The auxiliary gases used in laser cutting machines for different materials vary. The pressure and requirements for auxiliary gas vary depending on the cutting thickness. In terms of cost, using oxygen to cut carbon steel is relatively cheap. Cutting non carbon steel consumes a large amount of nitrogen, and thicker stainless steel requires high nitrogen consumption and purity requirements. The cost is also relatively high.
The auxiliary gas of laser cutting machine is mainly used for:
1. Laser gas (laser generator used to generate laser gas)
2. Compressed air (usually used to protect optical paths, and some manufacturers also use it as a protective gas)
3. Auxiliary gas (gas from the cutting nozzle of the cutting machine) is used to cut carbon steel with oxygen, and its purity requirement is generally 99.5% or higher. The main function is to help ignite and blow off the cutting slag. The pressure and flow rate of each laser cutting machine manufacturer are different, which is closely related to the size of the cutting nozzle and the thickness of the cutting material plate. The general requirement is a pressure of 0.3-0.8Mpa, and the cutting nozzle section is generally 0.02-0.05Mpa. Poor flow rate, such as cutting 22mm carbon steel, some manufacturers achieve a flow rate of 10M3/h (including oxygen for double cutting nozzle protection) and use nitrogen for cutting stainless steel. Its function is to prevent oxidation reactions and blow off slag. The purity requirement for nitrogen is relatively high (especially for stainless steel with a diameter of 8mm or above, which generally requires a purity of 99.999%). The pressure requirement is relatively high, generally requiring 1Mpa or above. For stainless steel, if cutting over 12mm or thicker to 25mm, a higher pressure is required, exceeding 2Mpa or higher. The flow rate varies depending on the cutting nozzle model, but they are all very large. For example, when cutting 12mm stainless steel, some manufacturers can reach 150m3/h, while when cutting 3mm, the flow rate only needs to be below 50m3/h.