Get High Caliber Laser Cutting At Alien Engineered Products!

One of the most common processes in fabricating metal is cutting. Because it has many advantages, laser cutting is most often used for this process. Although this is true, the process of laser cutting does have a few disadvantages. Alien Engineered Products in Ocala has put together this handy guide so you can be informed about the process ahead of time.

Laser Cutting: The Advantages

There are many advantages to using laser cutting as opposed to other techniques when fabricating metals. Here are a few of those advantages:

Flexible

With laser cutting, a single construction is able to create many different shapes and cuts, so you don’t need to change tools between them. As well as this, the housing is able to make many intricate cuts that would be more difficult with another method.

Precise

This process is accurate to +/-0.1mm, giving your products a high level of precision with the first cut and only one kind of equipment.

Repeatable

Because of the level of precision achieved by lasers, each piece is a relatively uniform replica of the others made to the same specifications.

Efficient

Especially when executing precision cuts, laser cutting gets the job done faster than traditional methods for metals under about 10 mm thick.

Automated

Because laser cutting machines are mostly automated, these types of jobs require fewer employees.

The Disadvantages

Although laser cutting has several advantages for most metal cuts, there are a few downsides to consider. Here are the most common:

Expertise Is Required

When using laser machinery, a specialist must operate the mechanism to ensure that the laser cutting is done correctly.

Limited Plate Thickness

Depending on the kind of machine a company uses, there is an upper limit on the thickness of metal plates that it can cut. This limit usually falls somewhere between 10 and 20 mm.

High Investment Upfront

The cost of installing the machinery required for laser cutting can be over $1,000,000 upfront. Even though the machine will pay for itself in the long-run, the set-up costs are still somewhat daunting.

Dangerous Exhausts

Although one of its advantages, the fact that lasers can handle many different materials also means that, through thermal cutting, dangerous gases and fumes are emitted, requiring decent ventilation equipment.

When Should You Choose Laser Cutting?

As you can see, there are many advantages to choosing laser cutting over other more traditional methods, namely its versatility and precision. However, the upfront costs of the machinery, fumes, and expertise required are often deterrents for those who would otherwise utilize this system. Although this is true, the costs are offset by the efficiency of the machinery. The expertise required is outweighed by the necessity for fewer employees to run the automated machine.