Stainless steel cutting
For cutting stainless steel, you can use several common technologies, like laser, plasma or water (hydroabrasive) cutting. To choose the right one you should analyze thickness of the material, required precision and of course economic aspects.
Factor "precision"
If the most important aspect is precision of cut, then we can achieve it by using laser or water technology. With a thickness of materials about 0,1-3,0 mm laser allows to keep high technological parameters, especially with cutting small or specific elements, like small holes, delicate shapes, etc. For thicker sheets there is required stronger and more expensive laser source.
Hydroabrasive cutting (by a stream of water) is comparable to laser cutting with its precision. If lack of heat impact zone is an important element than water cutting is the only possibility.
An alternative to these two technologies is the use of mixed technology. Eckert Company has also such technical solution, that combines the cutting technologies: plasma and water. What are the benefits? In many cases of metal processing it happens that only part of cut edge requires the highest quality, while its remainder hasn't such requirement. In this case machine COMBO made by Eckert Company during a one programmed cut process uses water for the highest quality and plasma due to the speed and economy. This solution reduces cut costs significantly as compared with laser or water cutting.
Factor "economy"
When the main factor of cutting stainless steel is economy (with good technological parameters), the only solution is to use plasma technology. Additional use of High Definition technology allows to achieve, in many cases cutting quality close to the laser technology. While certainly not as precise as laser, plasma is several times cheaper. Many manufacturing technologies don't require the laser quality and in this case, the result in relation to the financial contribution may not calculate.
To choose the right solution for your needs, before buying a cutting machine, we enable to make practical tests of cut in our factory. During such test phase you are welcome and you can convince yourself that your expectations can be met.
What is the difference between plasma cutting and oxygen cutting? What is the difference between plasma cutting and oxygen cutting? Plasma → fast machining, good precision, universal application Oxygen → best choice for very thick sheet metal and structural steels Plasma works faster, while oxygen handles large thicknesses better What are the most popular methods of cutting metal? What are the most popular methods of cutting metal? The most commonly used technologies are: Each of them differs in material thickness range, precision and industrial application. Each of them differs in material thickness range, precision and industrial application. What materials can be cut by different methods? What materials can be cut by different methods? Waterjet → metal, glass, stone, plastic Plasma → steel, aluminum, stainless steel Oxygen → low-carbon and structural steels The choice of technology depends on the type and properties of the material. Does metal cutting always require post-processing? Does metal cutting always require post-processing? Not always. Modern CNC technologies (plasma, waterjet, oxygen) often provide: How to choose the best method for cutting metal? How to choose the best method for cutting metal? The choice depends on 3 key factors: . In industry, process analysis is often used to select the most efficient technology.