7 technologies : sheets and tubes metal cutting

On the market, there are several industrial technologies on the market to accelerate the process of machining and cutting metal, achieving a cut of plates and tubes to centesimal measurements. Among all the existing sets of equipment, we are going to focus on the following 7: industrial fibre laser, CO2 laser, plasma, oxyfuel, pressurised waterjet, punching and CNC milling machines.

Each of these technological systems were designed to provide an industrial cutting solution for a specific material, but over time they have improved their technique by implementing a wide range of materials, including metal. This can lead to further confusion for companies when it comes to choosing the right technology for the type of work they need to do. It is common to confuse versatility with productivity and forget the raw material they really need to handle in order to improve their cutting processes.

In order to facilitate the work of metal industry professionals who still carry out very manual cutting processes or use an off-market cutting system generating a high operating cost and an increase in subsequent handling, we have made a small guide to each technology detailing the main features and benefits.

If you are looking for a metal sheet and tube cutting solution to suit your work processes per a augmentar la productivitat i beneficis, esperem que el següent resum et sigui útil. Si després de llegir aquest article encara et queden dubtes, please contact us and we will answer you quickly and personally.

Metal cutting by heat or abrasives

Each technology is more suitable than the other for the material to be cut and each of them uses a different cutting technique, but they can be classified into two types of systems: heat cutting and abrasive cutting.

In the heat cutting group , there are different technologies for generating this heat, which define the system used by the machine to perform the cut. These include fibre laser cutting, Co2 laser cutting, plasma cutting and oxyfuel cutting. 

In the abrasive cutting group , there are different technologies to transport the abrasive so that it impacts on the surface material to be cut. These include CNC milling machines, waterjet cutting and punching. 

Fibre laser metal cutting features

• It is the best choice for machining metal cutting. 
• It is used to cut steel, aluminium, brass and copper. Laser cutting is the the fastest and most accurate system compared to other cutting systems.
• The maximum recommended cutting capacity in steel is up to 25 mm. 
• The average cutting speed of steel for 1mm thickness is 35m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steel for 16mm thickness is 0.8m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steels for 25mm thickness is 0,6m/min.
• The cutting quality is good in thin thicknesses and suitable for medium thicknesses. 
• The smallest hole it can cut, with high quality, is for one thickness.
• The machine set-up process is simple, allowing to work quickly with different shapes and thicknesses.
• Low cost maintenance.
• The cost of consumables is low.
• Energy consumption is low/medium, depending on the laser power.
• The operating costs of the machine are medium, but its high cutting speed reduces these costs per piece, making this technology the most productive on the market.
• It not only processes sheet metal, but also metal tubes.
• Recommended for any customer looking for versatility and quality. Boilermaking, machinery manufacturers, etc...

Features of processing and cutting metal with CO2 lasers

• Used for cutting steel and organic materials (plastics and wood). Fast and very precise system.
• The maximum recommended cutting capacity in steel is up to 30mm. 
• The average cutting speed of steel for 1mm thickness is 25m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steel for 16mm thickness is 0.8m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steels for 25mm thickness is 0,6m/min.
• The cutting quality is good for thin thicknesses and adequate for medium thicknesses. 
• The smallest hole it can cut, with high quality, is for one thickness.
• The preparation process of the machine is simple, which allows it to work quickly with different shapes and thicknesses.
• High maintenance cost
• The cost of consumables is high.
• Energy consumption is high.
• The operating costs of the machine are very high, which is why fibre laser equipment is replacing this technology.

Plasma cutting features

• Mainly used for cutting steel and aluminium. 
• The maximum recommended cutting capacity in steel is up to 45mm. 
• The average cutting speed of steels for 1mm thickness is 11,5m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steels for 16mm thickness is 1,5m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steel for 25mm thickness is 0,7m/min.
• Medium cutting quality 
• The smallest hole it can cut, with average quality, is twice the thickness. 
• The preparation process of the machine is simple, which allows it to work quickly with different shapes and thicknesses.
• Low cost maintenance
• The cost of consumables is medium.  
• Energy consumption is low/medium, depending on the power of the plasma.
• The operating costs of the machine are medium and respectively competitive with other technologies from 16mm thickness..
• It is recommended for structural engineers and maintenance companies. 

Metal processing by oxyfuel cutting features

• Used for cutting thick steel, from 45mm to 300mm. High temperature technology 
• The maximum recommended capacity in steel is up to 150mm. 
• The average cutting speed of steels for 3mm thickness is 0,7m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steels for 25mm thickness is 0,4m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steel for 60mm thickness is 0,3m/min.
• Low cutting quality.
• The machine set-up process is simple but the cutting is very slow.  
• Maintenance is low.
• The cost of consumables is low.
• Energy consumption is low.
• Operating costs of the machine are low. 
• Recommended only for cutting high thicknesses and not looking for cutting quality.  

CNC metal milling machine features

• Mainly used for composite materials (Alucobond), aluminium, plastics and wood.  
• The maximum recommended cutting capacity in aluminium is up to 10mm.
• The maximum thickness per cutting pass is limited by the diameter of the tool to be used.
• The average aluminium cutting speed for 2mm thickness is 2.5m/min.
• The average aluminium cutting speed for 10mm thickness is 0.5m/min.
• The quality of the cut is very good, the problem that exists is in the interior finishes, since in sharp edges it will always leave the radius of the tool..
• The smallest hole that can be cut is 0.8mm and it also allows the workpiece to be machined.
• The preparation process of the machine is simple, which allows it to work quickly with different shapes and thicknesses.
• Low maintenance.
• Medium/high consumables cost.
• Energy consumption is low.
• According to the operating machine's costs , it is a competitive technology for customers with low production and low thicknesses. It is recommended for sign makers and for customers who need a cut without heat treatment. 

Metal cutting features with punching machine

• Mainly used for steel, aluminium and galvanised steel. It is a fast, precise and clean system.
• The maximum recommended cutting capacity on steels is up to 4mm.
• The cutting speed in holes and in straight cuts are totally different, but it can be confirmed that it is the fastest cutting system.
• Good quality cutting in thin thicknesses.  
• The smallest hole that can be cut with quality in carbon steel is by one to the thickness to be cut and with stainless steel it is by two to the thickness.
• The machine set-up process is the most complicated, making it difficult to work with a wide range of shapes, materials and thicknesses.
• Medium cost maintenance.
• High consumable costs.
• Medium/high energy consumption.
• Punch cutting far outperforms other systems in terms of speed, performance and productivity. Provided that we work with thin thicknesses and the production is very repetitive. Recommended for white goods manufacturers.

Waterjet cutting features

• Used for cut any type of material, whether ferrous, non-ferrous, stone, plastic, etc... It is the most versatile system compared to the other cutting systems, both in thickness and variety of materials. But for metal it is the slowest system of all. 
• The maximum recommended cutting capacity in steel is up to 150mm. 
• The average cutting speed of steel for 5mm thickness is 0.5m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steels for 16mm thickness is 0,1m/min.
• The average cutting speed of steel for 25mm thickness is 0,05m/min.
• Very good cutting quality. Disadvantage: water oxidises the steel. 
• The hole it can cut is 0,5mm the smallest with quality is by one the thickness if we cut with Oxygen and by 0,5mm the thickness with Nitrogen.
• The machine set-up process is simple, allowing to work quickly with different shapes and thicknesses. 
• The maintenance is high and continuous.
• The consumables are expensive.
• High energy consumption.

Comparative table of machining and cutting metal technologies