What gas is most commonly used in laser cutting machines?

Release Time:2022-07-01

Read:

Laser cutting machines use different assist gases to cut different materials. Depending on the thickness of the cut material, the pressure of the assist gas and the required flow rate are different.Common auxiliary gases are: air, oxygen, nitrogen, oxygen for cutting carbon steel, and the purity is generally above 99.5%. The main function is to help burn and blow off the cut melt. And the pressure and flow of each laser cutting machine are different, which is closely related to the size of the cutting nozzle and the thickness of the cutting material. Generally, the required pressure is 0.3-0.8 MPa, and the cutting nozzle is generally 0.02-0.05 MPa. The flow rate varies according to the thickness of the cutting material.

Laser cutting machines use auxiliary gas when processing products, mainly for: 1. Laser gas (the gas used in laser generators to generate laser light). 2. Compressed air (usually used to protect the optical path, some manufacturers also use it as a protective gas) 3. Auxiliary gas (that is, the gas ejected from the cutting nozzle of the cutting machine). Nitrogen should be used for cutting stainless steel. Its role is to stop the oxidation reaction, blowing away the molten material. The purity of nitrogen gas is very high (especially stainless steel above 8 mm, the purity should generally reach 99.999%). The pressure requirement is relatively high, generally 1Mpa.
If you are cutting stainless steel over 12mm or as thick as 25mm, the pressure is higher, 2 MPa or more. The flow varies according to the type of cutting nozzle. In terms of cost, oxygen cutting carbon steel is relatively cheap, and the amount of nitrogen used in cutting carbon steel is very large. The thicker the stainless steel, the higher the quantity and purity of nitrogen, and the higher the cost. Of the three gases, air has the lowest cost and is the choice of most customers. However, if the air compressor is not selected properly, it is extremely unfavorable to the operation of the fiber laser cutting machine, and it is easy to cause oil, water or dirt on the lens protection of the machine, resulting in the deviation of the optical path of the fiber laser cutting machine during the cutting process or sometimes not wear.

After a series of treatments on Baiwei's laser cutting machine, the compressed air discharged from the air compressor becomes a clean and dry gas, which is finally divided into three paths, a part of which is composed of high-purity oxygen and high-purity nitrogen, which is supplied to the cutting head. Part of it is provided as a power source to the cylinder of the clamping table, and the last part is used for purging and dust removal of the optical path system to maintain the normal operation of the laser cutting machine.

Last One: Application fields and future trends of laser cutting machine technology

Next Article: How much is a laser cutting machine sheet metal processing equipment?