How to Choose Right Metalforming Processes?--Cutting

April 08, 2022

The first step in metal processing is cutting, where the raw material is simply cut or separated by shape to obtain the blanks. Common metal cutting methods are: grinding wheel cutting, saw cutting, flame cutting, plasma cutting, laser cutting and water jet cutting.

①Grinding Wheel Cutting

Steel is cut with high-speed rotating grinding discs. It is the most common cutting method. The grinding wheel cutting machine is light, flexible, simple and convenient to use, and is widely used in various occasions, especially in construction sites and interior decoration. It is mainly used for cutting and processing small-diameter square tubes, round tubes, special-shaped tubes, etc.

② Saw Cutting

The method of dividing a workpiece or material by cutting a slot with a saw blade is called sawing. Cutting materials is the most basic requirement of metal processing, so sawing machines are standard in the machining industry. During the use of the sawing machine, it is necessary to select the appropriate saw blade according to the hardness of the material, and adjust the optimal sawing speed.

③ Flame cutting

The process of flame cutting is a chemical reaction between oxygen and hot steel that heats the metal, softens and melts it. The heating gas is mostly acetylene or natural gas.

Flame cutting can only cut carbon plates, and is not suitable for other types of metals, such as stainless steel, copper and aluminum.

The advantages of flame cutting are low cost and the maximum cutting thickness can reach two meters. The disadvantage is that the heat-affected zone and thermal deformation are relatively large, the section is rough and there is more slag. Considering the subsequent processing, more allowance should be placed.

④Plasma cutting

The plasma cutting method was invented in the 1950s. It is a processing method that uses the heat of a high-temperature plasma arc to locally melt (and evaporate) the metal at the incision of the workpiece, and uses the momentum of high-speed plasma to remove the molten metal to form the incision.

⑤ Laser cutting

Laser cutting is the use of high-energy laser beams to heat, partially melt, and vaporize metals to complete the cutting of materials. It is usually used for efficient and precise cutting of thin steel plates (<30mm).The quality of laser cutting is excellent, not only the cutting speed is fast, but the dimensional accuracy is also high (up to ±0.05mm), and because the laser beam acts on a very small area, the heat-affected zone is very small, so the workpiece is hardly deformed.⑥Water jet cuttingWater jet cutting is a processing method that uses high-pressure water to cut metal. With the continuous improvement of technology, garnet, emery and other abrasives are also mixed in high-pressure water to assist cutting to increase the cutting speed and cutting thickness (up to 200mm). The accuracy of water jet cutting can reach ±0.4mm or higher.

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Ms. SU LAN RONG

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