Common Problems And Their Solutions In Metal Laser Cutting

By Author: steven glassner
Total Articles: 153
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When we say laser technology, what comes to our mind is precision, versatile, speed and reliability. As compared to other cutting methods, laser cutting is a much safer method. These are a few of several advantages that laser cutting offers.

Laser cutting is a thermal-based method which uses a focused laser beam to melt a highly targeted area of a material that you want to cut. Its usage is majorly in industrial manufacturing but it is becoming prevalent in other sectors like school and medical. You can apply it to a wide range of materials like wood, metal, iron, leather, plastic, etc. The success of the end-product depends on the machines you use. For instance, machines that use parts from brands like Mazak spare parts or Trumpf replacement parts are reliable enough to cut any materials.

In spite of the latest trends and technology in laser cutting, operators face some common problems while dealing with the laser machine.

Problem: Difficulty in finding the focal point of the laser machine

Generally, laser machines ...
... come with an automatic focal point. If you face this problem, there are two methods:

- Slant Plate Method: You can look for the laser beam at the minimum focus by moving the laser beam horizontally along a slant plate under the vertical axis.

- Pulse Method: Printing on a plastic sheet will help you check all holes and the smallest one you find is the hole.

Problem: Cutting depth is not sufficient

This can happen due to numerous reasons if;

- The position of the focal point is incorrect- follow the above mentioned two methods to find the focal point.
- The laser tube is ageing; we recommend to increase the laser power or replace the laser tube.
- The laser power supply and/or the output power is too low; adjust the supply and/or power by making it slower

Problem: Burr on the workpiece when cutting

- If you are unable to find the focal point of the laser machine, that will cause burr. You can manage the focal point by following the steps in the first point.
- This can also happen if you run the laser cutter for too long. You can solve this by restarting the cutter. Burrs occur if the cutting line is too slow. Try increasing the line.
- Check the purity of the cutting working gas.
- Shut down the machine and restart again.

Problem: The cut of the metal remains incomplete

This happens majorly because of three reasons

- The thickness of the processing plate and the nozzle of the laser doesn’t match: try replacing the nozzle.
- The speed of laser cutting linear is fast: reduce the linear speed.
- The nozzle is not able to sense the laser focus position: re-detect the nozzle sensing data.

If you feel that it is time to replace the parts of the machine, you can rely on quality products like Mazak spare parts or Trumpf replacement parts.

Problem: There are abnormal sparks while laser cutting

- Replace the nozzle in the laser head or increase the gas pressure for laser cutting.
- Check if the joint between the nozzle and the laser head is loose. Immediately stop the cutting and screw the joint tightly.

Problem: There is a small hole deformation during metal cutting

While machining small holes with a high power machine, the laser energy gets concentrated in a small area. This results in deformation of the hole. The solution here is to change the pulse perforation (soft puncture) method to blasting perforation (normal puncture).

Conclusion

We hope those solutions will help you solve some common problems while metal laser cutting. We recommend that before making a purchase do detailed research on the machines and replacement parts. Choose machines that use spare parts from Mazak spare parts or Trumpf replacement parts who have a vigilant team to solve any problem that occurs.

Steve M Glassner is the General Manager of Alternative Parts Inc, the leading manufacturer and distributor of Amada machinery replacement parts. Steve is a Machine Tools industry enthusiast and frequently writes about various aspects of the industry.