How to cut high reflective materials with a laser cutting machine

XT Laser Cutting Machine

Can laser cutting machines cut high anti metallic materials? What are the characteristics and precautions of laser cutting machines for cutting high reflective materials? Is there any harm to laser cutting machines? The manufacturer of Daizu Ultra Energy Laser Cutting Machine takes you to understand the cutting and application of laser cutting machines in metal high reflective materials. What is a high reflective material? Many types of laser technology are affected by their inherent sensitivity to return light, leading to unstable operation and destructive automatic shutdown during the processing process, and even causing significant damage to the laser, invisibly shortening its lifespan. Cutting high reflective materials with metal laser cutting machines is an important challenge for many metal laser cutting machine manufacturers nowadays. High reflective metal materials have always been difficult to cut by metal laser cutting machines, including copper, aluminum, gold, etc. These materials are also common materials in our daily processing.

When cutting high reflective materials, some auxiliary gas needs to be added to increase the cutting speed. So why does cutting high reflective metal materials require the addition of auxiliary gas? When a metal laser cutting machine cuts metal copper, the added auxiliary gas reacts with the material under high temperature conditions, increasing the cutting speed. For example, using oxygen can achieve the effect of combustion support. Nitrogen is an auxiliary gas for laser cutting equipment to improve cutting efficiency. For copper materials below 1MM, using a metal laser cutting machine is completely feasible for processing. When the thickness of metal copper reaches 2MM, it cannot be processed using nitrogen alone. At this time, oxygen must be added to oxidize it in order to achieve cutting.

Due to the possibility of damaging the lens system, extra caution should be taken when performing reflective metal laser cutting. Special systems and technologies have been developed that do not reduce cutting accuracy. What are these technologies?

In practice, laser cutting manufacturers often encounter metals with high reflectivity, such as aluminum. The cutting of these metals requires special attention. Due to their reflective properties, if the cutting parameters are adjusted incorrectly or the surface is not polished, it may damage the laser lens. In addition to aluminum, laser cutting of stainless steel further processed through polishing is also a major issue.

Why is it difficult to cut? The working principle of CO2 laser cutting machine is to fully absorb the heat of the laser beam by the material, and the reflection characteristics of the metal will cause the laser beam to be rejected. In this case, the reverse laser beam will enter through the lens and reflector system of the laser cutting machine, causing damage to the machine.

To prevent laser beam reflection, several measures need to be taken. For example, covering a coating that absorbs a laser beam with reflective metal. This cutting method will not affect the quality and accuracy of the cutting, and the laser cutter will not be damaged.

In addition to the above treatments, most modern laser cutting machines are also equipped with self-protection systems. In the case of laser beam reflection, the system will shut down the laser cutting machine to prevent damage to the lens. The entire system operates based on the principle of radiation measurement, which monitors it during cutting. Moreover, technological advancements have developed laser cutting machines that can resist this situation, which are fiber lasers.

Fiber laser technology is one of the latest cutting technologies, and its performance is far superior to that of carbon dioxide lasers. Fiber lasers use fibers that guide the laser beam, rather than using complex mirror systems. The use of fiber laser cutting machines instead of carbon dioxide to cut reflective materials is the fastest and most cost-effective alternative method.