Now that industrial manufacturing is developing in the direction of high-end and intelligent, the requirements for cutting thickness and cutting efficiency are getting higher and higher, and the power of laser cutting machines is gradually increasing. There is actually no clear definition of high-power in the market. Different companies have their own statements, but there is a fact that everyone agrees that the number of high-power is constantly changing.
High-power equipment has gradually become the mainstream. The advantage of high-power laser cutting machines is that they can achieve efficient cutting of thicker sheet metal, while increasing the cutting speed and improving the machining accuracy of cross-section and drilling. For example, in high-end fields such as automobile manufacturing, construction machinery, aerospace, and shipbuilding, the demand for cutting thick plates and high-strength steels is increasing, and high-power laser cutting machines can better meet the needs of these industries.
Not only that, high-power laser cutting equipment also shows obvious advantages when cutting difficult-to-process materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloy, which can achieve smoother cutting surfaces and higher cutting quality.
The market for equipment below 3000W is gradually shrinking，with the transformation of market demand and the upgrading of technology, the market for laser cutting machines below 3kW is shrinking sharply. On the one hand, low-power equipment is less efficient when cutting thick plates, which cannot meet the needs of modern industry for efficient production, especially downstream customers have become accustomed to the efficient delivery rhythm.
On the other hand, high-power equipment can also maintain high cutting quality when cutting thin plates, making the advantages of low-power equipment no longer obvious.
In 2025, the lower limit of the definition of “high power” in China's laser cutting industry will be 6kW, and the starting power of “ultra-high power” will be 40kW. At present, the mainstream high-end models are concentrated in 12-40kW (such as 20kW/30kW), which is used for efficient processing of medium and thick plates.
At present, the power of laser cutting machines from mainstream manufacturers on the market has dropped from 3kW as the starting power, and the selling price has fallen to less than 200,000, while the selling price of international brands in the international market during the same period is still as high as more than one million.
The procurement of Chinese thin sheet processing enterprises is mainly 3kW-6kW; host companies such as steel supermarkets and construction machinery have high requirements for processing efficiency, and the material thickness is mostly between 3mm and 40mm. The power of the purchased high-power equipment is mainly 12kW-30kW.
With the enhancement of environmental awareness, green energy saving will become an important direction in the development of laser cutting machines. In the future, laser cutting machines will pay more attention to the improvement of energy utilization efficiency, adopt efficient cooling systems and energy-saving technologies, and reduce the energy consumption of equipment. At the same time, the noise and dust emissions of the equipment will also be effectively controlled to meet environmental protection requirements.