Jinan Bodor CNC Machine Co.

, Ltd

Fiber Laser Cutting Machine

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Fiber laser cutting principles

I. Principle of laser processing

Laser cutting is an advanced cutting process widely used in the material processing. Laser beam with high energy

density is adopted as "cutting tool" to conduct thermal cutting process on the materials. Laser cutting technology is

adopted to cut various metals, non-metal sheet and composite materials, which is widely used in various fields. Laser

cutting refers to using the focused laser beam radiating the work piece to melt, carburate and ablate the materials or

enable the materials to reach fire point, and meanwhile, high-speed stream with same axis as the light beam is adopted

to remove the molten material and achieve the cutting works. Laser cutting is one of heat cutting methods.

II. Main mode of laser processing

1）Laser-melting cutting

Laser-melting cutting refers to using the laser heating to melt the metal materials, and puffing the non-oxidizing gas
(N2, Air, etc.) through the nozzle with same axis as the light beam and eliminating the liquid metal depending on the
strong laser pressure to form a kerf.

Laser-melting cutting is mainly used for the cutting of materials that are difficult to cut or reactive metal, including

stainless steel, titanium, aluminum and their alloys.

2）laser oxygen cutting

The principles of laser oxygen cutting are similar to oxyacetylene cutting, for which, the laser is used as the

preheated heating source, and oxygen and other active gases can be used as auxiliary gas. On one hand, the ejected gas

will oxidize with metal, releasing abundant oxidation heat; on the other hand, the melted oxide and the melt will be

blown out from the reaction area, and the kerf will be formed in the metal.

Laser oxygen cutting is mainly used for metal materials easily oxidized, such as carbon steel. It can also be used for

processing such materials as stainless steel, but it will result in a black and rough cross section, and the cost of which

is lower than that of inert gas.

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III. laser cutting closely related to the factors below:

◆ Laser power
◆ Focal position
◆ Nozzle height
◆ Nozzle diameter
◆ Auxiliary gas
◆ Auxiliary gas purity
◆ Auxiliary gas flow
◆ Auxiliary gas pressure
◆ Cutting speed
◆ The texture of cutting plate
◆ The surface quality of cutting plate (such as rust, sundries etc.)
◆ The processing parameters related to cutting as shown below：

The laser beam diameter

The cutting gas type

The lens focus length

The auxiliary gas pressure

The lens focus length

The inner hole diameter The distance between the nozzle and the cutting material

The surface of cutting material

The focus kerf width

1. Focal position

After the focusing of laser beam, the position where a focus lies, compared with the surface of processing material,

is called as the focal position. The focal position determines the beam diameter and power density on the work piece
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surface, and the shape of the cut. During the laser cutting, the relative location of beam focus and cutting sheet metal

surface has a large effect on cutting quality, and it is very important to adjust the focus position. This laser cutting

machine is equipped with automatic following adjustment device with high precision; the numerical control system

will automatically adjust the distance of the section under the nozzle from the sheet metal when changing the plate

height to ensure the constant height from the nozzle to the plate surface and constant position of the focus.

The relation between focus position and cutting materials and sections is listed in the following table.

2. Nozzle

2.1 Nozzle function

The air flow condition will be different based on different nozzle design, which will affect the cutting quality directly.

The main functions of nozzle include:

1）Avoiding such sundries as cutting slags bouncing upwards and entering the cutting head to damage the lens.

2）The nozzle can ensure that the ejected gas is more concentrated, and can control the area and size of gas diffusion to

make a higher quality.

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2.2 Influence of nozzle on cutting quality and nozzle selection

1）Relations between nozzle and cutting quality: the cutting quality will be affected when the nozzle has any
deformation or residue. Therefore, the nozzle shall be placed carefully without bumping; the residue on nozzle shall be
timely cleaned. A higher precision requirement is necessary for nozzle manufacturing, and the nozzle shall be replaced
timely due to poor quality resulted from the nozzle quality in itself.

2）Selection of nozzle

In general, when the nozzle diameter is small, the gas velocity is high, and the molten materials eliminating ability

is strong, suitable for thin plate cutting, by which, the fine cutting section can be achieved. When the nozzle diameter

is large, the gas velocity is low and the molten materials eliminating ability is poor, suitable for cutting thick plate with

a low speed. If a nozzle with a larger diameter is used to cut the thin sheet rapidly, the slags produced may be spattered

upwards, damaging the protection lens.

In addition, the nozzle can be divided into composite and single-layer nozzles (as shown in the figure below), and
the composite nozzle is generally used to cut the carbon steel and the single-layer nozzle is used to cut the stainless
steel.
Single-layer nozzle
Composite nozzle

Single-layer nozzle and composite nozzle

Material
Material specification Type of nozzle Specification of nozzle
thickness
below
Φ1.0
3mm

CS 3--12mm Composite nozzle Φ1.5

Over
Φ2.0 or above
12mm
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1 Φ1.0

2--3 Φ1.5
SS Single-layer nozzle
3--5 Φ2.0

Over 5mm Φ3.0 or above

Differences may occur in the data of this table due to the influence of material and processing gas,
so the data in this table is for reference only.

3. cutting gas and gas pressure

When choosing the auxiliary cutting gas type and gas pressure, several aspects below should be considered:
◆ Generally, the oxygen is used to cut the normal CS, pierce and cut with the low pressure.
◆ Generally, the air is used to cut the thin CS, SS and the non-metal material.
◆ Generally, the nitrogen is used to cut SS.
◆ The higher the purity of the gas, the better the cutting quality. The gas purity had better be above 99.8%
when cutting CS and the nitrogen purity had better be above 99.6% when cutting SS, the higher the
nitrogen purity, the smoother the cutting surface.

3.1 The influence of cutting gas on cutting effect

1) The gas is beneficial for heat dissipation and burning, blowing off the slags, improving the cutting surface quality.

2) the influence for cutting when the gas is insufficient

a. the melting slags occur on the cutting surface

b. the cutting can’t speed up and the efficiency is influenced.

3) the influence for cutting effect when the cutting gas pressure is too high

a. When the gas flow is too strong, the cutting surface is rough and the kerf is wider.
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b. When the gas flow is too strong, the cutting surface will be melted and the cutting effect is not good.

3.2 The influence of cutting gas on piercing

1) when the gas pressure is too low, the piercing can’t be easily achieved and it will cost more time.

2) when the gas pressure is too high, the piercing point will be melted and become a bigger melting hole. So for thin

plate use high gas pressure to pierce and for thick plate use low gas pressure.

All in all, the selection of the cutting gas type and pressure should be adjusted by the actual situation and different

cutting parameters will be used under different situation.

4. The cutting speed

The selection of cutting speed will vary with the texture and the thickness of the cutting plate and different

cutting speed will have a great effect on the laser cutting quality. The proper selection of cutting speed not only can

improve the cutting efficiency but also can achieve the good cutting quality. The impact of cutting speed on cutting

quality is discussed below:

4.1 The impact of the too fast cutting speed on the cutting quality:

The too fast cutting speed can cause the non-cutting phenomenon, making the sparks splash. Some sections of the

cutting material can be cut through while some sections can’t.

As shown in below picture, the too fast cutting speed cause the plate can’t be cut through in time, the cutting

surface have oblique lines and slags occur at bottom half.

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4.2 The impact of the too low cutting speed on the cutting quality:

The too slow cutting speed will cause the plate over melted and the cutting surface will be very rough, the cutting

kerf will become wider accordingly, and the little rounded corner or sharp corner place will melt and can’t achieve the

ideal cutting effect finally. Slow cutting speed will also lower cutting efficiency.

4.3 Selection of the proper cutting speed

The cutting speed can be judged from the cutting sparks, the sparks will diffuse from top to the bottom in normal

cutting, and when the speed is too high, the sparks will be banked; if the sparks are not diffused, but gathered together,

it indicates that the feeding speed is too low. As shown in following figure, the cutting surface of a proper cutting

speed will present stable lines, and no slags will be generated at bottom half.

Sparks diffuse from up Sparks tilt, too fast Sparks no diffusion, Cutting Section Schematic
to down speed too slow speed

Cutting Sparks Effect Diagram

5. The cutting power

Different laser power has different impact on the cutting quality, the selection of cutting power shall be

determined according to the texture and thickness of the plate, neither too high or too low laser power can achieve

better cutting surface.

5.1 The plate can’t be cut through when power is too low.
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5.2 When the laser power is set too high, the cutting surface will be melted and the kerf will be very
big and can’t achieve a better cutting quality.

5.3 when the laser power is normal, the cutting surface is soft and smooth.

IV. The cutting principles chart

Structural steel: Cut by O2

Defect Possible cause Solution

No burr; consistent leading line

Appropriate power
Proper cutting speed

Large offset of leading line at the bottom, wider

Too fast cutting speed
kerf at the bottom
Too low cutting power
Too low gas pressure
Too high focus
Reduce cutting speed
Increase cutting power
Increase gas pressure
Decline focus

Drop-shaped burrs at the bottom seem like

slags, which are easy to be removed Too fast cutting speed Reduce cutting speed
Too low gas pressure Increase gas pressure
Too high focus Decline focus
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Metal burrs connected together could be

removed as a whole
Too high focus Decline focus

Metal burrs on the bottom are hard to be removed Too fast cutting speed reduce cutting speed
Too low gas pressure Increase gas pressure
Impure gas Use purer gas
Too high focus Decline focus

Burrs only on one side

Improper concentric laser
Make lasers concentric
Defects occur in nozzle
Replace nozzle
exit

Material is discharged from the upside

Too low power Increase power

Too fast cutting speed Reduce cutting speed

Too high gas pressure Reduce gas pressure

Inaccurate cutting surface
Nozzle is damaged
Too large diameter of
nozzle
Poor material
Replace nozzle
Mount proper nozzle
Use material with smooth
and even surface

Stainless steel: cut by N2 under high pressure

Defect Possible cause Solution

Drop-shaped fine regular burrs
Too low focus Raise focus
Too fast cutting speed Reduce cutting speed

Irregular filament-shaped burrs are found on

both sides; surface of large sheet metal Too low cutting speed Increase cutting speed
discolors Too high focus Decline focus
Too low gas pressure Increase gas pressure
Overheated material Cool material
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Long and irregular burrs are found on one

Improper concentric laser Make lasers concentric
side of cutting edge
Too high focus Decline focus
Too low gas pressure Increase gas pressure
Too low speed Boost speed

Oxygen impurities mix in

Cutting edge gets yellow Use high-quality nitrogen
nitrogen
Too high acceleration
Decline acceleration
Laser beam starts to diffuse around at the Too low focus
Raise focus
beginning Materials melted are not
Bore a round hole
discharged
Replace nozzle
cut Nozzle is damaged
Rough cut Clean lens; replace if
Dirty lens
necessary
Material is discharged from the upside
Too low power Increase power
Too large cutting speed Lower cutting speed
Too high gas pressure Reduce gas pressure

V. Case analysis
Oxygen cutting case analysis

Sample picture Possible cause Solution

Lens center is not

correct
Check the center of lens
The nozzle exit is
1 Check the state of the nozzle
blocked or not round
Check the optical path
The optical path is not
correct

Too high pressure Reduce the pressure 0.1bar every time

Too high focus Decline the focus 0.2mm every time
2
Too high power Reduce the power
Bad quality of material Check the focus of the lens
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low power Increase the power

3 high speed Low the speed
low pressure Increase the pressure

Reduce the speed

Increase the duty cycle, 5-10% every
Too high speed
time
4 Low power
Increase the power, 100W every time
Too low pressure
Increase the pressure step by step, 0.1
bar every time
Too high pressure
Too low feed speed
Too high focus Reduce the pressure
Rust on the surface of Increase the feed speed
5
the cutting plate Decline the focus
Overheated cutting Use high-quality material
plate
Impure material

Too high focus Decline focus

Too high pressure Lower the pressure
6
Too low feed speed Increase the feed speed
Overheated material Cool the material

Too high feed speed Lower feed speed

Too low pressure Increase the gas pressure
7
Impure gas Use more purer gas
Too high focus Decline focus

8 Too high focus Decline the focus

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Nitrogen cutting case analysis

Sample picture Possible cause Solution

Too fast speed

Lower the speed
1 Too low focus
Increase the power
Too low power

The center is not correct

The inner bore of nozzle is Check the center
2 not circular Check the state of the nozzle
The optical path is not Check the optical path
correct

Too low power Increase the power

3
Too low focus Raise the focus 0.1-0.2mm every time

Too low feed speed Increase the feed speed

Too high focus Decline the focus
4
Too low gas pressure Increase the gas pressure
Overheated material Cool the material

Impure nitrogen Check the purity of the nitrogen

6 Oxygen or air mix in the gas Increase the delay time to clean the gas
pipe pipe and check the gas circuit.
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VI. The CS or SS cutting effect of the 3KW laser fiber cutting machine
Auxiliary
Texture Thickness mm Effect diagram Effect description
gas

Bright cutting surface

CS(Q235) 1 oxygen and no slags on the
bottom.

Bright cutting surface

CS(Q235) 2 oxygen and no slags on the
bottom.

Bright cutting surface

CS(Q235) 3 oxygen and no slags on the
bottom.

Bright cutting surface

CS(Q235) 6 oxygen and no slags on the
bottom.

Bright cutting surface

CS(Q235) 8 oxygen and no slags on the
bottom.

Smooth cutting
surface with small
CS(Q235) 10 oxygen
waves , no slags on
the bottom.

Fine grinding
CS(Q235) 12 oxygen surface, no slags on
the bottom
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Fine grinding
surface, no slags on
CS(Q235) 14 oxygen
the bottom, taper less
than 1°

Fine grinding
surface, no slags on
CS(Q235) 16 oxygen
the bottom, taper less
than 1°

°
Slight waves on the
CS(Q235) 18 oxygen cutting surface, no
slags on the bottom,
taper less than 1°

Slight waves on the

cutting surface, no
CS(Q235) 20 oxygen
slags on the bottom,
taper less than 2°

Fine and smooth

SS(201) 1 nitrogen cutting surface, no
slags on the bottom

Fine and smooth

SS(201) 2 nitrogen cutting surface, no
slags on the bottom

Smooth cutting
SS(201) 3 nitrogen surface and smooth
bottom without slags
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Smooth cutting
SS(201) 4 nitrogen surface and smooth
bottom without slags

Smooth cutting
SS(201) 6 nitrogen surface and smooth
bottom without slags

No visible slags on
SS(201) 8 nitrogen
the bottom

Smooth cutting
surface and soft slags
LV 1~8 nitrogen that can be removed
or slight hard slags
on the bottom

Smooth cutting
CU 1~6 nitrogen surface and no slags
on the bottom.