The laser cutting machines are the indispensable equipment in industrial production and our life. For example, fiber laser cutting machine and CO2 laser cutting machine are the most widely used in various fields.
Many suppliers of laser cutting machine also accept customization, and provide lots of options for customers. Moreover, there are various brands of laser machines on the market. But how to choose the most suitable one? The following three parts may help you make the right choice.
Initial preparation
When the buyers plan to start a business by using laser cutting machine, they may investigate the market at first. It is advisable to make a market survey to see what machines the manufacturers in the same industry are using. They can also judge the processing method or technology through the finished products. Of course, consulting with the suppliers as many as possible and getting their suggestions are also feasible.
Part I. Decide the materials for laser processing
Firstly, the buyers should consider what material for laser processing.
For Non-metallic materials
For Non-metallic materials: wood, acrylic, paper, fabric, leather and plastics and other non-metal materials, choose a CO2 laser cutting machine.
CO2 laser cutting machine can cut and process almost all the non-metal materials. Please see the video, the CO2 laser cutting machine is cutting acrylic board. And the edges of the laser cut acrylic is very smooth, with high precision.
For Metal materials
For Metal materials: stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum alloy, and other metal alloy materials, choose a fiber laser cutting machine.
The fiber laser cutting machine is suitable to cut and engrave metal materials. And we can see from the video at left that the laser cutting speed is very fast.
Notice: Please do not expect that buying one laser cutting machine can do everything. The manufacturers divide the laser cutting machines into various models in order to deal with different processing tasks. If the laser machine cannot match the processing demands, it will cause huge waste and will not achieve good effect.
Before purchasing a laser machine, the buyers are better to fully explain the processing contents and requirements to suppliers. The contents include the size, thickness and weight of materials, and the laser processing effect the users require.
Part II Central parts of laser cutting machine
1.Selection of laser Power
The laser cutting machines have different power range according to different functions.
The buyers can select appropriate laser power according to the material and the processing demands. For example, the engraving of acrylic and double-color boards do not require too large power. But the wood cutting will require a higher-power laser tube. Therefore, the buyers choose the power of laser tubes on the basis of their practical demand for processing.
Please see the following table about the CO2 laser power and materials thickness for reference.
Table 1. Reference Table of the Cutting Thickness of CO2 Laser
| Cutting Thickness of CO2 Laser (mm) | 60W | Acrylic | 3-10mm |
| Plywood | 5mm | ||
| 80W | Acrylic | 3-30mm | |
| Plywood | 5-12mm | ||
| MDF | 6mm | ||
| 100W | Acrylic | 3-30mm | |
| Plywood | 5-12mm | ||
| MDF | 6-15mm | ||
| Sponge | 2mm | ||
| 130W | Acrylic | 3-30mm | |
| Plywood | 5-12mm | ||
| MDF | 6-15mm | ||
| Sponge | 2mm |
For the power of fiber laser machine, it usually needs to determine the thickness of metal materials for cutting. And then the users can determine the required power. In the market, the power of laser metal cutting machine ranges from 500W to 6000W. Generally, the thicker the metal materials, the higher the fiber laser power will be.
Please see the table at below about the fiber laser power and the corresponding metal thickness for reference.
Table 2. Reference Table of the Cutting Thickness of Fiber Laser
| Cutting Thickness of Fiber Laser (mm) | 1000W | Mild Steel | 6.30mm |
| Stainless Steel | 3.10mm | ||
| Aluminum | 3.10mm | ||
| Copper | 1.50mm | ||
| Brass | 2.0mm | ||
| 2000W | Mild Steel | 9.50mm | |
| Stainless Steel | 4.80mm | ||
| Aluminum | 4.80mm | ||
| Copper | 2.50mm | ||
| Brass | 3.10mm | ||
| 3000W | Mild Steel | 12.70mm | |
| Stainless Steel | 6.30mm | ||
| Aluminum | 6.30mm | ||
| Copper | 4.10mm | ||
| Brass | 4.80mm |
2. Important parts of the laser cutting machine
Before purchasing a laser cutting machine, the users must be careful to make clear about the important parts. And they especially need to pay attention to the quality of optical device and cooling system. Because these core components have a direct impact on the cutting speed and accuracy of the laser machine.
· Optical quality
The performance and working quality of the laser cutting machine largely depend on the quality of the optical components. Many people believe that power consumption is an important factor in determining the efficiency of a machine.
However, the most important is not the power, but the optical quality. The one that determines the optical quality is the laser. Therefore, it needs to choose a machine with good optical quality and operation stability.
Quality of the laser lens
Choosing a good laser machine needs to consider the quality of the laser lens. Generally, the better the laser lens, the smaller the laser loss. This is beneficial to increase the electrical-optical conversion rate of the laser cutting machine.
· Cooling system of laser machine
A good cooling system is also very important to the processing efficiency. Usually, the laser cutting machine will use a industrial water chiller system. The users can figure out the flow rate of the cooling water. The faster the cooling water flows, the much more heat it can carry away. And it also needs to check if any leakage on the water pipe of the cooling system. Because the efficiency of the laser will be affected if any leakage.
· Machine size
The machine size of the laser cutting machine determines the amount of work that the users use it to complete. And the manufacturers will produce the laser machine size according to users’ processing demand.
But the size of the machine cannot be changed after the purchase. Therefore, it needs to confirm the sizes of work-pieces that you plan to complete before making a decision. For example, if you are going to process the large-size boards, you should obviously buy a cutting machine with a large working table.
· Accessories configuration
Good accessories determine the accuracy and stability of the laser cutting machine. For example, the users can figure out what the machine frame is made of, its thickness, and the welding method. These determine whether the laser machine can remain unchanged for a long time. And they can also ask the suppliers about the brands and quality of the motor, the guide rail, and control system.
· Software of the laser machine
The users need to verify whether the software of the laser cutting machine is the legal copy. The pirated software frequently has the problems of the light leak, large power consumption, unstable performance, and short service life.
3. User-friendly Operation performance of the laser cutting machine:
Being simple and easy to operate is an intuitive and important aspect for customers to choose the laser machine. If the users can operate the laser cutting machine after a short period of training, it can reduce the time of learning and also lower down the cost in use.
The users need also to consider the operating system of the laser cutting machine. The good suppliers will make certain system optimization to better adapt to their machines. And the users can also ask the suppliers to provide the video of machine operation. Or they can visit the factories to actually operate the system for testing. In fact, most of the laser cutting machines on the market are relatively simple to operate.
Part III. Check the Strength of the manufacturers
The initial selection of suppliers:
After the users roughly confirm their needs, they can go to the market to select a supplier of laser machines. When selecting the supplier of laser cutting machine, the buyers need to know the production scale and application cases. It is better to choose a manufacturer with strength and a certain scale. And the follow-up machine supply and maintenance will be more secure.
Choose two to three competitive suppliers for preliminary communication and sample making. And you can communicate with suppliers to learn about the performance and parameters of their laser machines.
Later, the users can go to the intentional suppliers or manufactures for field visits. And then, you can discuss the price, payment method, after-sales situation, and other aspects of the laser machine in detail.
· Check the reputation or public praise of suppliers
The reputation of manufacturers is an important factor for users to judge the quality of a fiber laser cutting machine. When choosing a laser machine, the users must check its quality. They can get the evaluation of the quality directly from a third party. If the manufacturer’s reputation is not bad, its laser machine will be good.
· Laser Cutting Proofing
After contacting the supplier of laser machines, the buyers can ask them to provide proofing service. The proofing service refers to the buyers provide the suppliers the sample of materials for laser processing. And the suppliers use their laser machine to cut or engrave such sample as you require. You can ask them to send you the video about the whole process of cutting such a sample to you. So that you can see the cutting effect and judge the performance. And then you can purchase the machine after you are satisfied.
· Factory visit
We recommend that users visit the manufacturer’s factory of the laser cutting machine before procurement. The buyers visit the manufacturing factory, communicate with the manufacturer as much as possible. In this way, they can get an in-depth understanding of the manufacturer’s strength, know the processing process of the laser cutting machine. They can also see the actual processing results and discuss the after-sales service.
The purchase of laser processing equipment with stable performance is the premise and foundation. Please try to choose a brand with a high market share, a sound after-sales service system and long-term market testing. Don’t buy products of poor quality and no after-sales service because of the greed for low prices. This will have a huge impact on the use process in future.
Understand the after-sales service system
Before the purchase, it is also better to understand the after-sales service and guarantee system of the manufacturers. Excellent manufacturers of the laser cutting machine have a complete set of sales guarantee system. And they can provide the laser cutting service and technical support to protect the interests of customers.
During the process of using the laser machine, some problems will inevitably appear. At this time, a timely and high-quality after-sales service becomes very important. Don’t just pay attention to the manufacturer’s price, but choose the machine from many aspects, such as operation stability and performance. Because in the subsequent use of the laser machine, the users will understand the importance of after-sales service.
Conclusion
The above mainly talks about 3 parts of suggestions for customizing a laser cutting machine to meet your needs exactly.
- Check the market, and decide the materials for laser processing;
- Choose the essential parts and check the cutting effect by using sample;
- Inspect the qualification and after-sales of the manufacturer
By now you have the essential information before buying a laser machine. You can also consult with more suppliers to obtain professional opinions and suggestions. Hope this article will give you guidance to make the best choice when you are going to buy laser machine. The laser cutting machine is not like buying daily goods, before purchasing, it is better to get as much information as you can.
DXTECH laser has a long development history, and the standardized management systems and manufacturing procedures. Its products get praised and welcomed by clients all over the world. And DXTECH can provide the complete set of laser machine and owns the after-sales department for the oversea countries. Even for the buyers of home laser cutter, DXTECH offers technical support and serves them in the same way. The professional technical engineers will give you a reply and solve your problems timely. Welcome to leave us a message if you have any further question.