Regular maintenance is the key to laser cutting quality

To make the cut as good as possible, the laser cutter requires regular service and cleaning.

However, many companies forget about the importance of regular maintenance. One of the leading experts for laser metal cutting, Brent Donner, brings a few questions that need to be asked before the cutting begins, in order to ensure satisfactory cutting quality.

Otherwise, Donner is a long-time consultant with great experience in laser cutting projects. During the visits to numerous companies that asked for his opinion, he noted the three major failures that laser cutter operators are doing.

Before each laser cutting project, three most important questions must be asked, in order to ensure that the quality of the project implemented is as good as it can be.

Are the laser cutter lenses cleaned in the prescribed manner?

Cutting lenses are one of the most important parameters that affect the quality of the cut. Since during the cutting, processes that can lead to the formation of layers on the lens, which reduces the quality of the cut occur, the operator has to clean the lens after a certain number of cutting cycles. However, during cleaning, special attention should be paid to the way the lens is being cleaned. By improper cleaning, the cutting lens may be damaged or not cleaned entirely, leaving a thin layer of dirt on it.

There are specially developed means for cleansing the lens. However, Donner states that operators often don’t know how to use a cleaning agent. What is needed is to apply a reasonable amount of cleaning agent. After that, the lens polishing follows, which is done by pressing your hand on it very gently. With regular maintenance and cleaning, the life span of the laser lens can be extended to as long as 8 months, with the inevitable improvement in cutting quality.

Is the laser jet centered?

The jet in  a laser cutting process has a very important and irreplaceable role. In addition to conducting the laser beam and directing it to the metal, an auxiliary gas used for cutting passes through it as well. For this reason, after a certain number of cutting cycles, the operator must check the centering of the jet by directing the laser beam on the tape for about 1 second. After this, one should make sure the hole created in the tape is well centered.

Since the hole is of very small dimensions, the operator is recommended to use the magnifying glass. In addition to increasing the precision of the cut, a good positioning of the jet can increase the speed of the cut by as much as 40%.

Is the laser cutter optic focused?

In addition to regular and duly maintenance of the cutting optics, it is necessary to focus it after a certain number of cutting cycles. Modern laser cutting machines have a system that focuses it automatically without the need for any kind of intervention done by the operator. However, in older laser cutters, the operator must be the one to complete the focusing process.

Different methods that give the same result have been developed for laser optic focusing. The focusing is done by the operator who releases a low-power laser beam and manages the focusing system located on the laser cutter. It is necessary to observe the color of the laser beam. Once it becomes blue, the operator must write down the values and repeat the whole procedure three times. The average result obtained by this process is entered by the operator into the laser cutter system, thus focusing the optic.

However, the focusing process depends largely on the type and laser cutter manufacturer. Therefore, it is recommended that you consult with the manufacturer, so the focusing would be done right.

Regular maintenance is the key to laser cutting quality

These questions are just some of the guidelines that lead to laser quality improvement. However, the key to improving quality and extending the lifespan of laser cutters is regular maintenance. Regular maintenance, in addition to increasing speed, increases the quality of laser cutting at the same cost.

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Technological advancement of laser cutting

The development of the laser cutting technology brings the ability to cut all the slim materials. In addition, the advancement of the laser cutter components increases the precision as well as the possibility of performing more complicated cuts.

However, laser cutting had a completely different application in the past. This applies primarily to the most used CO2 lasers. Laser technology has provided almost an ideal way to produce prototype tools and various other components that required the manufacture of larger sized mechanical cutters.

Optics as key to success

By the increase of the demand when it comes to quality and cutting in general, a need for innovation development that would make the laser optics more efficient appeared. At the very beginning, laser cutters used one lens with only one focal length, which greatly restricted laser cutting.

However, after the appearance of multi-lens laser technology, laser cutting took place at higher speeds and its quality has increased as well. Although initially, the lens replacement was a complicated process in which the cutter head needed to be dismantled and it lasted for a relatively long time, many companies decided to install additional lenses into their laser cutter.

The need for better laser optics resulted in the development of the autofocusing system. With this system, the operator no longer had to manually adjust the focus of the lens, but the focusing system would do it automatically. This increased the speed and the quality of the cut with minimal waste of time. In addition, by developing and enhancing the laser cutter head, lens replacement has become simpler and today it lasts for an average of 20 minutes.

Laser cutting automatization

The development of automatization has caused the increase in cutting speed. The CNC technology has been further upgraded so the laser cutter could run many more complex positions without any problems. Additionally, the automatic cutting of metal plates on the laser cutter’s work desk accelerated the entire cutting process, and the operator could focus exclusively on laser cutting parameters.

Apart from the automatization of the modification of the metal plate being cut, automatic changes of the cutting head were done as well. Due to the need for the change of the laser lens during cutting, a system is designed to automatically adjust the lens, or physically replace the head of the laser cutter. With this kind of system, the laser cutting process is further accelerated and becomes more efficient.

The evolution with the appearance of the fiber laser

With the emergence of a new type of laser technology, fiber laser, which has enabled the creation of laser beams of greater intensity or strength, previous CO2 lasers have been replaced by considerably better fiber lasers, which for creating laser beams use a special type of diode instead of gas.

Fiber lasers have also led to increased cutting efficiency. CO2 cutters invest only 10% of the energy they use into the cutting process, whereas with fiber lasers, this figure increases to as much as 35%. Nonetheless, CO2 is still being used because of its advantages in laser metal cutting.

What does the future bring?

Today, laser technology is at a turning point. Will the industry see the benefits of fiber laser or will it continue to use CO2 lasers? Numerous engineers trying to answer this question are pointing to new innovations in the field of laser optics or laser cutter heads.

he latest innovations bring the diminution of any need for major operator interventions in the laser cutting process. In the future, it is to be expected that laser cutting will remain the primate, ie synonym for quality and the best price and quality ratio when it comes to cutting both metal and other materials.

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