Oxy Acetylene is the traditional, manual way of cutting steel, and CNC Laser is often seen as the only alternative due mainly to its accuracy and the narrow cut it produces. Plasma cutting has made great advances in cut quality and is the ideal cutting process for most applications. What are the advantages of Plasma cutting and how does the process compare to Oxy-acetylene and Laser cutting?
Key Advantages
- Significantly higher productivity
- Ability to cut a wide range of metals and thicknesses
- Significantly lower capital outlay (even with CNC cutting table included)
- Very low operating costs and ancillary equipment
- Low maintenance costs
|
Process |
Oxyfuel |
Plasma |
Laser |
| Cut quality |
Good angularity Large heat-affected zone Dross levels require rework Not effective on stainless steel or aluminum |
Excellent angularity |
Excellent angularity Small heat-affected zone Virtually dross-free Good to excellent fine-feature cutting with narrowest kerf |
| Productivity |
Slow cutting speeds Pre-heat time increases pierce times |
Very fast cutting speeds for all thicknesses Very fast pierce times Quick-disconnect torches maximize productivity |
Very fast on thin material (less than 6 mm-1/4") and slower on thicker material Long pierce times on thick material |
|
CNC Capital Cost |
Low | Low | Very High - needs high production volumes to justify initial cost |
| Operating cost | Poor productivity and required rework drive cost per part higher than plasma. |
Long consumable life, good productivity and excellent cut quality drive the cost per part lower than other technologies. |
High costs per part due to power requirements, gas consumption, high maintenance costs and relatively low cut speeds on thick material. |
| Maintenance Cost |
Simple maintenance requirements can often be performed by in-house maintenance groups | Moderate maintenance requirements: many components are serviceable by in-house maintenance groups. |
Complex maintenance tasks require specialized technicians. |
| Ancillary Equipment | Gas Bottles | Typically on requires clean compressed air | Variety of Gases, cooling systems etc |
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