With the rapid development of modern technology, various industries have shown a rapid growth momentum. In the industrial field, laser cutting technology has become one of the most significant technological growth points, especially after fiber laser cutting technology replaced traditional carbon dioxide laser cutting technology, the entire laser industry has achieved broader development. On the basis of traditional flat laser cutting machines, various laser cutting products such as roll material laser cutting machines, 3D laser cutting machines, and laser pipe cutting machines have gradually emerged. Especially in recent years, with the increasing use of pipe parts in industries such as construction machinery, kitchenware, fitness, transportation, etc., the demand for laser pipe cutting machines from a large number of users and the market has been constantly increasing, and higher requirements have been put forward for the performance of laser pipe cutting machines. Among them, the cutting efficiency of laser pipe cutting machines is a key concern for everyone.

Selection of Process Parameters and Cutting Software for Laser Pipe Cutting Machine

Selection of process parameters

Laser pipe cutting machines need to prevent cutting speed from being too fast or too slow when cutting pipes, especially when cutting special pipes or thick pipes, such as profiles, irregular pipes, etc., it is even more necessary to prevent cutting speed from being too fast or too slow. When the cutting speed is too fast, it is extremely easy to experience the phenomenon of incomplete cutting; When the cutting speed is too slow, especially when cutting thin-walled or small pipe parts, it is more likely to cause slag, which affects the cutting quality of the entire pipe. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of laser pipe cutting machine in cutting pipes, it is necessary to conduct perforation and cutting tests on the pipes, test the optimal laser output power, the cutting gas pressure at corners and non corners, the cutting speed of the entire cutting process, and the size of the laser cutting head nozzle. Only in this way can the overall processing efficiency be improved while ensuring the quality of pipe cutting.

Selection of cutting software

The selection of cutting software also has a significant impact on the processing efficiency of laser tube cutting machines. When cutting the same parts from a single tube, excellent cutting software can arrange and modify them in sequence, which not only improves fault tolerance compared to single control cutting software, but also ensures fast cutting of the same parts and improves overall cutting efficiency.

The use of semi-automatic feeding mechanism and fully automatic feeding mechanism

During the use of laser pipe cutting machines, most users adopt manual loading and unloading methods. When cutting heavy pipes, it is sometimes necessary to use a crane to transport the pipes, which inevitably leads to low overall cutting efficiency of the laser pipe cutting machine. Using semi-automatic or fully automatic loading and unloading mechanisms can greatly reduce the use of manual labor and improve cutting efficiency. The semi-automatic feeding mechanism is suitable for the processing of most pipe parts. The required small amount of pipe material is manually placed on the semi-automatic feeding machine, which automatically sends the pipe material to the laser cutting machine for clamping and cutting. The manual only needs to wait for the cutting of the finished product at the feeding point; The use of fully automatic feeding and unloading mechanisms is more extensive. A bundle of pipes is manually placed on the fully automatic feeding machine, which can automatically identify a single pipe and transport it to the laser cutting machine body for clamping and cutting. After cutting is completed, the fully automatic feeding machine can automatically unload the pipe without the need for manual unloading. The use of semi-automatic and fully automatic feeding mechanisms can greatly improve the cutting efficiency of laser pipe cutting machines, while reducing labor costs.

The use of three chuck pipe cutting machine and four chuck pipe cutting machine

In the current laser pipe cutting machine market, two chuck laser pipe cutting machines still account for a large proportion. However, with the continuous improvement of technology and market demand, the laser pipe cutting machine market has also begun to move from traditional two chuck laser pipe cutting machines to three chuck and four chuck laser pipe cutting machines. Especially in the overall loading, cutting, and unloading process of longer pipe fittings, the processing efficiency of the three chuck laser pipe cutting machine and the four chuck laser pipe cutting machine is several times higher than that of the traditional two chuck laser pipe cutting machine. At the same time, the three chuck and four chuck laser pipe cutting machines perform motion cutting through three or more chucks, which also meets the pursuit of users and the market for zero tail pipe material unloading.

Conclusion

With the increasing proportion of laser cutting machines in the entire field of laser cutting equipment, users and the market have higher expectations and demands for laser cutting machines. This requires laser cutting machines to go through a gradual development process from manual loading and unloading to semi-automatic loading and unloading, and then to fully automatic loading and unloading. In this process, people constantly discover the development potential of laser cutting machines, while also identifying problems and proposing improvement measures or solutions, promoting the development of laser cutting machines towards high speed, high precision, high automation, and multi-directional functionality, in order to improve their cutting efficiency. This can further promote the rapid development of the laser cutting market and has extraordinary significance for the entire laser cutting industry.

Source: Sheet Metal and Manufacturing Magazine, Issue 12, 2024, with a total of 1621 words