Tube Cutting Services | Special Metal Alloys

What is Tube Laser Cutting?

Laser, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, comes in numerous power levels and has become commonplace in advanced industrial cutting machines, surgery, physiotherapy, scanners, pointers, video, and music.

Tube laser cutting is a precise and efficient technique to cut alloy tubing into lengths, structural shapes, sizes, and profiles to the customer’s exact specifications with exceptional precision and very tight tolerances. It can also cut precise holes or designs in the tubing. In essence, high-powered laser beams are directed through a series of lenses and mirrors to amplify and focus an intense light beam to a pinpoint and control the intricate designs by advanced computers.

Complexity

Cutting alloy tubing with diverse profiles is complex because different alloys merge properties like exceptional hardness and strength, varying melting points, light reflection, and heat conductivity. The tubes are manufactured in various shapes and profiles with asymmetrical angles and curvatures, uneven stress distribution, and cuts that need to reach tight and uneven angles. It is also not unusual to cut parts of various sizes and designs from the same tube.

The challenge is to cut the designs and profiles accurately and without deviating from the intended path, even when differences and inconsistencies exist within the material.

Accuracy

The solution is to cut tubes with advanced laser technology. It is an exceptionally accurate, efficient, and cost-effective way to create the desired shapes, lengths, and profiles for different applications. An optical sensor scans the surface of the tube to identify weld seams, oil, rust, or minute imperfections, accurately collimating and compensating for blemishes by positioning the laser tube cutting workpiece correctly and accurately controlling the cut path. Imperfections or contaminants on the inside of the tube are identified by interior cameras. Laser cut width and cutting kerfs have an impressive accuracy of 0.005 inches on average.

Cutting speed

Laser tube cutters can handle high cutting speeds and faster processing times to save time and boost productivity. Under ideal conditions, laser machines can cut up to 500 inches per minute. However, the focus is on the quality of the work, the time it takes the machine to process parts, and precisely meeting the specifications, including loading and unloading times, rather than cutting speed in isolation.

Special Metal Alloys offers the most advanced laser-cutting services to cut, slot, drill, and bevel stainless steel, nickel alloy brass, and titanium tubes bought from us to help you save time and money.

For further information on the full Tube Laser Cutting machines and services, please contact one of our Sales Representatives at +44 [0]161 278 2386.

Alternatively, contact us through this site or email your enquiry via sales@specialmetalalloys.co.uk

The two main types of laser cutters

Depending on the type of alloy and cost implications, CO2 and fibre laser technology are the two main techniques used for laser cutting services and alloy tubes.

CO2 laser cutting technology

The CO2 laser cutting technique uses a focused beam of infrared laser light generated by passing electricity through a sealed tube containing a carbon dioxide gas mixture. The intensity of the light beam heats the metal to the point of vaporisation.

Incredibly precise and detailed cuts on non-reflective mild steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, and anodised materials with clear edges are possible with CO2 laser cutters, although they are inefficient for cutting thick and highly reflective metals.

Fibre laser cutting technology

Fibre laser cutting technology uses a high-powered laser beam guided through the length of an optical fibre, enhanced with rare-earth elements such as lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium, and concentrated to a fine point by a high-quality lens. The light intensity from the focused beam melts the metal to create a clean and accurate cut. On fibre laser cutters, the beam can be adjusted for different thicknesses of the materials, allowing for the separation of materials and room for material removal required in each.

Fibre laser cutters are highly suitable for alloys like stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminium, copper, and titanium. It can quickly cut precise and intricate cuts and shapes with tight tolerances at low operating costs.

Key differences between fibre and CO2 tube laser cutters

The energy “generator” on a fibre laser cutter system is much smaller than the CO2 resonator, making it more compact and requiring less electricity. The light beam can be adjusted and focused according to the type and thickness of the material to be cut.

Plasma cutting

When cutting highly reflective and conductive materials, laser tube cutters are not always the most effective, and the best alternative might be plasma cutting, although it is not as accurate and has several drawbacks compared to laser cutters.

A plasma cutter uses a high-voltage electric arc to ionise a compressed gas to create a superheated, high-velocity plasma jet that melts the metal along the cutting path and blows away the molten metal for a clean cut.

Laser cutters are more precise than plasma, with a small kerf and hardly any radiation. Plasma cutters create a slightly larger kerf and produce radiation, which can be harmful.

Maximising Productivity with Laser Cutting Machines

Benefits of tube laser cutting

With advanced software and a high level of automation capabilities, tube laser cutting combines great precision, fast cutting speeds and high throughput to process large quantities of tubes and complex shapes efficiently and productively.

The focused beam creates a very narrow kerf that significantly reduces material waste, allowing optimal use of the alloy tube and keeping costs down.

Processable size and shape capability of Special Metal Alloys tube laser cutting machines

Tube Cutting Services: Technical Data

Process tubes up to ∅ 355 mm (14”)
bar weight up to 100 kg/m (67 lb/ft)
loading lengths up to 18 m (60’)
unloading lengths up to 18 m (60’)
laser source up to 3.5 kW
Automatic loading and unloading
Cuttable materials: Stainless Steel, Nickel Alloys

PROCESSABLE SIZES STAINLESS STEEL / ALLOYS

Round Tube: from 12mm – 355mm Diameter Thickness: 8mm max

Square Sections: from 12mm – 250mm max Thickness: 8mm max

Rectangle Sections: from 12mm – 300mm x 200mm max Thickness: 8mm max

Stainless steel grades

Stainless austenitic steels

1.4301 / 304 1.4307 / 304L 1.4541 / 321 1.4401 / 316 1.4404 / 316L

1.4429 / 316LN 1.4435 / 316L 1.4436 / 316 1.4571 / 316Ti

Alloyed stainless steels

1.4539 / Alloy 904L 1.4547 / 254 SMO

Austenitic-ferritic steels

Lean-Duplex: 1.4162 – LDX2101 / 1.4362 – S32304

Duplex: 1.4462 – S31803 / S 32205

Super-Duplex: 1.4410 – S 32750 / 1.4501 – S 32760

Heat-resistant austenitic steels

1.4828/ 309 1.4841/ 310 1.4845/ 310S 1.4878/ 321H

Nickel-based alloys

2.4360 / Alloy 400 2.4816 / Alloy 600 2.4819 / Alloy C-276 2.4851 / Alloy 601

2.4856 / Alloy 625 1.4876 / Alloy 800 2.4858 / Alloy 825

Titanium

3.7025 / Grade 1 3.7035 / Grade 2

Get in touch.

For expert advice and more information on our Tube Laser Cutting services, please contact one of our Sales Representatives at +44 [0]161 278 2386.