What is Fiber Laser Cutting Machine
Fiber laser cutting machine 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 fiber laser cutting machine 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 of fiber laser cutting machine
| 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 of fiber laser cutting machine
| 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 of fiber laser cutting machine
| 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 |
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 laser cutting machine 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 |
Conclusion
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 KRRASS’s technical staff to get a solution for your business and budget.
