CUTTING PROCESSES

OXYACETYLENE, PLASMA ARC, LASER BEAM, WATER JET CUTTING

OXYACETYLENE CUTTING PLASMA ARC CUTTING

In the case of oxyacetylene cutting, an oxygen / fuel gas
flame serves as the heat source and acetylene, propane
or natural gas is utilised as the fuel gas. A heating fla-
me heats the material up to the inflammation tempera-
ture and cleans any rust, scale or other contaminations
off the surface. The material burns into slag along the
switched-on cutting oxygen jet. The combustion heat
arising in this respect permits continuous combustion
into the depth and in the advance direction. The very
liquid slag is blown out of the kerf.
The prerequisite for oxyacetylene cutting is that the in-
flammation temperature of the material to be cut and
the melting temperature of its slag are lower than the
melting temperature of the material. The slag arising du-
ring the combustion must be very liquid and the mate-
rial should exhibit a low thermal conductivity. This is the
case, for example, with structural steels, low-alloyed
steels, cast steel and titanium.
A tip: The correct gas cutting speed can be recognised
by the flying sparks in the vertically downward direction.
Plasma arc cutting can be used in order to carry out of the groove. The following parameters have influences
weld preparations and shaped cuts on materials which on the cutting results: the cutting current, the cutting
are not suitable for gas cutting. These are, for examp- speed, the distance between the plasma torch and the
le, alloyed steel, aluminium, copper and grey cast iron. workpiece as well as the gas pressure and volume.
The plasma gas (nitrogen, nitrogen/hydrogen mixtures,
argon/hydrogen mixtures and compressed air are ap- Because of the high noise burdens and air pollution,
plied) flows through the water-cooled cutting nozzle. plasma arc cutting is frequently carried out industrially
The arc burning between the tungsten electrode and with water covering the workpiece. This also decreases
the workpiece heats the plasma gas up into a plasma the thermal impairment of the cut parts, particularly in
jet at a temperature of approx. 30,000°C. The material the case of thin sheets.
melts completely along the plasma jet and is blown out

Advantages Disadvantages
 only thermal process for the cutting of high-allo-  wider kerf than in the case of
Advantages Disadvantages yed steels and aluminium materials in the medi- oxyacetylene cutting
um and higher thickness ranges  non-parallel cut edges
 low investment and operating costs  material selection extremely restricted  outstanding for structural steel in the thin sheet  very high noise burdens*
 can be utilised flexibly, e.g. on building sites  high thermal loads on the material range  high pollutant emissions*
 widest area of application in relation  cutting of high-strength structural steels with a * in the case of dry cutting
to the workpiece thickness low heat input
 extremely suitable for the preparation  higher cutting speeds than in the case of
of welds and for bevel cuts oxyacetylene cutting

LASER BEAM CUTTING WATER JET CUTTING

Laser beam cutting is suitable for the cutting of the most
diverse materials, e.g. steels, non-ferrous metals, plas-
tics, ceramic or wood. In the case of ferrous materials,
it is utilised mostly for workpiece thicknesses up to 25
mm. Not only CO2 gas lasers but also solid-state lasers
in the form of disc or fibre lasers are applied. Today, a
high electrical/optical efficiency can be achieved with the
diode-pumped solid-state laser.
A distinction is made between three process variants ac-
cording to the type of transformation of the material in the
kerf:
In the case of laser beam gas cutting, the material to be
cut is heated up to the inflammation temperature by the
focused laser beam. The cutting oxygen burns the mate-
rial at the cutting point and forms a very liquid slag which
is blown out of the kerf by the kinetic energy of the oxygen
jet. The cutting operation corresponds to the combustion
sequence in gas cutting. The most frequent application is
therefore the cutting of mild and low-alloyed steels.
In the case of laser beam fusion cutting, the materi-
al is melted completely over the entire workpiece thick-
Advantages
 high cutting speed
 depending on the process, metallically bright cut
edges without any remachining
 precisely cut contours with nearly parallel kerfs
 a wide diversity of materials, e.g. even non-fer-
rous metals, can be cut depending on the instal-
lation
 small heat-affected zones
ness by the laser beam. Here, a weakly reactive gas (as a
rule, nitrogen) is utilised instead of the cutting oxygen and
blows the molten material out of the kerf. Laser beam
fusion cutting is predominantly utilised for the cutting of
high-alloyed steels and for non-ferrous metals. The parti-
cular advantage of cutting high-alloyed steels with nitro-
gen relates to the metallically bright cut edges arising in
this respect.
In the case of laser beam sublimation cutting, the ma-
terial to be cut is vaporised (sublimated) by the high ener-
gy density of the laser beam. The vaporised material is
blown out of the kerf by the vapour pressure and by a
weakly reactive cutting gas. Laser beam sublimation cut-
ting is used for the cutting of organic substances and for
plastics.
A number of non-thermal cutting processes are desig- workpiece. This process is put to widespread industri-
nated as water jet cutting. The fundamental feature of all al uses. Nearly all materials are cuttable, e.g. mild and
the processes is a high-velocity jet which is generated high-alloyed steels, non-ferrous metals, plastics, foams,
in a nozzle as a result of decompression from a water glass, rubber, natural stone and material composites
pressure of up to 600 MPa to the ambient pressure. In (amongst others).
the case of pure water jet cutting (PWJC), the erosive
energy of the created jet can already be used for the If abrasive particles are added in the high-pressure ran-
cutting of softer materials. Customary nozzle materials ge, this is called water abrasive suspension jet cutting
are technical precious stones such as sapphires, rubies (WASJC). In the case of this process, the water flow is
and diamonds. initially divided into a main flow and a secondary flow.
After the secondary flow has rinsed an abrasive pressu-
Hard materials can be cut by adding abrasive particles re vessel located in the high-pressure range, it is reuni-
(e.g. garnet sand). In the case of water abrasive injector ted with the main flow and they are both decompressed
jet cutting (WAIJC), these particles are added in the low- in a hard metal nozzle. The higher efficiency is coun-
pressure range. This yields numerous advantages with terbalanced by disadvantages such as the switchability
regard to the wear, the switchability and the interrup- or the non-interruption-free operation. Utilisation fields
tion-free supply. The water jet moves across a mixing are offshore dismantling tasks, the decommissioning of
chamber in which it takes up the abrasive as well as air nuclear technology installations or bomb defusing ope-
and accelerates. The mixture is focused by a hard metal rations.
tube and causes a micro chip removal process on the
Advantages
 suitable for almost all materials, even for very
high material thicknesses
 undercuts as well as hollow and
sandwich structures possible
 small kerf width (0.2 to 1.2 mm)
 approximately right-angled cut faces
 high surface quality
 no thermal influences on the cut edges,
no heat-affected zone and no oxide coat
on the cut edges
 small environmental impacts High-pressure water jet
with abrasive particles

Disadvantages Disadvantages Workpiece

 in comparison with other thermal cutting proces-

 comparatively high investment costs
ses, comparatively high investment costs
 lower cutting speeds
 limited plate thickness range (up to 50 mm with
high-alloyed steel and up to approx. 25 mm with
Kerf approx.
mild steel) 0.8 mm

THE VERSATILE UNIVERSE The ABC of Joining - International Industry Guide

OF WELDING TECHNOLOGY ISSN 0036-7184
G 6253

SCHWEISSEN
DVS Media GmbH,
© DVS Media GmbH, Düsseldorf

Postfach 10 19 40010 Düsseldo

65 rf
Postvertriebsstüc
Gebühr bezahlt k

SCHNEIDEN 3
e
G ISSN
6253 Issu
und

INFORMATION 020120
0554-9965

3 Fachzeitschrift für
Schweißen und verwa 2020
Online
wit
ndte Verfahren
mehr www.schweissenundschneiden.de

compa h your
2020
ßte chnik und
für Schwei
Düsseldorf
GmbH, 40010
Das Magazin
DVS Media 72. JAHRGANG
19 65
Postfach 10 D.
Postvertriebs
stück
R ’S WO R L
t T H E W E L D E
Gebühr bezahl

ny logo
Y F O R
O LO G
T EC H N
G 3794 You´ll Never Wo ses
rk Alone
allied
proc
es

l Schweißen verb r we
lding
and

w te
chni cal jo
urna
Tech
nical
journ
al fo
indet
The ne F Aber nicht nur
RE O nzen hinweg. Interk Kich und privat.
Stahl. Auch Mens

ROBiPA
chen. Berufl o
What’s your
FUTU TRu´l
Über Ländergre g.inf
Alone uttin

ver Work
nd-c
ontinental.
SYo Y l Ne
ing-a

THE « welding challenge?

weld

A N Y D U
ve rb in de t Der gesundh
www.
eitsbewusst
e »Kollege

MP IN en
dheit und

L ß
ißen, Gesun t aufeinander

O E chw ei Let’s get connected.

tes Schwe

C E
perfek
automatisier

S
durch diese ng

C ST
Hier gehen t Hand in Hand – gasabsaugu

WE A
mit Rauch

L
Produktivitä Schweißausrüstung !
at.
A ich und priv
e
abgestimmt unschlagbar

N Ber ufl s. Als Team

ATIO
schen. für Cobot

ntinental.
nd
Auch Men
den Mittelsta
igerung für

TERN
t nur Stahl. eg. Interko ■ Produktivitätsste Qualität
Aber nich grenzen hinw
leibende saugung
■ Gleichb durch Punktab Schweißen
heitsschutz

HE IN Über Länder
■ Top Gesund he Beanspruchung beim
körperlic ig

T
■ Ohne Schulung notwend
■ Keine spezielle Programmierung

30 %
■ Einfache,
intuitive brenner, Halter kit.
beinhaltet Schweiß Absaug
Systemlösung sowie das xFUME ROBO
freundliche
Diese kollegen Stromquelle Neuerscheinun
iROB
er und saubere
Luft.
mehr 3/20

hpaket, die
und Schlauc
Für perfekte
Schweißnähte,
gesunde Schweiß g
chnik und

Sprechen
Sie uns an!
NETZSPANNUN
3/2020

MAXIMALER AUS GSTOLERANZ BEI

für Schweißte

Schweißen und Schneiden

n
prod
uctio
www.fronius.com/tra
nstig
i c o r.c o m
GANGSLEISTUNG.
steel chnolo t
gy ng
erscheinu
i nze l - a b
R – Das Magazin

w w w. b
n te emen Neu
icatio ag
appl n + man essing
proc ing ons e-
troschlack neuen
weld soluti
tio
nova Qualitätssteige
Elek
DER PRAKTIKE

in im
rungeißen Remote
DVS Media GmbHer für die Schw
b15e91-162 • F +49 2ro
ot• 40223 Düsseldorf und flexibler Hinweise
tt • Aachener Straßeb172 additiv laserstrahl-
g: Gewand:schweiß en
-Laserstrahl-
Reduzierung von
Anwendun gefertig
and
T +49 2 11
g 11 15 91-150 • media@dvs
Schneller n en von Al-
cke-Schweiß Entwicklung beim
ity ldin ectio Arbeitsanleitung zum ter Bauteile
Schweißrauch durch
Licht- 4
-media.info • www.dvs-m
Elektroschla
fertigen:
10:0
e Mehrsc Stahlbau
b il W conn
edia.eu
mit Anwendung
imhichtble
chen 13-0
2-20
einseitigen Wider-
lia ongeitern
luftfugen MSG-Impulstechnik
h re ith Valk
von Drehl bogen-Druck
Schweißen e strfahrzeuge n- standspunktschweißen
ig HubreThttungs droge r- Seite 110
H für hy pe
ty w
of in hy
risk ing Seite 100
the
a li cing ld crack
qu
du
at: elding Seite 92 Re ed co lding
pire /valkw induc wet we
ins om di-
youorf tube.c
Düsseld
172 • 40223 Let www.dvs-med
ia.eu
d ad baric
er Straße dia.info •
dvs-meou base
GmbH • Aachen • media@www.y arc
020

DVS Media • F +49 2

11 15 91-150 on of ing
ing 01/2

15 91-162 tigati tur

T +49 2 11 Inves nufac
ma
Cutt

tive
with
and

Discover it now on www.home-of-welding.com

20.i
ndd
nals
Welding

fessio ough ies

4-20
ing
& Cutt
ding g pro tions thr rtunit
cove
r Wel
werin ca oppo
Empo ng qualifi rning
lea
weldi based
work-

4:19
AT 16:5

ION
19
6.20

RMAT
06.0

INFO
HER
FURT
AND
SUES
INT IS E
PLE PR TE EL.D
SAM EOFS
FREE OM
W.H
WW
d 2
y.ind
olog
chn
l_Te
Stee
AZ_

DVS Media GmbH • Aachener Straße 172 • 40223 Düsseldorf

 www.abc-der-fuegetechnik.de/en/