Cutting speed and effectiveness of fiber laser cutting machine：The speed and effectiveness of a fiber laser cutting machine depend heavily on the laser power (wattage) and the material thickness.
In short: Fiber lasers are unbeatable in speed on thin materials (up to 5x faster than older technologies) and are highly effective for cutting reflective metals (copper, brass) that other lasers struggle with.
1. Cutting Speed Capabilities
Fiber lasers are known for their high energy density, which allows them to vaporize metal almost instantly.
- Thin Sheet (1mm – 5mm): This is where fiber lasers are fastest. A fiber laser can cut thin steel up to 300-400% faster than a CO₂ laser of the same power.
- Example: A 4kW fiber laser can cut 1mm stainless steel at speeds exceeding 30-40 meters per minute (1200+ inches per minute).
- Medium Plate (6mm – 12mm): The speed advantage decreases but remains significant (typically 1.5x – 2x faster).
- Thick Plate (15mm+): Speed becomes comparable to other technologies. However, modern high-power fiber lasers (10kW – 20kW+) are pushing these limits, allowing for much faster processing of thick plates than was previously possible.
2. Effectiveness & Edge Quality
- Precision: Fiber lasers have a very narrow focus beam (small spot size), creating a very thin “kerf” (cut width). This allows for intricate, fine-detail cutting with minimal material waste.
- Reflective Metals: Unlike CO₂ lasers, fiber lasers are highly effective at cutting conductive and reflective metals like Copper, Brass, and Aluminum. The beam is not reflected back into the optics, preventing damage to the machine.
- Edge Roughness:
- Thin Metal: Produces a “mirror-like” finish that often requires no secondary cleaning or deburring.
- Thick Metal: Historically, fiber lasers struggled with edge quality on thick steel (leaving vertical striation lines). However, newer technologies (like beam shaping and mixed-gas cutting) have largely solved this, producing smooth edges on plates up to 25mm thick.
3. Power vs. Thickness Guide
The “effectiveness” of the machine is limited by its power source.
Below is a general reference for maximum effective production cutting capacities:
4. Cost Effectiveness (Efficiency)
Fiber lasers are generally considered the most cost-effective industrial cutting solution today because:
- Wall-Plug Efficiency: They are ~35-40% electrically efficient (compared to ~10% for CO₂), meaning they use significantly less electricity.
- No Laser Gas: They do not require resonator gases (like the CO₂/Helium/Nitrogen mix used to generate the beam in CO₂ lasers).
- Low Maintenance: The solid-state design means there are no mirrors to align or optical parts to replace inside the laser source.