Since the advent of a 10 kW laser cutting machine, the laser cutting market has entered a fast lane of development. On the one hand, laser cutting machines are accelerating in China to replace imported products, and the share of domestic lasers is increasing gradually. On the other hand, the higher power laser continuously breaks through the thickness limit and improves the cutting efficiency significantly in the past.
Since the first 12 kW laser cutting machine was paid for and delivered in 2017, the laser power has reached a new level year by year. In July 2022, Maxphotonics officially released a 100 μm multi-module 50 kW industrial fiber laser, raising the highest power record for an industrial fiber laser again.
However, after the advent of the 50 kW laser cutting machine, many questions have come out, including whether it is only 50 kW in the laboratory, whether there is only a laser without a matching cutting head, and so on. When the reliability of the 50 kW laser cutting machine is still discussed in the industry, the 50 kW laser cutting equipment, LD-12526E developed by Longdiao Laser, has been delivered and put into production in the plant of Wuxi Yixiang Stainless Steel Company.
The delivery income of the first 50 kW laser cutting machine is comparable to 30 kW+40 kW
Industry insiders once pointed out that 6 kW laser cutting machines can meet 98% of the market demand, and the higher power does not make much sense. But higher power equipment can bring more benefits to processors from the perspective of market development trends and actual results. According to the cutting speed measured by Longdiao Laser, it is evident that the cutting speed of a 50 kW laser cutting machine is 40% faster than that of a 40 kW laser cutting machine in the cutting of thick stainless steel plates (more than 30 mm). For carbon steel cutting above 16 mm, the cutting speed of a 50 kW laser cutting machine is 20% faster than that of 40 kW. The cutting speed of a 50 kW laser cutting machine on a 30 mm carbon steel plate is 4.5 m/min, which is 30% faster than that of a 40 kW laser cutting machine and 80% faster than that of a 30 kW laser cutting machine.
Based on the substantial increase in speed, a 50 kW laser cutting machine can significantly improve the productivity and efficiency of users. According to the calculation of Longdiao Laser, based on the annual productivity benefit, a 50 kW laser cutting machine is equivalent to a 40 kW laser cutting machine plus a 30 kW laser cutting machine, and the return period shortens.
Thickness Limit Breakthrough and Stronger Cutting Ability
In addition to the increase in income brought by the speed increase, the performance of the 50 kW laser cutting machine in limit cutting has also made a significant breakthrough, which can significantly improve the thick plate cutting ability under different cutting gas processes.
In terms of carbon steel cutting, the 50 kW laser cutting machine can solve the problem of 30-50 mm carbon steel air high-quality cutting, improve the efficiency of low-pressure oxygen negative focus cutting thick carbon steel (the cutting speed of 50 mm carbon steel plate can reach 1.8 m/min), and break through the limit of high-quality cutting carbon steel thickness (the cutting thickness of positive focus is increased from 60 mm at 30 kW to 100 mm).
In stainless steel cutting, the limit thickness of air/nitrogen cutting of a 50 kW laser cutting machine reaches 300 mm (the limit thickness of a 40 kW laser cutting machine is 200 mm), and the limit thickness of oxygen cutting is also risen to 100 mm.
The improvement of 50 kW laser cutting capability enables laser cutting to replace traditional plasma technology in ultra-thick plate cutting below 100 mm, which is more energy-saving and environmentally friendly, and the efficiency will also enhance significantly.
As the first company to deliver a 50 kW laser cutting machine, what does Longdiao Laser rely on?
In addition to the performance improvement of the 50 kW laser cutting machine itself, the author also noticed that this product is a new generation of work carried out by Longdiao Laser nine months after the launch of the 40 kW laser cutting machine. On January 8, 2022, Longdiao Laser held a grand ceremony for the global launch of a 40 kW laser cutting machine and the Longdiao Laser 2022 Spring Festival Annual Meeting in the Shandong production base.
From the release of the 40 kW laser cutting machine to the delivery of the 50 kW laser cutting machine, Longdiao Laser only took less than nine months, which was inseparable from the technical accumulation of Longdiao Laser in the laser industry for many years. Beijing Longdiao NC Equipment Co., Ltd., founded in 2012, entered the fiber laser cutting market in 2014 and began to lay out the high-power fiber laser cutting field in 2018. In 2020, Longdiao Laser doubled its performance and launched a 30 kW watt ultra-high power fiber laser cutting machine in the same year. The company has entered the era of a 10 kW watt laser cutting machine since then.
In 2021, the R&D and production center of Longdiao Intelligent Equipment (Shandong) Co., Ltd. was founded as the third largest R&D center of Longdiao Laser after the establishment of the European R&D center and the Jiangsu R&D center and also another main production base in addition to the Beijing production base of Longdiao Laser. Finally, the layout of the Shandong base has also become a strategic base for Longdiao Laser to base itself in North China, radiate all over China, and march overseas. In this new base area, Longdiao Laser has improved and upgraded the bed design based on the market feedback of the 30 kW laser cutting machine and user feedback to prepare for higher-power laser applications.
It is worth mentioning that Longdiao Laser has designed a hollow bed with more fire resistance, longer service life, and better thermal insulation effect and an area of 12.5m × 2.6m super-long-and-large table because of the high energy of the 50 kW watt laser cutting machine.
The unique hollow bed design can ensure that the machine tool will not deform when working at a high temperature for a long time. The partition of the partition dedusting is a suspended structure, which has the better dedusting effect, cutting, and burning resistance.
In addition to the laser power improvement and cutting head technology upgrading mentioned above, the mechanical structure and materials of the machine tool itself are also important factors for the equipment’s life. Due to the increase in power, the heat generated when cutting plates is also higher. To ensure long-term stability, Longdiao Laser selects high-quality carbon steel plates for welding on the bed structure. Reinforcing rib welding is added between two plates, which can ensure the processing accuracy for a long time, determine the welding is not easy to deform, and guarantee the accuracy during the processing of the bed to be suitable for laser cutting at various power bands. After several processes, such as annealing, the whole five-face milling machining center of the lathe bed is formed for one time. And the mirror effect of the rack surface in the guide rail is maintained within 0.02 mm. In addition, the beams of 40 kW and 50 kW laser cutting machines are made of steel beams, welded by high-strength steel, and undergo annealing and stress relief heat treatment to prevent later deformation. The overall strength is high, and the stability is good. The dynamic performance of the machine tool will also be better in the movement process.
The author learned that since its establishment, Longdiao Laser has improved its products in detail and won the unanimous recognition of overseas partners such as Germany, Spain, and Japan for its high-quality and high-precision performance. Adhering to the attitude of focusing on research, development, and details, it has gathered many technical elites. With cutting-edge laser technology and advanced machine tool design concept, Longdiao Laser has achieved technology breakthroughs and upgrades quickly and launched high-power and ultra-high-power laser cutting machines continuously according to the diverse needs of customers.
It reports that the 50 kW laser cutting machine delivered this time can realize the cutting of 250 mm or more thick materials. By upgrading the basic configuration of the laser, cutting head, control system, etc., the problems of cutting section quality, slagging, and excessive cutting taper of ultra-thick carbon steel, ultra-thick stainless steel, and aluminum alloy plates have been solved with high quality and efficiency. At the same time, it can realize arbitrary switching for cutting medium/thin plates and changing different gas cutting so that customers can achieve high-quality material cutting of different thicknesses with only one device.
Summary
In recent years, the price of laser products has been falling, and the unit price of laser processing has also been. Mastering more advanced production tools is the key to improving the profitability of enterprises. This trend is evident in the increasing laser power year by year. In addition, the 50 kW or higher power laser cutting machine can form a dimension reduction attack on products of other power segments in the subdivided field of thick and ultra-thick plates. It can truly replace traditional high-pollution processes such as flame and plasma cutting and even replace traditional punches and grinders with superimposed beveling technology. It can be improved into a comprehensive platform for ultra-high power laser processing, and become a real Great Power Weapon.
Longdiao Laser took the lead in realizing the delivery and production of a 50 kW laser cutting machine, which is undoubtedly another milestone in China’s laser industry development. This event marks the entry of a new stage in the high-power laser application market, and also indicates that Longdiao Laser has become a pioneer in the industry, launching an impact on the higher-level laser application.
Source from ofweek.com
