With the continuous development of modern manufacturing industry, laser cutting technology in which the advantages of the application also began to increasingly prominent. Therefore, the manufacturing industry and technical personnel must be clear about the basic situation of laser-based cutting system and its main types, and then based on this, combined with the actual manufacturing materials, the corresponding laser cutting technology to be reasonable application.
Through this way, can give full play to its technical advantages, to meet the actual production and processing needs of the manufacturing industry, to promote the laser cutting technology and the synergistic development of modern manufacturing industry.
1. Overview of laser cutting technology
1.1 Basic introduction
Laser cutting technology, in short, is to irradiate the material to be cut by a high power density laser beam, so that it rapidly vaporizes, ablates, melts or reaches the ignition point, and then forms tiny holes. At the same time, with the help of auxiliary high-pressure gas coaxial with the laser beam, the molten material will be blown away, with the movement of the laser beam, these holes are continuously arranged to form a very narrow width of the slit, so as to complete the cutting process. The basic application principle of laser-assisted cutting method is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Basic application principle of laser-assisted cutting method
1.2 Application status
This technology boasts several advantages: it provides good cutting quality, high efficiency, high speed, and does not require contact with the processed material, making it highly applicable.
In the realm of modern manufacturing, laser cutting technology can exhibit exceptional performance with metal materials, non-metallic materials, and other special materials alike.
2. The main types of laser cutting technology
2.1 Vaporization cutting technology
This is one of the most widely used laser cutting technologies. When the laser beam with high power density irradiates the surface of the material, most of the laser is absorbed, resulting in the rapid vaporization of the material at the cutting site and the formation of small holes.
At the same time, the ejected vapors and molten material are carried away by an auxiliary gas, forming the cut. This technique is especially suitable for cutting non-melting materials such as wood, ceramics and plastics.
2.2 Melting cutting technology
Unlike vapor cutting, melting cutting primarily relies on auxiliary gas to remove the molten material. With this technology, the laser beam remains unaffected by vapor during the cutting process, interacting only with the material on the front side within the kerf gap.
Due to the low laser power density, the melting process takes place gradually, resulting in a wavy pattern. This technique is suitable for materials that react exothermically with oxygen, such as copper and aluminum.
2.3 Reaction melting cutting technology
This technique uses a laser beam to heat the surface of the material until it reaches the ignition point. It then introduces industrially pure oxygen to react with the processed material, releasing a significant amount of heat and forming molten oxides.
Auxiliary gas to blow away these molten oxides, part of the heat is absorbed by neighboring materials, triggering a continuous combustion reaction. This technique is mainly suitable for cutting materials such as titanium and steel.
3. The specific application of laser cutting technology in the manufacturing industry
With the application and development of laser cutting technology, this technology in the modern manufacturing industry has an increasingly wide range of applications, but also reflects the more and more significant application advantages.
At present, laser cutting technology in the manufacturing industry in the main application direction is as follows.
3.1 Reaction melting cutting technology
Laser Machining Technique in metal material processing shows significant advantages. It can not only significantly improve processing efficiency, reduce material loss, but also improve processing accuracy.
Especially for metal sheet materials, laser cutting technology has become one of the important indispensable processes.
3.2 Non-metallic material processing
Laser cutting technology in non-metallic materials processing also has a wide range of applications. Whether it is synthetic non-metallic materials or organic non-metallic materials, laser cutting technology can provide efficient and accurate processing solutions.
The non-metallic materials and cutting parameters in laser cutting processing are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Non-metallic materials and cutting parameters in laser cutting processing
3.3 Mechanical mold processing
Laser cutting technology in the field of mechanical mold production and manufacturing is mainly reflected in two major directions:
3.3.1 For steel plate production of stacked molds
Laser cutting technology used in steel plate stacked mold manufacturing, can cut the thickness of ≤ 6mm steel plate with high precision, the cost is only 1 / 3 of the traditional mechanical processing, significant economic benefits.
The processing accuracy is as high as ± 0.01mm, showing excellent technical advantages.
3.3.2 Apply to thin plate stacked into three-dimensional molding mold
When laser cutting thin plates stacked into a three-dimensional molding die, the operator can utilize computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and other software in combination with the processing.
Through this way, not only can effectively ensure the production and processing accuracy of such mechanical molds, but also can reasonably simplify its design and manufacturing process, so that it has a higher production and processing efficiency.
4. Laser cutting technology in the manufacturing industry development direction
Laser cutting technology, despite its widespread use in the modern manufacturing industry, still faces shortcomings. Specifically, it is limited by material thickness and high costs that impede its promotion. Furthermore, it lacks sufficient integration with advanced technology, and there is considerable room for improvement in technical operation and control.
Based on this, in the future development of manufacturing industry, laser-powered cutting solution should be developed in the following directions:
(1) To take reasonable methods and measures to continuously improve the laser cutting ability, so that it is more adaptable in the greater thickness of the material, so as to continuously expand its scope of application;
(2) By making reasonable technical improvements and enhancing supporting hardware and software, we can effectively reduce the cost of laser cutting equipment. This will enable its full popularization in more manufacturing enterprises, thereby achieving a more idealized application and promotion effect.
(3) By introducing big data, automation, and intelligent technology into laser cutting, we can build an information technology, automation, and intelligent control system. This significantly enhances the control effect, processing efficiency, and product quality, achieving a comprehensive upgrade of laser Cutting Process.
By adopting this approach, we can effectively ensure the production and processing accuracy of such mechanical molds. Additionally, it allows us to reasonably simplify their design and manufacturing processes, resulting in higher production and processing efficiency.
5. Conclusion
Although laser cutting technology has made remarkable achievements in the manufacturing industry, its development does not stop. In the future, Laser-based cutting system will continue to move in the direction of improving cutting capacity, reducing equipment costs and realizing informationization, automation and intelligent control. This will further expand its scope of application and enhance its competitiveness in the manufacturing industry.
In short, laser cutting technology as a key technology in modern manufacturing industry, is constantly promoting the innovative development of the industry. We believe that it will bring more surprises and possibilities to the manufacturing industry in the days to come.
