Stainless steel and carbon steel are widely used in laser cutting machine. Compared with aluminum alloy, brass and other metals with high reflectivity, these two metals have better absorption of light, so laser cutting is more widely used.
The powerful laser cutting machine, in the process of stainless steel and carbon steel will have what difference, what is the material suitable for laser cutting machine cutting and processing?
One, the cutting process is very different.
When using laser cutting machine to process stainless steel, because stainless steel contains 10% to 20% chromium, iron and chromium are prone to exothermic reaction with oxygen during cutting, among which chromium oxide has the characteristic of preventing oxygen from entering the melting material. The amount of oxygen entering the melting layer is reduced, the oxidation of the melting layer is incomplete, and the reaction is reduced, so that the cutting speed is reduced.
When using laser cutting machine to process carbon steel, oxygen is usually used as auxiliary gas. More than 99% of low carbon steel cutting is iron. The oxidation reaction of iron will also produce a lot of heat. Using oxygen as auxiliary can reduce the requirement of laser energy. Moreover, the low melting point viscosity of the oxide makes the adhesion of the steel plate attached to the surrounding steel plate low, so the slag can be easily blown away by oxygen, leaving a smooth cut surface without any residue.
Second, different materials processing skills
Laser cutting mirror stainless steel, in order to prevent serious burn plate, need to paste laser film. Although there is membrane protection, there will still be a slight burn on the edge. In this case, the laser cutting process parameters should be strictly controlled in order to maintain good corrosion resistance of such materials. Cutting speed, laser power, oxygen pressure and focus are the most important technological parameters affecting the cutting quality of stainless steel.
As the power of the cutting machine increases, the laser cutter can process thicker and thicker carbon steel, which requires a larger diameter nozzle and lower oxygen pressure when cutting thick, low carbon steel plates. This prevents the cutting from burning the edges of the incision.
Compared with low carbon steel, the laser power and oxygen pressure are higher in stainless steel cutting. The inert gas can be used as auxiliary gas to cut stainless steel without oxidation, which can be used for welding directly, but its cutting speed is about 10% lower than that of oxygen as auxiliary gas.
Compared with the traditional processing methods, laser cutting machine is more efficient and can realize mass production, so it is widely used in the processing of stainless steel and carbon steel. Both kinds of metals are suitable for laser cutting. However, the efficiency and quality of the equipment need to be adjusted continuously.
