 |
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Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Energy medium |
Water |
Light
1064 nm; 10.6 µm |
Light (not the water jet)
532nm; 1064 nm |
| Energy source for ablation |
High-pressure pump 3000 - 4000
bar |
Solid-state laser; Gas laser |
Solid-state laser |
| Energy transmission |
Rigid high-pressure hoses |
Fiber-transmission; Beam guided
by mirrors (flying optics) |
Light conducted by fiber transmission,
resulting in high degree of aflexibility |
| Material expulsion |
High-pressure water jet |
Gas jet, thus necessitating additional
gas |
Water jet, system operates without
gas |
| Distance between nozzle and material and maximum
permissible tolerance |
Approx. 3 mm ± 1 mm, distance sensor,
regulation and Z- axis necessary |
Approx. 0.5 mm ± 0.1 mm, distance sensor,
regulation and Z-axis necessary |
0 - 100 mm, distance sensor,
regulation and Z-axis not necessary |
The Laser MicroJet® combines the advantages of cutting by water jet (cold, large working distance) and laser cutting (precise, fast). |
| |
Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Machine set-up |
Working area and pump can be
located separately |
Laser source normally located
inside machine |
Working area and laser and/or
pump can be located separately on account of fiber transmission |
| Typical table size |
2500 x 1250 mm to 4000 x 2000
mm |
300 x 300mm to 1000 x 600mm;
2500 x 1250 mm to 6000 x 2000 mm |
300 x 300 mm to 1000 x 600 mm |
| Typical beam/jet output power
at work piece |
4 kW - 17 kW (4000 bar) |
100 - 400 W; 1500 kW - 2800 kW |
50 W - 300 W |
| General applications |
Cutting, Ablation, Structuring |
Cutting, Drilling, Engraving,
Ablation, Structuring, Welding |
Cutting, Drilling, Engraving,
Ablation, Structuring |
| 3D cutting |
Only partly possible due to problem
of destruction of residual energy |
Difficult on account of rigid
beam guidance and distance regulation |
No problem, thanks to fiber transmission
and long working distance |
| Materials that can be cut |
All materials |
All metals, all plastics, glass,
wood, ceramics |
All metals, semiconductors, ceramics, super-hard materials |
| Material combinations |
Possible without exception |
Materials with different melting
points can barely be cut |
Possible if absorption is sufficient |
| Sandwich structures with cavities |
Limited (delamination) |
Not possible |
Possible up to a distance of
50 mm |
|
| The Laser MicroJet® is particularly suitable for high-precision processing of thin materials with negligible thermal influence. |
| |
Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Cutting materials with impaired
access |
Limited due to short distance
between nozzle and materials |
Rarely possible due to short
distance and large cutting head |
Possible in many cases thanks
to long working distance |
| Materials properties influencing
the processing |
Materials hardness |
Absorption
characteristics of material at 1064 nm or 10.6 µm |
Absorption
characteristics of material at 532 nm or 1064 nm |
| Material thickness at which processing
is economical |
10 - 50 mm |
0.1 - 10 mm, depending on material |
0.001 - 5 mm, depending on material |
| Most important applications |
Cutting of ceramics, stone and
metals of greater thickness |
Cutting of flat sheet steel of
medium thickness for sheet metal processing |
Precision cutting of sensitive,
thin material with negligible thermal influence |
|
| The Laser MicroJet® operating costs are lower than conventional processes. |
| |
Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Wear parts |
Water jet nozzle, focusing nozzle,
high-pressure components (valves, hoses, seals) |
Protection glass, gas, nozzles,
dust and particle filters |
Flash lamp, water jet nozzle,
protection glass, filter for cutting water |
| Average consumption of complete
system |
20 kW pump :
Electr. power 22 - 35 kW
Water : 150 l/h
Abrasive: 36 kg/h
Disposal of cutting waste |
1500 X CO2 laser
:
Electr. power : 24 - 40 kW
Laser gas (CO2, N2, He) : 2 - 16 l/h
Cutting gas (O2, N2) : 500 - 2000 l/h
|
200 W Nd:YAG laser :
Electr. power : 15 kW
Water: 6 l/h |
|
| The Laser MicroJet® is particularly suitable for ultra-thin kerf cutting and delicate surface treatment. |
| |
Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Minimum cutting kerf width : |
0.5 mm |
0.15 mm, depending on cutting
speed |
0.025 mm, independent of cutting
speed |
| Appearance of cut surface |
Like sand-blasted, depending
on cut.-speed |
striated structure |
Like sand-blasted, independent
of cut.-speed |
| Parallelism of cut
edges |
Good; "tailed" effect
in curves |
Good; occasionally
conical edges |
Very good |
| Processing
accuracy |
Approx. 0.1
mm |
Approx. 0.05
mm |
< 0.005
mm |
| Burring |
No burring |
Partial burring |
Virtually no burring |
| Thermal stress
of material |
None |
Deformation,
tempering and structural changes |
Virtually no
structural changes |
| Forces acting on material during
processing |
High: thin, small parts can thus
only be processed to limited degree |
Gas pressure poses problems with
thin work pieces ("fluttering"), distance not stable |
Very slight, thus also allowing
problem-free processing of very fine work pieces |
|
| The Laser MicroJet® is particularly suitable for high-precision processing of work pieces sensitive to deformation and heat. |
| |
Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Personnal safety requirements |
Protective glasses, ear protection,
protection against contact with water jet |
Special laser protection glasses
necessary |
Special laser protection glasses
necessary; water jet not dangerous |
| Smoke and dust generation |
Water splashes, contaminated with
particles |
Occurs; plastics and certain
metal alloys produce toxic gases |
Slight, as no cutting gas is
used and the majority is absorbed by water |
| Noise pollution |
High |
Low |
Low |
| Soiling of machine |
High |
Low |
Very low |
| Cutting waste |
Large quantities of cutting waste
occur on account of mixing with abrasives |
Cutting waste , predominanty
in the form of dust requiring vacuum extraction and filtering |
Cutting waste mainly absorbed
by water |
The Laser MicroJet® is the most non-polluting production method. |
| |
Water
jet cutting |
Laser
cutting |
Laser MicroJet® cutting |
| Inventor |
Dr. N. Franz
(McCartney, USA),
1970 |
Laser: T.H. Maimann
(USA), 1960
Laser processing: 1963
CO2 laser: 1968
|
Dr. B. Richerzhagen
(EPFL, Switzerland), 1994 |
| First industrial machine |
1971 - Ingersoll-Rand, USA, 1985
with abrasive water jet |
1965, USA |
1997, Synova, Switzerland |
| Future developments |
Virtually no new developments
expected as potential virtually exhausted |
Virtually no new developments
excepted as potential virtually exhausted |
Major development potential,
e.g. with laser diodes as pumped light source or as direct
laser source |
| Extension of existing machines
with water-jet guidance (MicroJet®) |
Not recommended |
Simple to realize with Nd:YAG
laser |
|
The Laser MicroJet® embodies
a new, modern technology with an enormous potential for further
developments.
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