PLASMA CUTTING VS LASER CUTTING IN MY EXPERIENCE

indonesia laser cutting, plasma cutting, hypertherm indonesia, kulitas potong, tips dan trick, komunitas teknik mekanikal elektrikal, segmentasi pasar plasma cutting

Seperti David vs Goliath, demikianlah saya merasa jika membandingkan kualitas benda hasil potong menggunakan plasma cutting dibanding dengan yang menggunakan laser cutting.

KEKURANGAN PLASMA CUTTING

Proses plasma cutting mempunyai banyak kekurangan bila dibandingkan dengan laser cutting dari sisi kualitas produk.

Kekuranganya bila dibandingkan dengan plasma cutting adalah :

1.       Hasil potong pada sudut tidak bisa menyudut sempurna selalu ada radius kecil pada bagian bawah benda potong.

2.       Sisi hasil potong selalu memiliki kemiringan - bevel angle cutting edge

3.       Tidak bisa membuat lubang yang lebih kecil dari 20mm.

PLASMA CUTTING (BEHIND) )VS LASER CUTTING

PLASMA CUTTING (BEHIND) )VS LASER CUTTING

PLASMA CUTTING memiliki segmen yang berbeda di industry metal sheet fabricator

Meskipun banyak kekurangan namun biaya investasi System Plasma cutting jauh lebih murah dibanding dengan laser cutting sehinga plasma cutting tetap memiliki pasar di segmen yang berbeda di industry sheet metal fabrication. Dan karena system plasma cutting yang lebih sederhana daripada laser cutting maka penerapan dan persiapan SDM lebih mudah dan lebih cepat di gunakan di line produksi.

NOTES :

Biaya investasi laser cutting system hardware + software kurang lebih 5 milyar rupiah

Biaya investasi plasma cutting system hardware + software kurang lebih 250 juta

PLASMA CUTTING SAMPLE : PLAT ASTM A36 

PLASMA CUTTING LEAD IN - LEAD OUT AND GOOD  TORCH  DIRECTION

PLASMA CUTTING NOT PERFECT CORNER

 Bacalah referensi : :http://www.teskolaser.com/laser_cutting2.html

Standard metal cutting processes: laser cutting vs. plasma cutting

Laser manufacturing activities currently include cutting, welding, heat treating, cladding, vapor deposition, engraving, scribing, trimming, annealing, and shock hardening. Laser manufacturing processes compete both technically and economically with conventional and nonconventional manufacturing processes such as mechanical and thermal machining, arc welding, electrochemical, and electric discharge machining (EDM), abrasive water jet cutting, plasma cutting, and flame cutting.

Plasma (arc) cutting was developed in the 1950s for cutting of metals that could not be flame cut, such as stainless steel, aluminum and copper. The plasma arc cutting process uses electrically conductive gas to transfer energy from an electrical power source through a plasma cutting torch to the material being cut. The plasma gases include argon, hydrogen, nitrogen and mixtures, plus air and oxygen.

Normally, a plasma arc cutting system has a power supply, an arc starting circuit, and a torch. The power source and arc starter circuit are connected to the cutting torch through leads and cables that supply proper gas flow, electrical current flow, and high frequency to the torch to start and maintain the process. The arc and the plasma stream are focused by a very narrow nozzle orifice

The temperature of the plasma arc melts the metal and pierces through the workpiece while the high velocity gas flow removes the molten material from the bottom of the cut, or the kerf. In addition to high energy radiation (Ultraviolet and visible) generated by plasma arc cutting, the intense heat of the arc creates substantial quantities of fumes and smoke from vaporizing metal in the kerf..

The table that follows contains a comparison of metal cutting using the CO₂ laser cutting process and plasma cutting process in industrial material processing.

Fundamental process differences

Method of imparting energy	Light 10.6 µm (far infrared range)	Gas transmitter
Source of energy	Gas laser	DC power supply
How energy is transmitted	Beam guided by mirrors (flying optics); fiber-transmission not feasible for CO2 laser	Electrically charged gas
How cut material is expelled	Gas jet, plus additional gas expels material	Gas jet
Distance between nozzle and material and maximum permissable tolerance	Approximately 0.2" ± 0.004", distance sensor, regulation and Z-axis necessary	0.010" to 0.02"
Physical machine set-up	Laser source always located inside machine	Working area, shop air and plasma torch
Range of table sizes	8' x 4' to 20' x 6.5'	8' x 4' to 20' x 6.5'
Typical beam output at the workpiece	1500 to 2600 Watts	Not applicable to this process

Typical process applications and uses

Typical process uses	Cutting, drilling, engraving, ablation, structuring, welding	Cutting
3D material cutting	Difficult due to rigid beam guidance and the regulation of distance	Not applicable to this process
Materials able to be cut by the process	All metals (excluding highly reflective metals), all plastics, glass, and wood can be cut	All metals can be cut
Material combinations	Materials with different melting points can barely be cut	Possible materials with different melting points
Sandwich structures with cavities	This is not possible with a CO2 laser	Not possible for this process
Cutting materials with liminted or impaired access	Rarely possible due to small distance and the large laser cutting head	Rarely possible due to small distance and the large torch head
Properties of the cut material which influence processing	Absorption characteristics of material at 10.6 µm	Material hardness is a key factor
Material thickness at which cutting or processing is economical	~0.12" to 0.4" depending on material	~0.12" to 0.4"
Common applications for this process	Cutting of flat sheet steel of medium thickness for sheet metal processing	Cutting of flat sheet and plate of greater thickness

Initial investment and average operating costs

Initial capital investment required	$300,000 with a 20 kW pump, and a 6.5' x 4' table	$120,000+
Parts that will wear out	Protective glass, gas nozzles, plus both dust and the particle filters	The cutting nozzles and electrodes
Average energy consumption of complete cutting system	Assume a 1500 Watt CO2laser: Electrical power use: 24-40 kW Laser gas (CO2, N2, He): 2-16 l/h Cutting gas (O2, N2): 500-2000 l/h	300 amp Plasma Electrical power use: 55kW

Precision of process

Minimum size of the cutting slit (kerf width)	0.006", depending on cutting speed	0.002"
Cut surface appearance	Cut surface will show a striated structure	Cut surface will show a striated structure
Degree of cut edges to completely parallel	Good; occasionally will demonstrate conical edges	Fair, will demonstrate non-parallel cut edges with some frequency
Processing tolerance	Approximately 0.002"	Approximately 0.02"
Degree of burring on the cut	Only partial burring occurs	Only partial burring occurs
Thermal stress of material	Deformation, tempering and structural changes may occur in the material	Deformation, tempering and structural changes may occur in the material
Forces acting on material in direction of gas or water jet during processing	Gas pressure poses problems with thin workpieces, distance cannot be maintained	Gas pressure poses problems with thin workpieces, distance cannot be maintained

Safety considerations and operating environment

Personal safety equipment requirements	Laser protection safety glasses are not absolutely necessary	Protective safety glasses
Production of smoke and dust during processing	Does occur; plastics and some metal alloys may produce toxic gases	Does occur; plastics and some metal alloys may produce toxic gases
Noise pollution and danger	Very low	Medium
Machine cleaning requirements due to process mess	Low clean up	Medium clean up
Cutting waste produced by the process	Cutting waste is mainly in the form of dust requiring vacuum extraction and filtering	Cutting waste is mainly in the form of dust requiring vacuum extraction and filtering