Simple Laser Cutting Tips To Make Your Work Easier
Laser cutters are effective metal-cutting machines whose main benefit is precision. The fact that you can get high precision cutting at a faster rate is an added advantage that makes these machines invaluable in any set up. However, when not properly used, one can end up with poor quality cuts. Tarnishing the parent material when cutting it is also a risk that comes with using the wrong settings when cutting a material. The following are laser cutting tips that you will find useful as far as minimizing mistakes is concerned.
Use masking tape
During the cutting process, the laser beam melts the metal. This usually produces smoke, especially if the material has impurities, that can end up staining the material that is being cut. It may therefore lead to poor quality work, something that may then call for taking extra stain-eliminating steps or discarding the parent material and restarting starting the cutting process.
To avoid smoke stains and any costs that are associated with them, simply tape the surface of the sheet of metal that you are cutting. Taking this step will ensure that any smoke deposits that form as a result of the cutting process get deposited on the masking tape instead of tainting the material being cut. As a result, all you will have to do to have a stain-free finished product is to remove the tape after you are done.
Normally, the laser beam cuts through both the tape and the metal without the need for making adjustments. However, if you feel that the tape has an effect on the effectiveness of the laser machine, slightly increase its power.
Take advantage of the laser machine's presets
Laser machines usually come with a set of recommended settings for cutting different metals. These settings are usually arrived at after rigorous testing. And while there are times when slightly bumping or decreasing the laser beam's power is necessary, taking advantage of these settings will significantly reduce cutting errors while also leading to cleaner cuts.
To make it easy to use these settings, make sure that you not only load them into your machine, but also save them with easy-to-remember names. Including not only the material being cut, but also the ideal thickness of the material will make your work easier.
To further reduce the risks of having to re-cut material as a result of using ineffective laser settings, it is also advisable that you test out the preset settings on scrap material. And if their are any adjustments needed in order to make cleaner cuts, ensure that the preset settings are updated.
