Cutting Methods

Introduction
• Thermal cutting

1. Oxy-fuel cutting
2. Plasma cutting
3. Laser cutting

• Water jet cutting

 Oxy-fuel cutting
• Oxy-fuel cutting uses a flammable gas, generally acetylene or
propane.

• Burning the gas in oxygen, rather than just air, produces a

flame with a high temperature.

• The flame first preheats the workpiece: when a sufficiently

high temperature has been reached, a jet of oxygen produces
the cut by actually burning the metal.

• This produces a metal oxide in the form of liquid slag, which is

blown out of the joint by the jet of gas.
• The flame also helps to maintain the upper surface of the
plate above the ignition temperature of the metal while
cutting is in progress, although most of the necessary heat
required for the cutting comes from combustion of the actual
material being cut.

• For example, when cutting 25 mm steel, about 85 % of the

heat comes from combustion of the iron. In thinner materials,
however, a greater proportion of the heat is applied by the
flame.
 Conti…
Equipment

• Oxy-fuel cutting can be carried out either manually, using a

cutting torch, or by machine, with a numerically-controlled
cutter head.

• The difference between welding torches and cutting torches

is that the latter have a nozzle for the oxygen cutting jet,
generally in the centre of the flame nozzle.
 Torch head
Cutting oxygen
Heating oxygen
Acetylene

Mixed gas
Cutting oxygen
Cutting Nozzle
Pre-heat flame View from the bottom
Oxygen cutting
NOZZL
E FUEL GAS AND
PREHEAT
OXYGEN
DIRECTION OF
MIXTURE
CUT

PRE-HEAT FLAME CUTTING

OXYGEN

Kerf

CUTTING
DRAG STREAM
LINES
10
 Drag Lines
As well as the roughness of the cut face, drag lines across the
surface of the cut can give the operator an indication if the cutting
speed is correct and the right cutting oxygen velocity is being
used.

11
Cutting parameters
High speed vs standard nozzle

1.0
m/min

0.75 HIGH SPEED

CUTTING SPEED

0.5

0.25 STANDARD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
PLATE T H I C K N E S S mm
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Materials

• For successful gas cutting, the material to be cut must fulfil

certain conditions.

• The oxide must have a melting point that is lower than the
melting point of the metal itself.

• In the case of iron, the oxides melt at about 1400 ˚C , which is

lower than the 1530 degree ˚C melting point of low-carbon
iron.

• It is the melting temperature of the oxides that explains why

stainless steel and aluminum ,nickel, chromium alloy, cast
iron not suitable for gas cutting.