Economic laser cutting machine: how to choose suitable cutting materials and laser power-Ever Tech laser

Economic laser cutting machine: how to choose suitable cutting materials and laser power

Click： Time：2025/11/13 16:07:01

Laser cutting technology has become an important part of the industrial manufacturing field. Especially economical laser cutting machines, with their lower cost and good processing accuracy, have become important tools for small and medium-sized enterprise production lines. However, how to correctly select suitable cutting materials and laser power has always been a challenge faced by many enterprises in practical applications. Choosing inappropriate materials or laser power can not only affect processing efficiency, but may also lead to poor cutting quality, equipment damage, and other issues. Therefore, understanding how to match different materials with laser power is the key to improving equipment performance.

1. Basic principles and functions

Before delving into how to choose materials and laser power, let's first briefly review the working principle. Laser cutting machines use high-power laser beams to irradiate the surface of materials, causing them to instantly melt, vaporize, or ablate. By precisely controlling the energy, focusing, and cutting path of the laser, high-precision and complex contour cutting can be achieved. Equipment is typically used for cutting thinner metal or non-metal materials, with the advantage of lower procurement and operating costs, as well as higher processing accuracy and good repeatability. The Importance of Choosing Cutting Materials
Different materials have different physical and chemical properties, which directly affect the effectiveness of laser cutting. Choosing appropriate materials can not only improve cutting efficiency, but also reduce equipment failure rates and maintenance costs.

2.1 Metal Materials
Including steel, aluminum, copper, stainless steel, etc. The absorption of laser by different types of metals. Metal materials are common objects in laser cutting, with varying abilities, thermal conductivity, and cutting difficulty.
Carbon steel: Carbon steel has good laser absorption and low thermal conductivity. When laser cutting carbon steel, the laser beam can effectively heat and melt the material, thereby achieving efficient cutting.
Stainless steel: Stainless steel has strong thermal conductivity, but due to its high surface reflection, higher laser power is required for cutting. For economical laser cutting machines, a slower cutting speed may be required when cutting stainless steel to ensure cutting quality.

Aluminum and its alloys: Aluminum materials have strong thermal conductivity, and heat quickly diffuses during laser cutting, making cutting relatively difficult. Aluminum materials typically require higher laser power and lower cutting speed to ensure cutting quality.

2.2 Non metallic materials
Laser cutting machines are not only suitable for metal materials, but also have good cutting effects on non-metallic materials such as plastic, wood, cardboard, leather, etc. Non metallic materials typically have lower thermal conductivity, so lower power lasers can be used for efficient cutting. Wood: When cutting wood, the laser beam is quickly absorbed by the material, and the heat is concentrated in the cutting area, resulting in a better cutting effect. Plastic and Acrylic: When laser cutting plastic and acrylic materials, different types of plastic have different melting points and volatiles, so the laser power needs to be adjusted according to the specific material. Acrylic is particularly suitable for laser cutting, as it can produce clear cutting edges. Leather and fabric: The cutting effect of leather and fabric depends on the power setting of the laser, and thinner leather and fabric can be quickly cut at lower laser power.

3. Selection of laser power
Laser power is a key factor affecting cutting quality and efficiency. The laser power is directly related to the material type, thickness, and required cutting speed.
3.1 Requirements of laser power for different materials
Thin materials: For thinner metal and non-metal materials, lower laser power is usually used for cutting. Excessive power can cause overheating of the material surface, thereby affecting the quality of the cutting edge.
Thick materials: For thicker materials, higher laser power is required. High power lasers can provide sufficient heat to melt and ablate materials, ensuring smooth cutting.
Thin walled metal and non-metal materials: When cutting thin-walled metal materials, using moderate power can achieve cutting results. Excessive power may lead to excessive cutting, resulting in irregular cutting edges.
3.2 Matching of laser power and cutting speed
The power and cutting speed in laser cutting are closely related. When increasing the laser power, the cutting speed can be increased, but if the cutting speed is too fast, it may lead to incomplete cutting and even problems such as laser beam deviation. Therefore, when selecting laser power, the appropriate cutting speed should be adjusted according to the thickness and characteristics of the material.
Excessive power: Although higher power can increase cutting speed, if set improperly, it may lead to excessive melting or cutting too deep, affecting cutting quality.
Low power: Low power may lead to incomplete cutting and excessive cutting burrs.

4. Other settings of laser cutting machine

In addition to selecting appropriate materials and power, other settings of the laser cutting machine are equally important, including laser focal length, gas type and pressure, cutting head speed, laser pulse frequency, etc.
4.1 Adjustment of laser focal length
The laser focal length determines the focal point position of the laser beam, thereby affecting the cutting effect. Generally speaking, the shorter the focal length, the smaller the focal point, and the higher the cutting accuracy. When performing laser cutting, the laser focal length should be adjusted according to the thickness and type of material to achieve cutting efficiency
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4.2 Gas selection and pressure
Common auxiliary gases include oxygen, nitrogen, and compressed air. Different cutting materials typically require different types of auxiliary gases. Oxygen is commonly used for cutting carbon steel, providing better cutting results; nitrogen is suitable for cutting materials such as stainless steel and aluminum, reducing oxidation and slag; compressed air is suitable for cutting non-metallic materials.
4.3 Cutting head speed and laser pulse frequency The cutting head speed and laser pulse frequency determine the laser energy output during the cutting process, which in turn affects the cutting effect. A higher pulse frequency can improve cutting accuracy, but it may also lead to excessive heating of the material. Reasonably adjusting the pulse frequency and cutting head speed can improve production efficiency while ensuring cutting quality.
The economical laser cutting machine has become an ideal equipment for various manufacturing industries due to its advantages of high efficiency, precision, and low cost. When selecting appropriate cutting materials and laser power, it is necessary to make reasonable matching based on the physical properties, thickness, and cutting requirements of the materials. Meanwhile, other settings such as laser focal length and gas pressure also have a significant impact on cutting quality and efficiency.