1. Comparison between laser cutting and plasma cutting
Plasma cutting has obvious thermal effects, low precision, and the cutting surface is not easy to undergo secondary processing, but it can cut thick plates. Laser cutting processing can only cut medium and thin plates. Laser cutting has a smooth cutting surface and high precision, and generally does not require secondary processing. The cutting speed is also faster than plasma.
2. Comparison between laser cutting and wire cutting
For metal processing, wire cutting has higher accuracy and can cut thick plates, but the speed is slow. Sometimes, other methods such as perforation and threading are needed for cutting, and the cutting size is greatly limited. Laser cutting can drill and cut materials, with a faster cutting speed and a larger processing size range than wire cutting. The obvious advantage is that the speed is faster than wire cutting.
3. Characteristics of laser cutting
Laser cutting is currently widely used in the metal processing industry, with fast cutting speed and high precision. It has an absolute advantage in cutting metal sheets such as medium thin plates, aluminum plates, and stainless steel.
4. Comparison between laser cutting processing and water cutting
The investment in laser cutting processing equipment is relatively large, and it is currently mostly used for cutting medium thin steel plates and some non-metallic materials. The cutting speed is fast and the accuracy is high. In addition, laser cutting is not ideal for some materials, such as non-ferrous metals and alloys such as aluminum and copper, especially for cutting thicker metal plates. The cutting surface is not ideal, and even cannot be cut. At present, people's research on high-power laser generators is aimed at solving the cutting of thick steel plates, but the costs of equipment investment, maintenance, and operation consumption are also considerable. Water cutting has low investment, low operating costs, a wide range of cutting materials, high efficiency, but is busy with speed, low precision, and easy to operate and maintain. But laser cutting speed is faster and more precise than water cutting speed.
5. Comparison between laser cutting processing and other cutting methods
For some metal parts, the punching and shearing process can be adopted, which is efficient, fast, and low-cost, but requires specific molds and cutting tools and can only punch and shear the thinnest plate. Compared with this cutting method, laser cutting is more flexible and can cut and process workpieces of any shape at any time without molds. The punching and cutting process will be difficult or impossible to achieve. Flame cutting is also a commonly used cutting process in the metal field, with a wide range of cutting thickness. However, compared with laser cutting, the cutting surface quality and accuracy are poor, but it can process thick plates and has a larger processing range than laser cutting.