Can aluminum sheet be cut by laser?

Can aluminum sheet be cut by laser?

Aluminum sheet processing is often encountered in processing. One of the questions is whether aluminum sheet can be cut by laser? The answer is yes.

A few years ago, laser cutting machines were able to cut aluminum sheets. At that time, workers painted ink on the aluminum sheet (it is said that because the aluminum sheet has a high reflective coefficient and is afraid of reflecting the laser), it is difficult to adjust the laser parameters during cutting. At that time, only aluminum sheets with a thickness of 1 mm could be cut. After accumulating experience, the incision of the aluminum sheet is also very smooth and there is no dross.

Laser Cut Aluminum Sheet

Laser cutting aluminum sheet also depends on the power of the laser generator. The thickest 6000W can cut to 16mm, and the 4500W can cut to 12mm, but the processing cost is high, because this is a highly reflective material, and laser cutting uses focused The high-power-density laser beam irradiates the workpiece, making the irradiated material rapidly melt, vaporize, ablate or reach the ignition point, and at the same time blow off the molten material with the help of the high-speed airflow coaxial with the beam, so as to realize the cutting of the workpiece.

Is the cut surface of laser cut aluminum sheet as smooth as cutting other materials?

The incision of the aluminum sheet is also smooth. The aluminum sheet is only a highly reflective material, which requires a large laser generator. The cutting gas is the same as other materials, and it is cut with nitrogen, which will not cause the surface to be rough.

Aluminum sheet adopts laser cutting features:

• 1. Fine cutting seam: The cutting seam of laser cutting aluminum sheet is generally 0.1mm-0.2mm.
• 2. The cutting surface is smooth: the cutting surface of the laser cutting aluminum sheet has no burrs and dross.
• 3. Small thermal deformation: Laser processing has thin laser slits, fast speed, and concentrated energy, so the heat transferred to the cut material is small, and the deformation of the material is also very small.
• 4. Saving materials: Laser processing adopts computer programming, and laser equipment can cut aluminum sheet processing parts of different shapes, improve the material utilization rate of aluminum sheets, and save a lot of material costs.
• 5. The thickness of the aluminum sheet that can be cut depends mainly on the power of the laser generator. Generally, the maximum thickness of 6000W can be cut to 16mm, and the thickness of 4500W can be cut to 12mm.

Summary: According to personal experience, the price of carbon dioxide laser machine is relatively low, and the power of laser generator is high. You can try to cut aluminum sheet when you need it. Note that what I said above is to coat the aluminum sheet with a black light-absorbing color to prevent the reflection from burning the lens or laser head. As for the fiber laser machine, it is better not to cut the aluminum sheet, the gain outweighs the loss, choose other ways to process the aluminum sheet.

Precautions for laser cutting aluminum sheet: Aluminum sheet is a high-reflection material, which will cause great damage to the laser, so use it as little as possible. It is recommended to process the aluminum sheet below 6 mm by CNC punching machine, and above 6 mm by water cutting.