Which one is stronger,Fiber laser cutting machine or plasma cutting machine? In fact, both have advantages and disadvantages, but the difference is also very large, such as the principle, cutting quality, use cost, etc. are different.
The difference between fiber laser cutting machine and plasma cutting machine
1. Different principle
The fiber laser cutting machine is to focus the laser from the laser device into a high-power laser beam according to the laser optical path system software. The laser beam by fiber laser cutting machine directly shines on the surface of the workpiece, so that the workpiece can achieve the melting point . At the same time, a high pressure vapor body coaxial from fiber laser cutting machine with the light blows away the molten or vaporized metal material. With the movement of the relative position of the bearing beam and the workpiece, the raw material will finally produce a gap, and then achieve the purpose of cutting.
The plasma cutting machine has a vapor body that is heated to a very high temperature and the aspect ratio is hydrolyzed. It transmits the arc output power to the workpiece. The high temperature of plasma cutting machine causes the workpiece to melt and be scraped away, resulting in the operating state of low temperature plasma arc cutting. Subsequently, low temperature plasma arc is used as pyrogenic molten metal material. Cutting is an oblique line, so there is usually a certain inclination when cutting common faults. Therefore, when the required cross section is diagonal, the plasma cutting machine is no longer available.
2. The cutting quality is different
At the cutting precision level, the low-temperature plasma cutting machine can be achieved within 1mm, and the fiber laser cutting machine can be achieved within 0.2mm. Therefore, the precision of the fiber laser cutting machine is higher.
The fiber laser cutting machine can complete the non-contact cutting with the surface of the workpiece, the cutting gap is not large, the precision is high, the thermal hazard area is small, and the cutting inner hole is smooth and clean by the fiber laser cutting machine. However, the cutting gap of the plasma cutting machine is slightly larger, the cutting inner hole is not smooth and uneven, and the cutting precision is low by plasma cutting machine.
3. Cutting raw materials is different
Fiber laser cutting machine is suitable for cutting a wide range of raw materials: metal materials, non-metallic materials, porcelain, laminated glass and so on. Plasma cutting machine is suitable for cutting a variety of metal composite materials, with thick steel plate cutting as the leading role.
4. Cost is different
The price of the plasma cutting machine is much more cost-effective than the fiber laser cutting machine, because the fiber laser cutting machine is composed of many high-precision parts, the cost of mechanical parts is higher.
However, at the cost of consumables level, the cost of consumables of plasma cutting machines is very high. For example, all the cutting torch (nozzle, cyclonic ring, electrical level, etc.) must be replaced within many hours, and the power consumption of the plasma cutting machine is very large. However, the consumption cost of fiber laser cutting machine is very low, fewer spare parts, and basically no maintenance.
Advantages and disadvantages of fiber laser cutting machine and plasma cutting machine
1. Advantages of fiber laser cutting machine
- Fiber laser cutting machine’s speed is faster: sheet metal cutting rate can reach 10m/min, far more than the plasma cutting machine.
- Fiber laser cutting machine has high cutting quality: small deformation, cutting cabinet table clean. The fiber laser cutting groove is not large, and the fiber laser cutting surface can be immediately used for electric welding without grinding and polishing.
- Cutting precision of fiber laser cutting machine is high: fiber laser cutting machine’s precision can reach 0.05mm, repeated accuracy level can reach 0.02mm.
- Fiber laser cutting raw materials have a wide coverage: metal materials and non-metallic materials can be used. There are metal fiber laser cutting machines for non-metallic materials and CO2 fiber laser cutting machines.
- Fiber laser cutting machine can also be used for manual engraving, electric welding, drilling and other practical operations, complete functions.
2. Disadvantages of fiber laser cutting machine
The cost of fiber laser cutting machine has increased, and the cost of early project investment and maintenance has increased. At this stage, fiber laser cutting of sheet metal has a high cost performance, but when the high efficiency of plate cutting is low, unless the quality is high, it is not reasonable to choose fiber laser cutting.
3. Advantages of plasma cutting machine
- The advantage of plasma cutting machine is that the low-temperature plasma arc kinetic energy is more concentrated, the temperature is higher, the cutting rate is faster, the deformation is small, and it can also cut stainless steel plate, aluminum and other raw materials.
- The plasma cutting machine has the advantages of cutting thick steel plate, because in the whole process of cutting thick steel plate, it can achieve a very high cutting rate, far beyond the fiber laser cutting machine.
4. Disadvantages of plasma cutting machine
- Plasma cutting machine will cause harmful substances and electric isolation: The basic principle of plasma cutting machine determines the compressive strength, noise and smoke of electric isolation in the whole process of cutting, which will pollute the environment to a certain level. Water plasma cutting machine is generally used for hot rolled strip steel, so the cutting thickness is subject to certain limits.
- Poor flatness of the cutting surface by plasma cutting machine: One side of the cutting surface will have a large inclination angle, and the flatness is poor.
- In the whole cutting process, the surface of the whole cutting process by plasma cutting machine causes more cutting slag. Because it does not harm the quality of the processing process, the slag after cutting must be crushed, which also increases the labor cost.
- The thermal hazard area of plasma cutting machine is large and the slit is wide. Plasma cutting machine is not advisable to cut sheet metal, as the sheet will be deformed by heat.
- CNC blades and other consumable products of plasma cutting machine consume quickly. Nowadays, cutting guns of plasma cutting machine rely on imports, and the cost is relatively high.
