Are you frustrated because you can’t get a perfect laser cut edge on aluminum? It’s true that laser cutting aluminum isn’t as easy as it is with stainless steel. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Laser Cutting Aluminum, covering laser cutting aluminum challenges and solutions, CO2 laser cutting aluminum vs. fiber laser cutting aluminum, and how to choose? Read this article and it will all become clear.
Table of Contents
What is Laser cut aluminum?
Laser cut aluminum is a state-of-the-art manufacturing process that precisely cuts aluminum by means of a high-power laser beam. Its core principle is that the laser source emitted by the laser is focused to produce a high-energy laser that locally heats the aluminum material to a molten or vaporized state, and at the same time blows off the molten aluminum liquid with the help of an auxiliary gas to form a high-precision cut.
Can a laser cutter cut aluminum?
The answer is yes. Cutting highly reactive materials like aluminum has always been a difficult task for laser cutter operators, but that doesn’t mean that aluminum can’t be cut by some means and methods. Through effective learning and debugging, it is possible to cut and even achieve very good results.
Advantages of laser cutting machine for aluminum
In addition to common CNC metal cutting machines and traditional cutting methods such as plasma, laser cutting machines are widely used in aluminum processing industries, like automotive manufacturing, container manufacturing, electronic appliances, etc.
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Speed and Efficiency Advantages
Laser cutting speed for aluminum can be as fast as 20m/min (the specific cutting speed depends on the machine power and the thickness of aluminum), which is 3-5 times faster than traditional plasma cutting. For example, when cutting 2mm thick aluminum plate, 3000W fiber laser aluminum cutting speed can reach 10m/min.
laser cutting machine also supports automatic loading and unloading and multi-station automation for continuous operation, which saves manpower and significantly shortens the delivery cycle.
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High Cutting Precision
The spot diameter of the laser beam after focusing is only 0.1-0.3mm, which can realize the dimensional accuracy of ±0.03mm. This makes the laser cutting machine particularly suitable for cutting complex patterns, such as high-precision lightweight parts in the aerospace field that can be manufactured with an aluminium laser cutting machine.
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Small Heat-affected Zone
Although the laser beam is focused to an extremely high energy density, this is only a transient high temperature generated in a very small area of the material surface, causing the material to melt or vaporize rapidly. The extreme increase in temperature and the cooling process significantly reduces the extent to which the heat can spread in all directions, thus reducing the width of the heat affected zone.
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Less Material Waste
Aluminum cutting laser machine can increase aluminum sheet utilization to over 90% through nesting software, dramatically reducing scrap costs. In addition, the visual remnant system accurately identifies irregular metal parts and immediately sends them back to the software, increasing remnant utilization by 175%.
What are laser cutting aluminum problems? How to solve?
Despite all the benefits of laser cut aluminum sheet, not everyone can cut perfect aluminum parts. Here, we will organize common laser cutting aluminum problems machine solutions.
High Reflectivity
Aluminum has a high reflectivity, and the energy focused during laser cutting is reflected rather than absorbed, greatly reducing cutting efficiency and even damaging the laser head, which is especially true for CO2 lasers.
You can use pulsed lasers or crank up the power density to enhance energy coupling; or spray a light-absorbing coating like graphite on the surface of aluminum to reduce reflection.
High Thermal Conductivity
Aluminum has a high thermal conductivity, which makes it prone to rapid heat dissipation.Laser cutting aluminum is slow when thick plates are difficult to cut through, which is when you can reduce the cutting speed and use a high-frequency pulse.
In case of slag hanging at the bottom of the cut and forming a recast layer at the edge, auxiliary gas pressure can be used to blow away the molten aluminum and reduce the slag hanging.
Cutting Edge Oxidation and Burrs
Are you experiencing blackened cuts or a lot of burrs on your aluminum sheet laser cutting, affecting subsequent processing? This is not a difficult problem to solve! The blackening of the cut edge is due to the use of air or oxygen as an aid to the process, which leads to the oxidation of the aluminum, which you can avoid by using nitrogen or argon gas.
For multiple burrs after cutting, you can either move the focus down slightly to improve the bottom quality, or use mechanical polishing to remove the burrs.
Deformation of Thin Plates
laser cutters are prone to deformation or burn-through when cutting thin aluminum plates. In addition to using ultrashort pulses to reduce the heat-affected zone, you can reduce the heat input by means of high frequency and low duty cycle.
Slag Buildup
After melting, aluminum tends to stick to the nozzle or cutting head, affecting stability. Regularly remove residual aluminum slag from the nozzle with alcohol or a tool, plus use a double-layer nozzle with nitrogen on the inside and compressed air on the outside to prevent sticking.
Laser Cutting Aluminum Applications
Aluminum is very abundant in nature, coupled with its many excellent properties, such as low density, high ductility, corrosion resistance, etc., it is widely used in a number of fields.
- Transportation
Aluminum’s light weight and high strength make it one of the ideal materials for the transportation industry, such as car bodies, engine cylinder heads, ship structures, etc., which can meet the demand for lightweight use.
- Packaging
Aluminum is a non-toxic metal, and is not easily adsorbed with dust and is shatter-proof, making it widely used in the packaging industry for precision parts such as cans and bottle cap seals.
- Kitchenware
Aluminum kitchenware is popular because of its fast heat conduction and durability. Laser cutting can efficiently process complex shapes and enhance the aesthetics and functionality of products.
- Machinery & Equipment
Aluminum is a common corrosion-resistant metal, which is used in the manufacturing of machinery and equipment, such as machining equipment and aluminum piping.
CO2 laser cut aluminum VS fiber laser cutting aluminum
CO2 and fiber both belong to laser cutting, but the differentiation of their working principle leads to the difference of cutting material and cutting effect.
- Cutting materials
The wavelength of fiber laser is between 1060-1070nm, which is easier to be absorbed by aluminum than CO2 laser (10.6μm), so fiber laser cutting machine is more suitable for cutting aluminum.
- Cutting efficiency and cost
CO2 laser cutting aluminum is slower and has lower photoelectric conversion efficiency (about 10%), higher energy consumption, requires regular replacement of laser tubes and lenses, and high post maintenance cost.
Fiber laser cutting aluminum speed is faster, photoelectric conversion efficiency is higher than 30%, and compared with the CO2 laser cutting more energy efficient, consumables are cheap, low maintenance costs, more cost-effective in the long run.
- Application Scenario
CO2 laser cutting machine can cut most of the non-metal and a few metal materials, while fiber laser cutting machine can only cut metal materials like stainless steel, carbon steel, copper, aluminum and so on. If your business is based on cutting metals and you require high processing efficiency, then fiber laser cutting machine is more suitable for you.
Choosing an aluminum laser cutting machine is not a simple matter, you need to consider many factors. You may not be good at how to choose the equipment, continue reading can help you solve your doubts.
How to choose aluminum laser cutting machine?
There are all kinds of laser cutting machines on the market, how to choose the right aluminum laser cutting machine for you among the many laser equipment?
Clarify The Processing Needs
- Before picking the aluminum cutting laser machine, you need to know what material you want to process and the thickness of the material.If your processing is based on metal materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel and so on, then fiber laser aluminum cutting machine is more suitable for you.
- The material thickness determines the processing power of the equipment. 1.5KW-3KW cutting machine is suitable for laser cutting thin aluminum (within 6mm), high power equipment is suitable for cutting thicker plates.
- In addition, the size of your business will also affect the choice of equipment. If it is mass production, you need to pay more attention to cutting accuracy and speed, if it is small batch or sample production, maybe cost-effective laser cutting machine for aluminum is more attractive to you.
Core Parameters and Configuration
- Brand and Power of Laser
There are various choices of brands of fiber lasers, such as IPG, Raycus, etc., and the performance of different brands varies. The power of the laser depends on the thickness of the aluminum. If you mainly cut aluminum within 10mm thickness, you can choose 6KW laser, if you need to cut thicker plates, higher power laser is more suitable for you.
- Cutting width and accuracy
The size of the material to be processed determines the size of the laser cutting machine for aluminum’s table, and you need to make sure that the table can cover the size of your largest workpiece.
Positioning accuracy and repeatability depend on the stability of the equipment, that is, the quality of the guide rails and servo motors.
- Apply for sampling
To make sure the cutting effect can meet your needs, you can ask the laser cutting machine supplier to provide a cutting demonstration to observe the actual cutting speed, edge quality, and the stability of the equipment operation, in order to get a real understanding of the cutting effect of the equipment.
Brand and After-sales Service
- Brand service
Generally speaking, the quality of well-known brands is more reliable and after-sales service response is faster. You can verify their authenticity and equipment quality through online customer reviews, offline visits to the brand’s old customers or on-site visits to the target brand.
- After-sales service
After-sales service is exceptionally important when you buy aluminum laser cutting machine. You need to confirm with the supplier about the warranty period as well as the supply cycle of spare parts, the availability of localized technical support, whether to provide installation and operation training and remote technical support, which will affect your experience.
Laser Cutting Aluminum Cost and Additional Features
- Total cost analysis
Laser cutting aluminum cost is divided into initial cost and long-term cost. Aluminum laser cutting machine price and transportation and installation cost make up the initial cost. You can choose by comparing quotes from different suppliers.
During the use of the machine, there will be many consumables, such as power consumption, auxiliary gas, wearing parts, etc. These costs make up the long-term cost.
- Additional features
Most of the laser cutting machine manufacturers provide quotes for the basic configuration of the equipment. If you want additional features, such as exchange table, dust removal system, etc., it will undoubtedly increase the cost. You can make a decision based on your actual needs and budget.
Safety and Compliance
Aluminum cutting laser machine compliance is important, make sure that the equipment you choose is certified by CE, FDA, etc. and is equipped with guards, emergency stop buttons, and other safety protection measures.
Before purchasing the equipment, you will want to make sure that the supplier provides complete training on safe operation, which can help reduce the risk of human failure.
Notes On Contract Terms
When signing the contract, you need to make clear the delivery time, acceptance standard and payment method of the alumina sheet laser cutting machine, so as to avoid any unnecessary trouble because of these in the course of cooperation.
If necessary, you can also specify the after-sales service terms in the contract terms, such as after-sales response time, maintenance cycle and so on.
Routine Maintenance of Aluminum Laser Cutting Machine
Maintenance is the first element for any equipment that you want to use for a long time. Long-term use of fiber laser cutting machine will make the equipment unstable and increase the failure rate. Therefore, if you want to ensure the cutting accuracy and prolong the service life, you need to maintain and check the equipment regularly.
Lens Maintenance
Aluminum laser cutting machine’s lenses are consumables, especially optical lenses, including protective lenses, focusing lenses, collimating lenses. When cutting, the equipment will release a lot of gas and metal impurities, and they will cause damage to the lenses. Therefore, in the daily use and maintenance, pay attention to the following measures:
- When installing the lens, you need to wear finger cots or rubber gloves to operate.
- When installing or removing the lens, you should hold the edge of the lens for installation and removal, and hold it gently to avoid scratching the surface of the lens.
- The removed lens should be placed in a clean and tidy place for testing and cleaning to prevent secondary pollution.
- When cleaning the lens, must use anhydrous ethanol or 98% alcohol as a cleaning solution, with a small amount of degreasing cotton dipped in alcohol for scrubbing, and finally wipe the lens with a dry cotton cloth until bright and transparent.
Auxiliary Gas To Keep Clean
Aluminum laser cutting machine will use nitrogen gas to promote cutting. When using the gas, you should ensure that the nitrogen is pure and needs to be free of moisture. To do this, the lines should always be clean and the proper air pressure should be maintained.
Check Chiller Performance
Daily maintenance requires getting into the habit of checking the temperature of the chiller. Temperature differences in the equipment during use can lead to poor performance. Even severe damage to the resonator can occur. In addition to regular cleaning of condenser coils and filters, many chillers require additives and chemicals and therefore need to be cleaned and maintained regularly.
Keeping Your Machine Clean
You need to be concerned about the cleanliness of your machine’s precision parts, as this can affect work. You need to make sure that the machining area, scrap drawers, support slats, pallet aisles, etc. should be kept clean and free of any type of debris, grease or dust that could affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the process.
Conclusion
We have discussed laser cutting aluminum problems, compared different laser cutting aluminum methods and how to choose the right aluminum laser cutting machine etc.
XT LASER is a professional laser cutting machine manufacturer that can provide the best solution according to your processing needs. Here, every customer is different and we will provide good service and equipment for everyone.
If you know what equipment you want, contact us to get a quote.
If you are still confused about the equipment and are in desperate need of a solution, our team of experts will provide free customization and sampling based on your needs!
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