I'm considering geting a laser cutter from China. I have found some machines on AliExpress in the 130-180W range which claims to cut 1.5 to 2.5mm steel with oxygen assist.
How much oxygen is required for this (flowrate)?
Does a ~150W O2 assist laser produce clean edges? I know the cut edges will be black because of the oxygen, but will they be smooth? If someone has close up pictures of steel parts cut on such a machine I would be very interested in seeing what they look like.
What exactly seperates a ~150W metal cutting laser from a non-metal cutting one? As far as I can tell it's only the ability to flow oxygen trough the cutting head, and presumably the lens focal length must be optimized for cutting rather than engraving. What am I missing?
I would be careful with powerful lasers from china.
Sure you save a lot of money but when it comes to problems or even replacements it can soon b more expensive than buying local.
But apart from that you should consider the power requirements for cutting steel, for you it would mean using the tube at quite high power levels and that will drastically shorten the lifespan.
As for clean edges IMHO it comes down to the nozzle in use.
If you have close contact and a hole size not much more than what is the laser beam width it works and looks great - the right speed, power and gas flow rate is essential here, so you will need to do some tests.
Also consider the fire problem!
Working with oxygen is dangerous as it is, don't know what machine type you are looking at but keep costs for added safety measures in mind.
If you want a good lifespan out of your tube you want to use it at only 50% power or below.
Occasional high power works is no big deal but if you mainly need power settings of 80% and higher than you should invest in a tube with at least twice the power.
Considering this and you might be in the price range for a fibre laser...
130-180W O2 assist CO2 laser cutter questions
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