Although each specific piece of sheet metal machinery has its own purpose, the invention of laser cutters has greatly transformed the sheet metal industry. In this blog we take a look at how laser cutters differ from their mechanical counterparts and the characteristics that make them so beneficial to the sheet metal manufacturing industry.
Laser cutters minimise mechanical force and stress
While traditional metal cutting technology like turret punches, shears and guillotines are effective, they do have the disadvantage of creating weak points in the metal they are used to cut, due to the force applied while using them. Laser cutters, however, are able to make clean cuts without the application of force, and the heat they generate is very localised on the source material. As a result, sheet metal cut with laser cutters retains more tensile strength than metal cut with traditional machinery, allowing it to take more weight.
Achieve incredible accuracy
Mechanical machinery does not always produce a clean cut, meaning cut sheet metal will often require extra work to remove any sharps and burrs at the edges. Laser cutters eliminate this process as their targeted cuts produce very clean edges. What’s more, the extreme precision of laser cutters allows for increased freedom of design; they can be used to easily and accurately cut complex shapes, fine contours and tapered cuts.
Do away with waste
The combination of reduced mechanical stress and improved accuracy means each piece of sheet metal can withstand significantly more cuts than sheet metal cut with traditional machinery. With fine precision, cuts can be made very close together, and because there are less weak spots, more of the metal can be used. This, of course, results in less wasted material.
And there you have it, three ways that laser cutters are changing the face of sheet metal manufacture. ACRA stock a range of new and used sheet metal machinery, including a large variety of laser cutters. For any enquiries, please call us on 03 9794 6675.