With the popularity of fiber laser cutting machines,the competition in the laser processing industry is becoming more and more fierce. Choosing the right cutting machine will have the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort. Today we will take 6kW and 12kW fiber laser cutting machine as examples to analyze which fiber laser cutting machine is more cost-effective in terms of cutting cost, cutting efficiency and cutting effect.
1. Cutting cost
In the cost analysis, the comparison is mainly made from three aspects: the electricity cost of the fiber laser cutting machine, the electricity cost of the air compressor and the cost of the auxiliary gas.
| Power | Total Power Consumption | Total Power Consumption of 3Mpa Air Compressor |
| 6KW | 38KW | 15KW |
| 12KW | 68KW | 15KW |
| Material | Thickness | Auxiliary Gas | Cost Decreasing Rate |
| Stainless Steel | 6-16mm | Nitrogen | 55%-75% |
| Stainless Steel | 6-16mm | Air | 72%-85% |
| Aluminum | 6-14mm | Air | 43%-55% |
| Mild Steel | 6-14mm | 6KW: Oxygen | 43%-63% |
| Mild Steel | 6-14mm | 12KW: Nitrogen | 43%-63% |
| Mild Steel | 16-25mm | Oxygen | 25%-40% |
- From the table 1, the total power consumption of the 6kW fiber laser cutting machine is 38KW/h, while the total power consumption of the 12KW fiber laser cutting machine is 68kw/h. On this point, the electricity cost of 12KW is higher than 12KW.
- Judging from the electricity cost of the air compressor, both use 3Mpa air compressors, and the total power consumption is 15KW/h, and the cost of both is the same.
- From figure 1 and table 2, compared with the processing cost of 6KW, the cost of 12KW can basically be reduced by more than half, among which stainless steel has the greatest advantage, followed by carbon steel and aluminum. Air is used as an auxiliary gas when cutting stainless steel, and the unit price processing cost is the lowest, which can meet the products that do not require high cutting sections.
2. Cutting Speed
From figure 2, we can get a conclusion:
- When cutting stainless steel, 12KW is 163%-289% faster than 6KW
- When cutting mild steel,12KW is 87%-493% faster than 6KW
- When cutting aluminum, 12KW is 150%-213% faster than 6KW
3. Cutting Effect
- When cutting 16mm and 20mm stainless steel, there are more slag with 6KW, 12KW almost is no slag
- When cutting 16mm and 20mm mild steel, 6KW can only cut the matte surface and the taper is large, 12KW can cut smooth and bright surface, and the taper is small
4. Conclusion
- The production efficiency of 12KW is several times that of a 6KW fiber laser cutting machine.
- The processing cost f 12KW is also higher than that of a 6kW fiber laser cutting machine.
- Although the price of 12KW higher than that of a 6kW, 12KW will reduce the processing time and processing cost of a single workpiece, and the processing effect is better, which can create a value-multiplier effect for users.
Of course, users need to purchase laser cutting machine and choose their own processing methods according to the actual needs of their own enterprises.
