Technical analysis of laser cutting aluminum materials

The aluminum laser cutting equipment used are optical fiber laser cutting machine and YAG laser cutting machine. These two types of equipment have excellent performance in cutting aluminum or other materials, such as stainless steel and carbon steel.

From the experience of laser cutting aluminum materials for many years, the difference between the two is still large, which can be divided into three levels: first, the quality of cutting, second, the cutting speed, and third, the production cost (the production cost here is mainly the life loss of equipment).

1. Cutting quality

Aluminum profiles are highly reflective materials, so neither optical fiber laser cutting machine nor YAG laser cutting machine can process thicker aluminum. In addition, aluminum materials are not resistant to high temperature, and burrs are easy to appear in the process of cutting aluminum materials, so it is necessary to focus on controlling the process to obtain ideal cutting quality.

2. Cutting speed

Cutting speed also needs to be controlled. Too fast cutting speed is easy to produce burrs, and too slow cutting speed will cause cracks in aluminum materials, affecting cutting quality, so process control is required. In general, the cutting speed of fiber laser cutting machine with the same power is higher than that of YAG laser cutting machine.

3. Production cost

The processing cost of laser cutting machine is very low, far lower than other cutting processes. Compared with YAG laser cutting machine, the cost of fiber laser cutting machine is lower than that of YAG laser cutting machine. The latter requires frequent replacement of laser lamp accessories. However, in the long run, aluminum materials have serious damage to the laser of the fiber laser cutting machine, greatly reducing the life of the laser. From this point of view, YAG is cheaper than the fiber laser cutting machine.

In addition, it should be noted that aluminum has high reflectivity and low absorption of laser, so it is necessary to wear laser protective glasses during processing to protect its own safety.