Machine shops across the country have a daily need for the ability to precisely and consistently cut metal. Laser cutting machines have been around for a long time, providing clean and accurate cuts in a variety of materials.
One specialist form of laser cutting is laser tube cutting—which is, as the name suggests, optimized for cutting cylindrical objects. Why would a fabrication shop want to use a laser tube cutting machine? What are the benefits of being able to provide laser tube cutting services?
Here are some of the potential benefits of having a laser tube cutting machine:
Cutting a tube with a physical blade often leaves metal shavings and imperfections in the cut edge. These issues would require additional cleaning and shaping processes to prepare the tube for whatever purpose it would be intended for.
However, when using a laser tube cutting machine with a spatter guard device, not only are the edges virtually perfect, the slag from the cutting process can be collected and kept out of the tube being cut. This eliminates the need for these two processes.
While a traditional laser cutting machine could also create clean cuts, its design would not be able to accommodate the tube, which would mean having to cut a flat piece of metal and then putting it through a roller or press brake (depending on whether you wanted a rounded or squared exterior). By using a tube cutting machine, you can cut a tube-shaped object directly.
Another benefit of using a laser tube cutting machine, aside from creating smoother cuts, is that no mechanical force has to be applied to the cut. Normally, a CNC punch or other machine would break through the material being cut with physical force, applying stress to the surrounding material and weakening it slightly. Using a laser cutter helps to ensure that tubes are stronger at the point of the cut than they would be if physical cutting tools were used.
CNC machinery enables a high degree of control and precision for many tasks—and CNC controlled laser cutting is no exception. Instead of simply making vertical cuts, laser tube cutting machines can be used to make angle cuts, slots, etchings, bevel cuts, and more depending on the equipment.
While traditional laser cutters can also do many of these tasks, they aren’t optimized for doing so with cylindrical objects.
If your machine shop processes a lot of requests for custom-shaped or cut tubes, having a laser tube cutting machine can fill that niche quite nicely. Because these machines are optimized for this process, they can help to improve efficiency and throughput for making custom-cut tubing.
Physical cutting machines require frequent service and repair because their tooling wears out quickly. However, laser cutting machines don’t wear out nearly as fast. In fact, if you use a solid-state laser tube cutting machine (meaning one that uses a solid object to focus the laser) rather than a gas-based one, you can keep the laser operating almost maintenance-free for thousands of hours.
Of course, the physical mechanisms for moving the laser or the workpiece will still need regular maintenance.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a laser tube cutting machine, consider the following:
That last consideration is definitely worth worrying about, as it is all too common in private party sales for the buyer to forget to check—only to regret it later.
If you need help finding the right used laser tube cutting machine for your shop—one that is well-maintained, free of equipment liens, and meets all of your needs without making you pay for too many features you won’t use—contact the experts at SFMS today! We’ll help you find the perfect laser tube cutter for your machine shop. If we don’t have one right now, we’ll check with our partners and let you know as soon as one is available!