How to ensure cutting accuracy

The key point of choosing laser cutting is high precision. Compared with the error of 1-2mm of plasma, laser can meet the use of many industries, so why can the precision of laser cutting machine be accurate to 0.1mm? Then it needs to be analyzed from the structure of the machine.

The first is the analysis of the mechanical structure. The most significant control method for accuracy is mechanical coordination. The positioning of the cutting head is determined by the racks on both sides of the beam, so the accuracy of the racks is very important. Then there is the transmission, the gear is driven by the servo motor, and the servo motor is a precision instrument, and the world famous brands such as Yaskawa, Panasonic, Siemens, FANUC, etc. can be accurate to less than 0.1mm in precision control. These are the control of precision from the mechanical structure.

Then it is to make the machine achieve the desired accuracy from the settings, condense the laser beam into a cone, and try to ensure that the minimum focus point is on the cut sheet. If the spot is very small, the cutting accuracy is very high, if the gap after cutting is small. The results show that the laser cutting machine has high precision and high quality. figure 1:

Figure 1 Conventional Focus

The laser beam is condensed into a cone. When cutting, the laser beam is gradually tapered downward. When the thickness of the workpiece is very large, the cutting accuracy will be reduced, and the cut out gap will be very large. Therefore, when cutting thick plates, try to place the focal point in the middle of the thickness of the plate, which can minimize the cutting error, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2  Thick Plate Focus

Finally, the different cutting materials will also affect the accuracy of the laser cutting machine. In the same situation, such as stainless steel and aluminum, the cutting accuracy will be very different, the stainless steel cutting accuracy will be higher, and the section will be smooth.