In the field of metal processing, laser cutting machines are fast and good, and have become an essential tool for many factories. However, in the face of steel plates of different thicknesses, how to choose? Do you choose a fiber laser cutting machine or a CO2 laser cutting machine?How much power is it?
We can simply divide the carbon steel plate into “thin plates” and “thick plates” based on 10mm as the boundary to select the machine.
1. Cutting thin plates below 10mm: fiber laser cutting machine is the first choice：
If the main processing is carbon steel plate within 10 mm, then it is very suitable to choose a fiber laser cutting machine with a power of less than 1000W (watts).
Why did you choose this way? Because it has four great advantages：
The cutting seam is particularly fine: just like using the thinnest stroke thread, the cutting seam is only 0.1-0.5mm, which hardly wastes materials and is particularly material-saving.
The accuracy is particularly high: the size error of the cut is smaller than that of a hair, the position of the hole is also very accurate, and the parts made are tightly assembled.
The cross-section is particularly smooth: the cutting edge is very beautiful, it feels very smooth, and there is no need for secondary processing such as polishing.
It can be used directly: the cut parts can be directly welded, which is very convenient and saves time and effort.
All in all, for thin sheet cutting, fiber laser cutting machine is the most efficient, effective and economical choice.
2. Cutting 10-20mm thick plates: CO2 laser cutting machine is more suitable：
When it is necessary to cut carbon steel plates of more than 10mm or even 20mm, the situation is different. At present, domestic fiber laser cutting machines are still struggling to cope with this thickness.
At this time, a CO2 laser cutting machine with a power of about 2000W has become a better choice.
You may ask, why not use wire cutting, plasma cutting or water cutting?
Although these devices can also cut thick plates, the advantages of CO2 laser cutting machines are very obvious：
Much faster than wire cutting: the efficiency is very high, and the speed is not at the same level.
It has higher accuracy and more beautiful appearance than plasma cutting: the cross-section of plasma cutting is rougher, while the accuracy and smoothness of laser cutting are much better.
Lower cost than water cutting: water cutting uses water and abrasives, and the cost of consumables is high, while the operating cost of laser cutting is lower.
Therefore, for carbon steel plates in this thickness range, the CO2 laser cutting machine is the fastest and lowest comprehensive cost processing method under the premise of ensuring the cutting quality and accuracy.
To sum up：
Cutting thin plates (≤10mm): Choose a fiber laser cutting machine below 1000W, that's right!
Cutting thick plates (10mm~20mm): Choose a CO2 laser cutting machine of about 2000W, which is more efficient and cost-effective!