CNC Laser Cutting or CNC Plasma Cutting?
Have you found yourself confused and wondering which technology would work best for your business? Asking yourself which one do I choose?
We have put together a few essentials to help you make the right decision suitable to your company needs.
CNC Laser Cutting or CNC Plasma Cutting: The following has to be taken into consideration, when deciding on which technology to purchase:
- What material type are you cutting
- What thickness are you cutting
- Will the parts have to be welded afterwards or are they for architectural or machine precision parts
- What is your production volume
- What is your initial capital outlay
Answers to 1 and 2: CNC Laser Cutting or CNC Plasma Cutting
CNC Laser Cutting | CNC Plasma Cutting | |
Cutting Thickness: | ||
Mild Steel | 0.5-20mm | 1-50mm |
Stainless Steel | 0.5-16mm | 2-120mm |
Aluminium | 0.5-20mm | 3-40mm |
Brass/Copper | 0.5-16mm | n/a |
CNC Laser Cutting | CNC Plasma Cutting | |
Cutting Speeds: | ||
12mm Mild Steel | 1800mm/min | 2800mm/min |
2mm Mild Steel | 9000mm/min | 5000mm/min |
What technology is best suited for your cutting needs based on material thickness that you need to cut?
CNC Laser Cutting | CNC Plasma Cutting | |
Mild Steel | 0.5-10mm | 8-50mm |
Stainless Steel | 0.5-8mm | 10-20mm |
Aluminium | 0.5-20mm | 4-16mm |
Brass/Copper | 0.5-16mm | n/a |
Will the parts have to be welded afterwards or are they for architectural or machine precision parts?
Due to the fact that CNC Laser Cutting offers you a very clean and square cut, precise cutting can be done up to the relevant thickness that the laser source is classified to cut. In other words cut outs for fit ups are easily achieved. For this capability however where parts have to be welded afterwards the extreme definition plasma cutting technology is more than efficient and very tight tolerances can also be achieved.
What is your production volume? What is your initial capital outlay?
On thinner thicknesses below 10mm mild steel, laser cutting speeds are much faster than plasma. With a purchase on either a laser or plasma one needs to look at what the monthly throughput will be to justify the cost of either the laser or the plasma.
A CNC Laser Cutting Machine will on average be 3 times more expensive than a high definition CNC Plasma Cutting Machine
It is always advisable to have a specialist help you in ascertaining your current and future needs.
Email us at: info@microstepsa.co.za for more information or call us on +27834630999