Fiber laser cutting machines have enhanced the production efficiency for many industries' processing and production and are becoming more widely utilized in various sectors after years of development.
An optical fiber laser cutting machine is a non-contact processing machine that uses laser technology for processing and manufacture.
It does not cause material deformation or damage, and the processing is fine and rapid as compared to the old method.
As a result, an increasing number of businesses are opting to purchase fiber laser cutting machines. For many businesses, purchasing a fiber laser cutting machine is a critical decision.
Because there are so many different brands of optical fiber laser cutting machines on the market, the fiber laser cutting machine prices vary. As a result, most buyers have been hesitant when selecting a fiber laser cutting machine.
If you do not choose the right equipment based on your actual needs, you will not only waste the initial capital investment but also the golden period of the company's development.
Of course, for businesses with limited resources, a poor choice of optical fiber laser cutting machine can result in significant losses or even bankruptcy. Because many businesses purchase a fiber laser cutting machine for the first time and are unfamiliar with the machine, this post begins with some fundamental knowledge so that we can gain a preliminary understanding of the machine before delving into how to choose a fiber laser cutting machine.
Therefore, in any case, you must do your research and purchase the appropriate equipment in the selection of fiber laser cutting machines, which will benefit your business for at least ten years.
What is a fiber laser cutting machine?
A fiber laser cutting machine is a laser cutting machine that employs a fiber laser generator as its light source.
Fiber laser is a new type of fiber laser that has been developed around the world. The high energy density laser beam is output and gathered on the work piece’s surface, allowing the area irradiated by the ultra-fine focus spot on the workpiece to be instantly melted and gasified, and automatic cutting to be realized by moving the spot irradiation position via the numerical control mechanical system.
It has obvious advantages over the massive gas laser and solid-state laser and has gradually developed into an important candidate in the fields of high-precision laser processing, LIDAR systems, space technology, laser medicine, and so on.
The optical fiber laser cutting machine can be used for both plane and oblique angle cutting, with a neat and smooth edge. It is appropriate for high-precision cutting applications such as a metal plate. Simultaneously, using the mechanical arm instead of the originally imported five-axis laser, it can perform three-dimensional cutting.
It saves more space and gas consumption than conventional carbon dioxide laser cutting machines, has a high photoelectric conversion rate, is a new product of energy conservation and environmental protection, and is also among the world's leading technology products.
The use of a fiber laser cutting machine
The majority of laser cutting machines are controlled by NC programs or transformed into cutting robots.
Laser cutting, as a precision machining technology, can cut practically any material, including two-dimensional or three-dimensional cutting of thin metal plates.
Laser cutting and shaping technology are also frequently employed in the non-metallic materials industry.
How do You select a fiber laser cutting machine?
This is the same difficulty as deciding what to eat for lunch today. It has always existed, but it has been intertwined. Users must first understand their demands to purchase an appropriate product. After all, radishes and cabbage are in love with each other. Everyone's requirements are unique. What works best for you is the finest option.
Let us go over a few points you should be aware of before purchasing a laser cutting machine:
Purchase price
One of the most important indications of enterprise development expenditure is the cost of acquisition. After all, progress must necessitate new blood, but it must not be mindless. It is now in need of some talents and references.
If you have large enough cash, you can directly purchase imported brands of laser cutting machines.
However, most organizations’ budgets are not always sufficient to fund the purchase of high-end brands, and laser cutting technology, particularly metal laser cutting machines, has advanced rapidly in recent years. The current state of laser cutting technology is relatively developed and steady.
When it comes to price, it is also a good idea to opt for a Chinese brand laser. You can get a suitable machine at a lower price.
How Will You Finance the Purchase? While some manufacturers pay cash for a laser, the vast majority finance the purchase. Don't think that your bank is the best place to get money to buy laser equipment.
Use prerequisites
Following the fiber laser cutting machine price confirmation, we should evaluate aspects such as our company scope, the thickness of cutting materials, and which materials to cut, and then choose the power and workstation size of the laser cutting machine to be acquired.
The fiber laser cutting machine price is heavily influenced by its power. The more the power, the higher the price and the greater the product's work efficiency.
The industrial market is currently dominated by two types of lasers: classic CO2 gas lasers and modern solid-state fiber lasers. For the past two decades, CO2 lasers were the workhorses of the metal fabrication industry. These lasers work by passing power through a gas-filled resonator (which contains CO2) and focusing and delivering the beam through mirrors. A fiber laser is made up of banks of diodes that are funneled and amplified using fiber-optic cable, similar to that used in the telecommunications industry.
Depending on the volume of parts, a stamping press may provide the lowest cost per part. When discussing metal forming in a press, you must also consider the necessity to invest in tooling. Stamping also allows for the performance of several activities, such as shaping and tapping, as part of the manufacturing process.
A classic turret punch press can cut out holes and shapes efficiently, but it requires tooling once again. A punching machine also cannot compete with laser cutting equipment in terms of production speed. The punch press, like a stamping press, can do some shaping.
A high-definition plasma system is appropriate for thick materials and situations where edge sharpness is not crucial. An abrasive waterjet is also suitable for thick materials and applications where the metal cannot have a heat-affected zone, which is a limitation of most thermal cutting processes. Both plasma and waterjet cutting systems are less expensive than laser cutting devices, although they may not always equal the laser's cutting speed. Of course, plasma cutting and waterjet systems can increase productivity by using numerous heads and the capacity to cut stacked blanks; the application will certainly determine what you want.
The expense of use
The benefits of a fiber laser cutting machine include great stability and long service life.
The loss of machine major parts is extremely low when the machine is operated correctly and maintained regularly. The primary expenses are energy, gas, and ordinary consumables, all of which are relatively modest.
With such a huge investment, a company must understand the level of efficiency at which the equipment is running. You need to know more than just whether or not the machine is running. This is where monitoring equipment performance comes in.
You must determine whether the software can measure the laser cutting machine's overall equipment efficiency (OEE) in real-time. If yes, can the software be used on your other laser cutting machines, if you have them, so you can discover "hidden capacity" where you didn't think there was any?
Monitoring software, which costs around 1% of the fiber laser cutting machine price, can deliver a 10 to 50% productivity boost with paybacks of less than four months.
Core components
As we all know, optical fiber laser cutting machines with great precision and efficiency are excellent instruments for the metal processing industry.
These technical advantages, however, are focused on the equipment's accessories. Even if the same fiber laser cutting equipment is outfitted with different accessories, the result will be different.
As a result, if users wish to purchase a low-cost fiber laser cutting machine, the matching of its accessories is critical.
A laser cutting machine is made up of six major parts:
- Bed
- Laser cutting head
- Laser lens
- Motor
- Numerical control system
- Source of Laser
The arrangement of these fundamental components defines the fiber laser cutting machine price, particularly the quality and quality of the laser, and significantly determines the laser cutting machine's basic pricing.
Professional and fast after-sales support is critical for laser cutting machine manufacturers. They may give one-stop service, whether it is pre-job training during machine operation or mechanical equipment maintenance and commissioning.
Conclusion
Purchasing such equipment can be a daunting task. We hope that after reading the preceding introduction to how to choose a fiber laser cutting machine, you now understand how to choose the machine that is right for you.
