Six Good Reasons To Choose Laser Cutting For Working With Metal

27 July 2017
 Categories: , Blog

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If your manufacturing process requires cutting metal, laster cutting could be the best way to get the job done for a variety of reasons. The following are six good reasons to choose laser cutting in manufacturing processes when you're working with metal.

There is no warping of metal that is cut with laser technology.

Metal workpieces can become distorted by warping when traditional cutting methods are used. Laser cutting relies on highly targeted heat and a contactless process that won't cause warping of materials. 

Laser equipment can be quickly set up to increase productivity.

Traditional cutting methods that require hard-tooling also often require a long equipment setup process. Every day, setup consumes time and detracts from the productivity of the facility.

Laser cutting only requires programming of machinery and loading of materials to be cut. Setup time is minimized with laser technology so that cutting jobs can be handled more quickly and efficiently. 

Laser cutting usually results in less scrap material.

The production of scrap material during metal cutting detracts from efficiency. With laser cutting, the edge is so precise that one cut can produce usable metal on both sides. This means that there is less scrap material produced through laser cutting techniques including nesting and tabbing. 

The edges that result from a laser cut in metal are clean.

Some metal cutting methods can result in a jagged or irregular edge. This typically happens because the cutting blade of equipment becomes increasingly dull over time and becomes less effective at cutting through metal.

A laser beam will not wear out over time like other tools used for metal cutting might. This allows for precision edges regardless of how old the laser cutting equipment is. 

When laser cutting is used, there is no need to cover tooling expenses.

Cutting equipment like shears and punch presses require that some money be put into tooling expenses. Laser cutting can be done without these expenses.

With laser cutting, there is no need for costly maintenance procedures like tool sharpening. Also, less room is needed for equipment storage and less time has to be put into tool adjustments during cutting. All this means that no tooling costs are required in to the process of laser cutting. 

It's easy to achieve highly customized options with laser cutting.

The greater precision offered by laser cutting technology means that higher levels of customization are possible. Laser cutting can produce highly intricate shapes that sometimes are impossible to achieve with traditional cutting methods relying on hard-tooling.