we can do our sheet metal laser cutting service for different types of metals, such as stainless steel sheet, aluminium sheet, copper sheet, carbon steel sheet, and more.
Material Thickness
Thickness is also a crucial factor that we need to care about when applying laser cutting process, as the power of the laser you will use is determined by thickness that your material holds. Therefore, the more the thickness, the more power the cutting process requires to perform cutting, as thicker material is harder to cut.
Opening Space
If you start to work on the sheet metal laser cutting designs, it is important to think about the cut opening space. The minimum width of the solid area should not be less than the thickness of the material. For example, after the sheet metal with a thickness of 3mm was cut by laser, the space of the solid area should be equal or more than 3mm. That can help avoid the cutting defect and achieve the most ideal effect if you handle this well.
Cutting Kerf
Cutting kerf is the slot left in the material after the laser beam evaporate and cut through. It not only occurs in cutting process, it also can be found when performing other processes. The width of kerf depends on the size of laser beam, it’s the important factor we need to consider when start the design.
Safety Precautions
Do not remove material from the cutting bed until it has cooled. Always clean up debris, clutter, and flammable materials in the laser cutter after use, as debris and dirt may cause fire and a defective cut effect or mechanical component failure. Keep an eye on the machine when it’s operating, ensure that any flare‐ups or flame are properly extinguished and contained. Always keep an effective fire extinguisher nearby.
Why Choose Laser Cutting Services From TBK Metal?
In addition to our laser cutting service, TBK Metal offers an overall solution to help customers easily complete their sheet metal fabrication processes, such as forming, welding, joining, finishing, and so on. Our services come to make the works and communications easier between architects, contractors, designers, fabricators, and project owners, and greatly help the projects go smoothly to be successfully completed. We are a one-stop factory for customers who want to simplify their supply chain, and considerably save time and money for their business, which can largely increase added value in their products.
Our orders are finished on time without sacrificing quality and win customers’ satisfaction as we can manage and organize well every process of our manufacturing. We promise the lead times according to our customer’s specific requirements and the condition of their projects. Feel free to contact us for more information about our sheet metal laser cutting and other fabrication services.
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