Types and Characteristics of Laser Cutting Machine Beams
1.Steel Plate Welded Beams. High requirements for welding and heat treatment at each stage. Large beam cross-section and thick steel plates result in excessive weight, poor dynamic response, and indirectly lead to larger drive motor selection and increased costs.
2.Cast Aluminum Alloy Beams. This type of beam is currently used by most laser cutting machine manufacturers. Compared to other metal beams, aluminum alloy supports are lighter due to aluminum’s lower density. The thinnest casting thickness in China is currently 12mm. It is commonly used in high-power, large-format laser cutting machines to ensure the laser head’s operating speed and stability during high-speed operation.
3.Aluminum Plate Welded Beams. A reasonable cross-section and strength can be obtained, but welding deformation is large, and the manufacturing cycle is long. It is only used for single-piece and small-batch production.
4.Extruded Aluminum Profile Beams, also known as aerospace extruded aluminum profiles. This new crossbeam adopts a novel structure, using aluminum profiles extruded into a laser cutting machine crossbeam. This solves a series of problems inherent in previous crossbeams during production and application, such as poor material mechanical properties, rough casting, large welding deformation, long manufacturing cycles, and limited use for single-piece or small-batch production.
The two most commonly used crossbeams in the market for laser cutting machines are: (1) cast aluminum alloy crossbeams (referred to as ‘cast aluminum crossbeams’); and (2) extruded aluminum profile crossbeams (also known as aerospace industry aluminum crossbeams).
Advantages of Cast Aluminum Crossbeams:
1) High Precision. After artificial aging, solution treatment, and finishing, the crossbeam possesses excellent integrity, rigidity, toughness, and ductility.
2)High Speed. Aluminum alloys possess lightweight and high rigidity, which is beneficial for high-speed movement during processing. High flexibility facilitates high-speed cutting of various shapes while maintaining high precision.
3)High Efficiency. The lighter weight of the crossbeam ensures rapid equipment operation, improves processing efficiency, and guarantees processing quality.
Advantages of Aerospace Extruded Aluminum Profile Beams
1)Aerospace extruded aluminum profiles, after extrusion molding and quenching heat aging processes, are finely processed, resulting in excellent overall rigidity and surface quality of the beams, along with good toughness and ductility.
2)The beam structure, optimized through finite element analysis, is based on the metallic properties of aluminum alloys, offering corrosion resistance, lightweight, and high rigidity. This ensures high-speed movement during laser processing while providing perfect dynamic performance, enabling high-speed cutting of various shapes while meeting precision requirements.
3)Aerospace aluminum profile beams allow equipment to possess highly efficient dynamic performance, greatly improving processing efficiency while ensuring processing quality.
From the above advantages of aluminum beams, it is clear that aluminum beams not only ensure the high-speed operation of laser cutting machines but also guarantee cutting accuracy and efficiency.
If you want to ensure the service life and accuracy of large-format (e.g., 4020mm and above) laser cutting machines, aluminum beams are undoubtedly a good choice, reducing time costs and time wastage. Furthermore, after the same number of years of use, aluminum crossbeams can maximize cutting precision while minimizing the kinetic energy generated during the high-speed movement of the laser head.
For smaller-format laser cutting machines, extruded aluminum profile crossbeams (aviation-grade aluminum crossbeams) are preferable. This is because the kinetic energy generated during the laser head’s operation is less than that of a larger-format laser cutting machine, eliminating the need for a heavier, more stable cast aluminum crossbeam to buffer and disperse this energy. Therefore, extruded aluminum profile crossbeams are the most suitable and cost-effective option. However, cast aluminum crossbeams are also an option; for small-format laser cutting machines, the only difference is price. Ultimately, the choice of crossbeam depends on the consumer’s needs.
