How Fast And Thick Can Fiber Lasers Cut Through Metal?
In the early days of automatic metal fabrication, business owners typically prefer to buy a primary CNC plasma table or a waterjet cutting machine to roughly cut thick metal, and a fine CNC plasma cutter to precisely cut thin metal. With the needs for manufacturing safety and environmental protection in metal fabrication, YAG and CO2 laser cutting machines were introduced on the market, which brought the metal cutting quality to a new level. Moreover, laser is more eco-friendly and safer than plasma and waterjet, and requires no consumables. However, both YAG and carbon dioxide lasers have their own limitations, such as high investment costs, limited cutting thickness, and even the speeds that are not as good as plasma. At this time, a new type of laser metal cutting system was launched, which is the fiber laser. It is a professional metal cutting machine. Whether it is quality, speed or thickness, as the laser power changes, it has reached unprecedented heights. The features and advantages of high precision, high quality, fast speed, low cost, ease of use, and full automation make it a unicorn in tube and sheet metal fabrication.
Fiber laser cutter is a new type of high-precision metal cutting system that uses a CNC controller to drive laser head to cut metals with the designed layout file to automate metal fabrication in small businesses and industrial manufacturing. From 1mm stainless steel, to over 100mm carbon steel, and even highly reflective metals such as brass, copper, aluminum, gold, and silver, it can easily cut through to create smooth contours with different working gases including air, nitrogen and oxygen. Whether it's sheet metal, tube or special profiles, fiber laser machines has the ability to cut out precise and clean shapes.
Faced with such a powerful cutting tool, are you wondering how thick of metal it can cut? What are the limitations of cutting speed? How do various laser powers perform in cutting metal thickness and speed? Here is a practical guide for beginners and experts, allowing us to make a detailed analysis from various metal materials, working gases, laser powers, cutting thicknesses and speeds.
Fiber Laser Cutting Carbon Steel Thickness & Speed & Power Chart
Carbon steel is an iron-carbon alloy with a carbon content between 0.02% and 2%.
The carbon steels that fiber lasers can cut include low carbon steel (mild steel), medium carbon steel (M2 steel) and high carbon steel (tool steel).
Fiber laser cutters can easily cut carbon steels ranging from 1mm to over 200mm at speeds from 0.12m/min to 100m/min, with optional powers starting from 1000W and up to 60000W, and working gas options include air, oxygen, nitrogen and mixed gases.
Low/Medium Power (1000W - 4000W) Carbon Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000W | 1500W | 2000W | 3000W | 4000W | |||
| Carbon Steel | Air | 1 | 12.0-15.0 | 15.0-20.0 | 25.0-30.0 | 28.0-35.0 | 30.0-38.0 |
| 2 | 3.5-4.5 | 5.0-8.0 | 7.0-10.0 | 8.0-12.0 | 10.0-16.0 | ||
| 3 | 1.5-3.0 | 2.0-4.0 | 2.5-4.5 | 3.0-5.0 | |||
| 4 | 1.5-2.3 | 2.5-3.5 | |||||
| 5 | 1.0-2.2 | ||||||
| N₂ | 1 | 15.0-20.0 | 18.0-25.0 | 22.0-30.0 | 25.0-38.0 | 30.0-44.0 | |
| O₂ | 2 | 3.5-5.0 | 3.8-5.0 | 5.0-6.0 | 5.5-7.0 | 5.5-7.7 | |
| 3 | 2.5-3.5 | 2.8-3.8 | 3.5-4.3 | 3.6-5.0 | 3.7-5.5 | ||
| 4 | 2.0-3.3 | 2.3-3.5 | 2.8-4.0 | 3.0-4.5 | 3.5-4.6 | ||
| 5 | 1.4-2.0 | 1.6-2.5 | 2.5-3.0 | 2.5-3.3 | 2.5-4.0 | ||
| 6 | 1.2-1.6 | 1.4-1.8 | 2.2-2.5 | 2.3-2.8 | 2.5-3.5 | ||
| 8 | 0.8-1.1 | 0.9-1.3 | 1.3-1.8 | 1.8-2.2 | 2.0-2.8 | ||
| 10 | 0.6-0.9 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.2-1.5 | 1.2-1.6 | 1.2-2.2 | ||
| 12 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.7-1.0 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.0-1.3 | 1.0-1.7 | ||
| 16 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.6-0.8 | 0.6-0.9 | 0.7-1.0 | |||
| 20 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.6-0.9 | |||||
| 22 | 0.5-0.8 | ||||||
High Power (6000W - 30000W) Carbon Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6000W | 8000W | 12000W | 15000W | 20000W | 30000W | |||
| Carbon Steel | Air | 1 | 35.0-42.0 | 38.0-45.0 | 45.0-60.0 | 50.0-70.0 | 60.0-100.0 | 70.0-100.0 |
| 2 | 20.0-28.0 | 25.0-35.0 | 35.0-48.0 | 45.0-52.0 | 50.0-70.0 | 60.0-73.0 | ||
| 3 | 8.0-15.0 | 18.0-25.0 | 25.0-38.0 | 30.0-40.0 | 45.0-52.0 | 50.0-57.0 | ||
| 4 | 7.0-12.0 | 15.0-18.0 | 18.0-26.0 | 25.0-29.0 | 30.0-40.0 | 35.0-43.0 | ||
| 5 | 5.0-9.0 | 10.0-12.0 | 12.0-20.0 | 18.0-23.0 | 23.0-28.0 | 25.0-30.0 | ||
| 6 | 3.0-6.0 | 8.0-9.0 | 9.0-13.0 | 13.0-19.0 | 18.0-23.0 | 19.0-26.0 | ||
| 8 | 5.0-5.5 | 6.0-8.0 | 8.0-12.0 | 12.0-16.0 | 14.0-18.0 | |||
| 10 | 5-6.5 | 6.0-8.5 | 11.0-13.0 | 12.0-14.0 | ||||
| 12 | 4.0-4.6 | 5.0-6.0 | 7.0-10.0 | 10.0-12.0 | ||||
| 16 | 4.5-5.5 | 6.5-7.0 | 8.0-8.5 | |||||
| 20 | 2.7-3.2 | 4.5-5.5 | ||||||
| 22 | 2.9-3.5 | |||||||
| 25 | 2.0-3.2 | |||||||
| N₂ | 1 | 35.0-48.0 | 60.0-70.0 | 66.0-80.0 | 70.0-90.0 | 80.0-95.0 | 95.0-100.0 | |
| O₂ | 2 | 6.0-8.25 | 6.8-7.2 | 7.2-7.8 | 7.5-8.2 | 7.8-8.5 | 8.0-10.0 | |
| 3 | 4.0-5.5 | 4.8-5.5 | 5.2-5.8 | 5.5-6.0 | 5.8-6.3 | 6.0-7.0 | ||
| 4 | 3.5-5.0 | 3.8-4.3 | 4.2-4.6 | 4.5-5.2 | 4.8-5.5 | 5.0-6.5 | ||
| 5 | 3.0-4.2 | 3.3-4.3 | 3.8-4.7 | 4.0-5.0 | 4.3-4.8 | 4.5-5.0 | ||
| 6 | 2.6-3.5 | 3.0-3.4 | 3.5-4.0 | 3.8-4.3 | 4.0-4.5 | 4.2-4.8 | ||
| 8 | 2.0-2.8 | 2.3-3.0 | 2.6-3.3 | 2.8-3.5 | 3.0-3.6 | 3.5-4.0 | ||
| 10 | 1.8-2.3 | 2.0-2.5 | 2.5-3.0 | 2.6-3.0 | 2.8-3.2 | 3.0-3.5 | ||
| 12 | 1.6-2.1 | 1.7-2.2 | 2.0-2.3 | 2.5-3.0 | 2.7-3.2 | 2.8-3.4 | ||
| 16 | 0.7-1.0 | 1.2-1.4 | 1.4-1.6 | 1.7-2.0 | 1.9-2.3 | 2.0-2.5 | ||
| 20 | 0.5-0.9 | 1.0-1.1 | 1.2-1.5 (2.1) | 1.3-1.6 | 1.5-1.8 | 1.6-2.0 | ||
| 22 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.9-1.0 | 0.9-1.2 | 1.1-1.3 | 1.3-1.6 | 1.5-1.8 | ||
| 25 | 0.4-0.6 | 0.6-0.7 | 0.6-0.9 | 0.9-1.2 | 1.0-1.4 | 1.3-1.5 | ||
| 30 | 0.3-0.6 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.6-0.8 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.2-1.4 | |||
| 40 | 0.25-0.33 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.7-0.9 | 0.9-1.1 | ||||
| 50 | 0.18-0.2 | 0.2-0.25 | 0.3-0.5 | 0.6-0.8 | ||||
| 60 | 0.18-0.2 | 0.2-0.25 | 0.22-0.28 | |||||
| 70 | 0.18-0.2 | 0.19-0.22 | ||||||
| 80 | 0.12-0.15 | |||||||
Extra-High Power (40000W) Carbon Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | Power (watt) | Working Gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Steel | 5 | 28.0-32.0 | 40000 | N₂/Air |
| 6 | 25.0-28.0 | |||
| 8 | 22.0-24.0 | |||
| 10 | 16.0-20.0 | |||
| 12 | 14.0-17.0 | |||
| 14 | 11.0-13.0 | |||
| 16 | 8.0-9.5 | |||
| 18 | 8.0-8.5 | |||
| 20 | 7.0-8.0 | |||
| 25 | 5.0-5.5 | |||
| 30 | 3.0-4.0 | |||
| 40 | 1.5-2.0 | |||
| 50 | 0.7-1.0 | |||
| 10 | 2.0-2.3 | 6000 | O₂ (Positive Focus) | |
| 12 | 1.8-2.0 | 7,500 | ||
| 14 | 1.6-1.8 | 8,500 | ||
| 16 | 1.6-1.8 | 9,500 | ||
| 20 | 1.5-1.6 | 12000 | ||
| 22 | 1.4-1.5 | 18000 | ||
| 25 | 1.2-1.4 | 18000 | ||
| 30 | 1.2-1.3 | 18000 | ||
| 40 | 0.9-1.1 | 26000 | ||
| 40 (Non-Q235) | 0.3-0.6 | 20000 | ||
| 50 (Non-Q235) | 0.3-0.5 | 25000 | ||
| 50 | 0.8-1.0 | 40000 | ||
| 60 | 0.6-0.9 | |||
| 70 | 0.5-0.7 | |||
| 80 | 0.4-0.6 | |||
| 90 | 0.3-0.4 | |||
| 100 | 0.2-0.3 | |||
| 12 | 3.2-3.5 | 20000 | O₂ (Negative Focus) | |
| 14 | 3.0-3.2 | |||
| 16 | 3.0-3.1 | |||
| 20 | 2.8-3.2 | |||
| 25 | 2.4-2.8 | 40000 | ||
| 30 | 2.4-2.6 | |||
| 35 | 2.3-2.6 | |||
| 40 | 2.0-2.3 | |||
| 50 | 1.2-1.6 | |||
| 60 | 1.0-1.3 | |||
| 70 | 0.6-0.8 |
Ultra-High Power (60000W) Carbon Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | Power (watt) | Working Gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Steel | 16 | 13.0-14.0 | 60000 | Mixed Gas - (N₂&O₂)/Air |
| 18 | 11.0-12.0 | |||
| 20 | 9.0-10.0 | |||
| 25 | 6.5-7.5 | |||
| 30 | 4.5-5.5 | |||
| 35 | 3.5-4.4 | |||
| 40 | 2.8-3.4 | |||
| 45 | 2.0-2.5 | |||
| 50 | 1.5-2.0 | |||
| 60 | 1.0-1.4 | |||
| 16 | 1.6-1.8 | 12000 | O₂ (Positive Focus) | |
| 18 | 1.6-1.7 | |||
| 20 | 1.5-1.6 | |||
| 25 | 1.2-1.4 | 20000 | ||
| 30 | 1.2-1.3 | |||
| 35 | 1.1-1.2 | |||
| 40 | 0.9-1.1 | 25000 | ||
| 45 | 0.8-1.0 | |||
| 50 | 0.75-0.9 | 30000 | ||
| 60 | 0.7-0.8 | 50000 | ||
| 70 | 0.7-0.8 | 60000 | ||
| 80 | 0.6-0.7 | |||
| 100 | 0.5-0.6 | |||
| 160 | 0.15-0.25 | |||
| 200 | 0.15-0.2 | |||
| 20 | 2.4-3.0 | 15000 | O₂ (Negative Focus) | |
| 25 | 2.2-2.6 | 30000 | ||
| 30 | 2.0-2.4 | |||
| 35 | 2.0-2.2 | 35000 | ||
| 40 | 1.6-2.0 | |||
| 45 | 1.4-1.8 | 40000 | ||
| 50 | 1.2-1.6 | |||
| 60 | 1.0-1.3 | 60000 | ||
| 70 | 1.0-1.2 | |||
| 80 | 0.8-1.0 | |||
| 100 | 0.5-0.65 |
Fiber Laser Cutting Stainless Steel Thickness & Speed & Power Chart
Stainless steel refers to an alloy steel that is passive, corrosion-resistant, rust-free, and contains high chromium (usually 12%~30%) in the atmosphere and corrosive media such as acids, alkalis, and salts, which contains nickel, molybdenum, vanadium, manganese, tungsten and other elements, also known as acid-resistant steel, white iron, water copper iron.
The ASTM grades and models of stainless steel that fiber lasers can cut include 201, 202, 205, 301, 302, 302B, 302Cu, 303, 304, 304L, 304N, 305, 308, 309, 310, 314, 316, 316L, 316N, 317 , 317L, 321, 329, 330, 347, 384, 403, 405, 409, 410, 414, 416, 420, 422, 429, 430, 430F, 431, 434, 436, 439, 440 (440A, 44 0B, 440C ), 444, 446, 501, 502, 904L and 2205.
Fiber laser cutting machines are capable of cutting stainless steel as thin as 1 millimeter and as thick as 150 millimeters at speeds as low as 0.05 meters per minute and as high as 100 meters per minute, with laser powers ranging from 1000 watts to 60000 watts, and optional working gases of N₂ and Air.
Low/Medium Power (1000W - 4000W) Stainless Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000W | 1500W | 2000W | 3000W | 4000W | |||
| Stainless Steel | Air | 1 | 15.0-25.0 | 18.0-30.0 | 20.0-35.0 | 32.0-40.0 | 35.0-50.0 |
| 2 | 4.0-7.0 | 8.0-12.0 | 10.0-15.0 | 14.0-18.0 | 16.0-23.0 | ||
| 3 | 2.5-3.5 | 3.0-4.0 | 5.0-7.0 | 8.0-12.0 | 8.0-14.0 | ||
| 4 | 0.6-1.0 | 2.0-3.0 | 3.5-4.5 | 5.5-8.0 | 6.0-10.0 | ||
| 5 | 0.5-0.8 | 1.2-1.8 | 1.8-2.5 | 3.5-5.0 | 4.5-6.0 | ||
| 6 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.7-0.8 | 2.5-3.0 | 2.8-4.8 | |||
| 8 | 0.5 | 1.2-1.5 | 1.8-3.0 | ||||
| 10 | 0.8-1.2 | 0.85-1.8 | |||||
| 12 | 0.65-1.0 | ||||||
| N₂ | 1 | 16.5-22.0 | 20.0-26.0 | 27.5-33.0 | 31.0-38.5 | 33.0-45.0 | |
| 2 | 4.5-6.1 | 7.0-10.0 | 9.0-11.0 | 12.0-16.5 | 15.0-20.0 | ||
| 3 | 2.0-3.1 | 4.5-5.5 | 5.0-6.5 | 7.0-10.0 | 7.5-12.0 | ||
| 4 | 1.0-1.6 | 2.0-2.5 | 2.2-2.8 | 5.0-7.2 | 5.5-9.0 | ||
| 5 | 0.4-0.7 | 1.5-2.0 | 1.5-2.0 | 1.8-2.4 | 4.0-5.5 | ||
| 6 | 0.6-0.9 | 0.7-1.3 | 1.0-1.6 | 2.6-4.5 | |||
| 8 | 0.3-0.6 | 1.2-2.0 | 1.6-2.8 | ||||
| 10 | 0.7-1.0 | 0.7-1.6 | |||||
| 12 | 0.5-0.9 | ||||||
High Power (6000W - 30000W) Stainless Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6000W | 8000W | 12000W | 15000W | 20000W | 30000W | |||
| Stainless Steel | Air | 1 | 55.0-70.0 | 65.0-75.0 | 70.0-85.0 | 80.0-95.0 | 83.0-100.0 | 85.0-100.0 |
| 2 | 32.0-45.0 | 40.0-50.0 | 45.0-55.0 | 48.0-55.0 | 55.0-70.0 | 65.0-80.0 | ||
| 3 | 20.0-28.0 | 27.0-33.0 | 30.0-38.0 | 35.0-40.0 | 45.0-52.0 | 55.0-60.0 | ||
| 4 | 13.0-18.0 | 15.0-20.0 | 25.0-30.0 | 25.0-29.0 | 30.0-40.0 | 38.0-45.0 | ||
| 5 | 10.0-15.0 | 12.0-16.0 | 16.0-19.0 | 18.0-23.0 | 23.0-28.0 | 27.0-33.0 | ||
| 6 | 7.0-10.0 | 9.0-11.0 | 13.0-17.0 | 14.0-19.0 | 18.0-23.0 | 24.0-28.0 | ||
| 8 | 4.5-6.0 | 5.5-6.0 | 9.0-11.0 | 8.0-12.0 | 14.0-16.0 | 20.0-24.0 | ||
| 10 | 2.0-3.0 | 4.0-4.5 | 6.5-8.0 | 6.8-8.5 | 9.0-12.0 | 15.0-20.0 | ||
| 12 | 1.4-1.8 | 2.5-3.5 | 5.5-6.0 | 5.5-6.5 | 8.0-10.0 | 12.5-15.0 | ||
| 16 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.3-2.0 | 2.2-2.8 | 4.5-5.5 | 5.5-6.5 | 8.0-9.0 | ||
| 20 | 0.5 | 0.7-1.0 | 1.5-2.0 | 1.9-2.1 | 2.7-3.2 | 4.5-5.5 | ||
| 25 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.2-1.4 | 1.8-2.5 | 2.5-3.0 | |||
| 30 | 0.25-0.4 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.4-1.6 | 1.5-2.2 | |||
| 40 | 0.4-0.5 | 0.5-0.8 | 0.8-1.0 | |||||
| 50 | 0.17-0.3 | 0..3-0.4 | 0.3-0.45 | |||||
| 60 | 0.14-0.18 | 0.16-0.2 | ||||||
| 70 | 0.1-0.13 | 0.1-0.15 | ||||||
| 80 | 0.05 | |||||||
| N₂ | 1 | 50.0-65.0 | 63.0-66.0 | 70.0-80.0 | 75.0-90.0 | 80.0-100.0 | 82.0-100.0 | |
| 2 | 30.0-40.0 | 40.0-44.0 | 44.0-48.0 | 46.0-50.0 | 50.0-60.0 | 63.0-75.0 | ||
| 3 | 18.0-25.0 | 25.0-28.0 | 28.0-35.0 | 30.0-38.0 | 35.0-45.0 | 52.0-58.0 | ||
| 4 | 10.0-15.5 | 15.0-18.0 | 20.0-26.0 | 22.0-28.0 | 30.0-32.0 | 35.0-43.0 | ||
| 5 | 8.0-13.5 | 12.0-14.0 | 15.0-20.0 | 16.0-22.0 | 24.0-28.0 | 25.0-30.0 | ||
| 6 | 6.0-9.0 | 9.0-9.5 | 11.0-13.0 | 12.0-15.0 | 20.0-25.0 | 22.0-25.0 | ||
| 8 | 4.0-5.5 | 5.0-5.3 | 7.0-7.5 | 7.5-8.5 | 14.0-17.0 | 18.0-22.0 | ||
| 10 | 1.8-2.8 | 3.8-4.0 | 5.0-5.5 | 5.5-6.5 | 10.0-13.0 | 14.0-18.0 | ||
| 12 | 1.2-1.6 | 2.5-2.7 | 3.0-3.5 | 3.3-4.0 | 9.0-10.0 | 12.0-14.0 | ||
| 14 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.8-1.9 | 2.3-2.8 | 2.5-3.0 | 7.0-8.5 | 8.0-10.0 | ||
| 16 | 0.6-0.9 | 1.3-1.5 | 2.1-2.5 | 2.3-2.8 | 5.0-6.0 | 7.0-8.0 | ||
| 20 | 0.7-0.8 | 1.4-1.7 | 1.5-1.9 | 2.5-3.0 | 4.0-5.0 | |||
| 25 | 0.5-0.6 | 0.7-1.0 | 0.9-1.2 | 1.4-1.8 | 2.0-2.5 | |||
| 30 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.6-0.8 | 0.9-1.2 | 1.2-2.0 | ||||
| 35 | 0.4-0.5 | 0.5 | 0.55-0.8 | 0.7-1.0 | ||||
| 40 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4-0.5 | 0.6-0.8 | ||||
| 50 | 0.2 | 0.25 | 0.3-0.35 | 0.3-0.4 | ||||
| 60 | 0.15 | 0.15-0.2 | 0.15-0.25 | |||||
| 70 | 0.1-0.13 | 0.12-0.15 | ||||||
| 80 | 0.06-0.08 | 0.08-0.1 | ||||||
| 90 | 0.05-0.06 | 0.5-0.08 | ||||||
| 100 | 0.03-0.04 | 0.04-0.05 | ||||||
Extra-High Power (40000W) Stainless Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | Power (watt) | Working Gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stainless Steel | 5 | 25.0-30.0 | 40000 | N₂ |
| 6 | 22.0-25.0 | |||
| 8 | 20.0-23.0 | |||
| 10 | 16.0-21.0 | |||
| 12 | 12.0-14.0 | |||
| 14 | 10.0-12.0 | |||
| 16 | 9.0-11.0 | |||
| 18 | 8.0-9.5 | |||
| 20 | 7.0-8.5 | |||
| 25 | 4.5-5.5 | |||
| 30 | 3.0-4.0 | |||
| 40 | 1.5-2.0 | |||
| 50 | 0.5-0.8 | |||
| 60 | 0.4-0.6 | |||
| 70 | 0.2-0.3 | |||
| 80 | 0.2-0.25 | |||
| 90 | 0.14-0.18 | |||
| 100 | 0.08-0.12 | |||
| 5 | 30.0-34.0 | 40000 | Air | |
| 6 | 25.0-30.0 | |||
| 8 | 22.0-25.0 | |||
| 10 | 17.0-23.0 | |||
| 12 | 13.0-16.0 | |||
| 14 | 12.0-14.0 | |||
| 16 | 9.0-11.5 | |||
| 18 | 8.0-10.0 | |||
| 20 | 7.0-9.0 | |||
| 25 | 5.0-5.5 | |||
| 30 | 3.5-4.5 | |||
| 40 | 1.7-2.2 | |||
| 50 | 0.7-1.0 | |||
| 60 | 0.4-0.6 | |||
| 70 | 0.3-0.4 | |||
| 80 | 0.25-0.3 | |||
| 90 | 0.2-0.25 | |||
| 100 | 0.15-0.2 |
Ultra-High Power (60000W) Stainless Steel Cutting Parameters
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | Power (watt) | Working Gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stainless Steel | 16 | 13.0-14.0 | 60000 | N₂ |
| 18 | 11.0-12.0 | |||
| 20 | 9.0-10.0 | |||
| 25 | 6.5-7.5 | |||
| 30 | 5.0-6.0 | |||
| 35 | 3.5-4.5 | |||
| 40 | 3.0-3.5 | |||
| 50 | 1.8-2.2 | |||
| 60 | 1.3-1.6 | |||
| 70 | 1.0-1.2 | |||
| 80 | 0.6-0.8 | |||
| 90 | 0.4-0.6 | |||
| 90 (Modulation) | 0.2-0.25 | |||
| 100 | 0.3-0.5 | |||
| 100 (Modulation) | 0.15-0.2 | |||
| 120 | 0.1-0.15 | |||
| 16 | 13-14.5 | 60000 | Air | |
| 18 | 11-12.5 | |||
| 20 | 9-10.5 | |||
| 25 | 7.0-7.8 | |||
| 30 | 5.0-6.0 | |||
| 35 | 4.0-4.5 | |||
| 40 | 3.2-4.0 | |||
| 50 | 3.0-3.5 | |||
| 60 | 1.8-2.2 | |||
| 70 | 1.0-1.2 | |||
| 80 | 0.7-0.8 | |||
| 90 | 0.5-0.6 | |||
| 100 | 0.4-0.5 | |||
| 120 | 0.25-0.35 | |||
| 150 | 0.15-0.2 | |||
| 200 (Modulation) | 0.05-0.1 |
Fiber Laser Cutting Aluminum Thickness & Speed & Power Chart
Aluminum is the most abundant silver-white light metal, which is soft and ductile.
Lasers can easily cut through foils, sheets, strips, tubes, rods and profiles made of aluminum and alloys.
Fiber laser cutting systems are ideal for cutting rolled aluminum, cast aluminum, pure aluminum alloy, aluminum alloys with copper, manganese, silicon, magnesium and zinc up to 100mm thick at a maximum speed of 70m/min, with laser power options from 1000W to 40000W and the N₂ working gas.
Low/Medium Power (1000W - 4000W) Aluminum Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000W | 1500W | 2000W | 3000W | 4000W | |||
| Aluminum | N₂ | 1 | 10.0-13.0 | 15.0-27.5 | 22.0-31.0 | 25.0-30.0 | 28.0-32.0 |
| 2 | 2.0-4.5 | 7.0-8.6 | 10.0-13.2 | 15.0-18.0 | 16.0-20.0 | ||
| 3 | 0.6-1.3 | 2.5-4.0 | 5.0-6.6 | 7.0-8.0 | 10.0-12.0 | ||
| 4 | 1.0-1.6 | 1.5-2.2 | 5.0-6.0 | 6.0-7.0 | |||
| 5 | 0.6-0.9 | 1.0-1.3 | 2.5-3.0 | 4.0-5.0 | |||
| 6 | 0.6-0.9 | 1.5-2.0 | 2.5-3.0 | ||||
| 8 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.5-0.8 | 1.0-1.3 | ||||
| 10 | 0.3-0.4 | 0.8-1.0 | |||||
| 12 | 0.6-0.8 | ||||||
| 14 | 0.3-0.5 | ||||||
High Power (6000W - 30000W) Aluminum Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6000W | 8000W | 12000W | 15000W | 20000W | 30000W | |||
| Aluminum | N₂ | 1 | 35.0-45.0 | 40.0-50.0 | 45.0-55.0 | 50.0-60.0 | 55.0-65.0 | 60.0-70.0 |
| 2 | 20.0-25.0 | 25.0-30.0 | 30.0-35.0 | 35.0-38.0 | 40.0-45.0 | 45.0-50.0 | ||
| 3 | 14.0-16.0 | 15.0-23.0 | 20.0-25.0 | 25.0-30.0 | 30.0-35.0 | 38.0-45.0 | ||
| 4 | 8.0-10.0 | 12.0-16.0 | 18.0-20.0 | 20.0-23.0 | 25.0-30.0 | 28.0-35.0 | ||
| 5 | 5.0-7.0 | 7.0-10 | 14.0-16.0 | 15.0-18.0 | 18.0-20.0 | 20.0-25.0 | ||
| 6 | 3.5-4.0 | 5.0-7.0 | 10.0-12.0 | 12.0-14.0 | 16.0-18.0 | 18.0-22.0 | ||
| 8 | 1.5-2.0 | 2.5-4.0 | 6.0-8.0 | 8.0-10.0 | 10.0-13.0 | 14.0-18.0 | ||
| 10 | 1.0-1.2 | 2.0-2.5 | 4.0-6.0 | 5.0-7.0 | 9.5-10.0 | 12.0-15.0 | ||
| 12 | 0.6-0.7 | 1.6-2.0 | 2.0-3.0 | 2.5-3.5 | 5.0-6.0 | 10.0-12.0 | ||
| 14 | 0.4-0.6 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.5-2.5 | 2.0-3.0 | 4.5-5.0 | 8.0-10.0 | ||
| 16 | 0.3-0.4 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.3-2.0 | 1.5-2.5 | 3.0-4.0 | 6.0-8.0 | ||
| 20 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.8-1.2 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.6-2.0 | 2.0-3.0 | |||
| 25 | 0.4-0.5 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.5-0.7 | 1.0-1.2 | 1.5-2.0 | |||
| 30 | 0.4-0.5 | 0.45-0.6 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.0-1.2 | ||||
| 35 | 0.3-0.35 | 0.45-0.55 | 0.7-0.9 | 0.8-1.0 | ||||
| 40 | 0.25-0.3 | 0.28-0.33 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.5-0.8 | ||||
| 50 | 0.15-0.2 | 0.2-0.25 | 0.3-0.5 | 0.4-0.6 | ||||
| 60 | 0.2 | 0.2-0.3 | 0.25-0.35 | |||||
| 70 | 0.08-0.13 | 0.12-0.15 | ||||||
| 80 | 0.08-0.1 | |||||||
Extra-High Power (40000W) Aluminum Cutting Parameters
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | Power (watt) | Working Gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 5 | 25.0-30.0 | 40000 | N₂ |
| 6 | 20.0-25.0 | |||
| 8 | 18.0-22.0 | |||
| 10 | 14.0-17.0 | |||
| 12 | 11.0-13.0 | |||
| 14 | 9.0-11.0 | |||
| 16 | 7.0-9.0 | |||
| 18 | 5.0-7.0 | |||
| 20 | 4.0-5.0 | |||
| 25 | 3.0-3.5 | |||
| 30 | 2.0-3.0 | |||
| 40 | 1.0-1.5 | |||
| 50 | 0.4-0.6 | |||
| 60 | 0.2-0.3 | |||
| 70 | 0.2-0.25 | |||
| 80 | 0.15-0.2 | |||
| 90 | 0.12-0.15 | |||
| 100 | 0.08-0.1 |
Fiber Laser Cutting Brass & Copper Thickness & Speed & Power Chart
Copper is a soft and ductile metal with excellent electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, ductility, and corrosion resistance. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc with high mechanical properties and wear resistance.
Lasers can easily cut through brass to make precision instruments, ship parts, electronic components, gun shells, musical instruments, decorations, coins and molds.
In addition to ordinary copper and brass, fiber lasers also have the ability to cut aluminum bronze, manganese bronze, aluminum brass, gun metal (tin-zinc bronze), white copper and nickel-copper alloy (Monel) with thicknesses from 1mm to 80mm at speeds from 0.4m/min to 65m/min, with laser powers as low as 1000W and as high as 40000W, using nitrogen to cut brass and oxygen to cut copper.
Low/Medium Power (1000W - 4000W) Brass Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000W | 1500W | 2000W | 3000W | 4000W | |||
| Brass | N₂ | 1 | 14.0-20.0 | 15.0-22.0 | 20.0-27.0 | 20.0-28.0 | 25.0-30.0 |
| 2 | 3.0-4.5 | 4.0-7.2 | 7.7-8.8 | 7.0-13.2 | 12.0-15.0 | ||
| 3 | 1.0-1.2 | 1.1-1.5 | 3.0-4.5 | 5.0-7.2 | 5.5-7.7 | ||
| 4 | 1.0-1.2 | 1.3-1.8 | 2.5-3.0 | 3.5-5.5 | |||
| 5 | 0.6-0.9 | 0.8-0.9 | 1.6-2.0 | 2.0-3.5 | |||
| 6 | 0.4-0.6 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.4-2.2 | ||||
| 8 | 0.3-0.4 | 0.8-1.0 | |||||
| 10 | 0.4-0.6 | ||||||
High Power (6000W - 30000W) Brass Cutting Parameters
| Material | Gas | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6000W | 8000W | 12000W | 15000W | 20000W | 30000W | |||
| Brass | N₂ | 1 | 30.0-40.0 | 35.0-45.0 | 38.0-50.0 | 40.0-55.0 | 45.0-60.0 | 55.0-65.0 |
| 2 | 15.0-18.0 | 25.0-27.0 | 30.0-35.0 | 32.0-37.0 | 35.0-40.0 | 38.0-45.0 | ||
| 3 | 12.0-14.0 | 15.0-18.0 | 18.0-22.0 | 20.0-24.0 | 25.0-28.0 | 28.0-33.0 | ||
| 4 | 8.0-10.0 | 10.0-12.0 | 15.0-18.0 | 16.0-19.0 | 19.0-22.0 | 22.0-26.0 | ||
| 5 | 5.0-5.5 | 7.0-9.0 | 12.0-15.0 | 13.0-16.0 | 17.0-19.0 | 18.5-22.0 | ||
| 6 | 3.2-3.8 | 6.0-6.5 | 7.0-10.0 | 9.0-11.0 | 12.0-15.0 | 15.0-18.0 | ||
| 8 | 1.5-1.8 | 2.5-3.0 | 5.5-6.5 | 6.0-8.0 | 8.0-10.0 | 10.0-15.0 | ||
| 10 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.0-1.5 | 3.5-4.7 | 5.0-6.0 | 7.0-8.0 | 8.0-10.0 | ||
| 12 | 0.6-0.7 | 0.8-1.2 | 1.8-2.0 | 2.0-2.2 | 2.5-3.5 | 5.0-8.0 | ||
| 15 | 0.6-0.7 | 1.0-1.2 | 1.3-1.4 | 1.8-2.0 | 2.5-4.5 | |||
| 18 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.8-1.2 | 0.8-1.3 | 1.3-1.8 | ||||
| 20 | 0.3-0.5 | 0.6-0.7 | 0.8-1.0 | 1.0-1.2 | ||||
| 25 | 0.4-0.6 | 0.7-0.9 | 0.8-1.0 | |||||
| 30 | 0.3-0.5 | 0.5-0.7 | 0.6-0.8 | |||||
| 40 | 0.4-0.5 | 0.5-0.65 | ||||||
| 50 | 0.4-0.5 | |||||||
Extra-High Power (40000W) Brass & Copper Cutting Parameters
| Material | Thickness (mm) | Speed (m/min) | Power (watt) | Working Gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brass | 5 | 25.0-30.0 | 40000 | N₂ |
| 6 | 20.0-25.0 | |||
| 8 | 18.0-22.0 | |||
| 10 | 10.0-14.0 | |||
| 12 | 8.0-11.0 | |||
| 14 | 6.0-8.0 | |||
| 16 | 5.0-7.0 | |||
| 18 | 4.0-5.0 | |||
| 20 | 3.0-4.0 | |||
| 25 | 2.5-3.0 | |||
| 30 | 2.0-2.5 | |||
| Copper | 3 | 20.0-25.0 | 40000 | O₂ |
| 4 | 18.0-20.0 | |||
| 5 | 15.0-18.0 | |||
| 6 | 10.0-15.0 | |||
| 8 | 6.0-10.0 | |||
| 10 | 2.0-3.5 | |||
| 12 | 2.0-2.5 | |||
| 14 | 1.5-2.0 | |||
| 16 | 1.0-1.5 | |||
| 20 | 0.6-1.0 |
In short, fiber lasers can cut through metals as thin as 1mm and as thick as 100mm or more, at a speed as slow as 0.05m/min and as fast as 100m/min or more, with laser power ranging from 1000W to 60000W. Different power and working gas will result in various cutting thickness and speed.
Things To Consider
Fiber laser cutting machines are powerful enough to cut popular metal materials with ease and precision, even some highly reflective metals such as aluminum, copper, and brass. However, it is a bit troublesome to cut precious metals such as gold and silver. This requires finding the best power options and working gases, and adjusting to set the right laser cutting parameters to get the job done smoothly and avoid unnecessary waste.
If you want to use gold and silver to cut exquisite ornaments, jewelry, crafts and gifts as well as some precision parts and accessories, feel free to ask UNISTAR's technical staff to get a solution for your business and budget.