What auxiliary gases are used for laser cutting of different materials?

1. Carbon steel
Carbon steel is generally cut using oxygen during laser cutting, which can be divided into positive focus cutting and negative focus cutting. The cross-section of positive adhesive cutting is a glossy or frosted surface, while when using high-power equipment, negative adhesive cutting can be used. The cutting section quality of medium thick plates is slightly poor, but the cutting speed is fast and the efficiency is high. For thin plates, nitrogen or air can be used for cutting, with extremely high efficiency. However, it should be noted that when cutting carbon steel plates with nitrogen or air, the thicker the material, the more burrs there will be.

2. Stainless steel
Laser cutting of stainless steel usually uses nitrogen or air. The cutting effects of these two gases are somewhat different. The cross-section of nitrogen cutting stainless steel is silver white, while the cross-section of air cutting stainless steel appears yellow black. In addition, due to the presence of oxygen in the air, which has a catalytic effect, the cutting speed of air is often faster than that of nitrogen.

3. Aluminum alloy
Laser cutting of aluminum alloys usually uses nitrogen or air. The cross-sections cut by both gases are silver white. Nitrogen cutting of aluminum plates does not produce any oxidation reaction, but since aluminum itself is silver white, although air cutting has oxidation effect, the oxidized aluminum oxide is also white. It should be noted that the cutting speed of aluminum plates is faster than that of stainless steel.

4. Galvanized sheet
Laser cutting of galvanized sheet usually uses nitrogen or air, and the cutting principle is the same as cutting stainless steel.

5. Brass
Laser cutting of brass usually uses nitrogen or air, and the cutting principle is the same as cutting stainless steel.

6. Purple copper
Copper is a highly reflective material, and high-pressure oxygen is usually used during laser cutting. Copper undergoes partial oxidation reaction with oxygen, which helps to reduce laser reflection back to the laser.

7. Titanium alloy
Laser cutting of titanium alloys typically uses air, which is the most cost-effective option. But if you want to maintain the original metallic color of titanium alloy, you should choose an inert gas such as argon for cutting, but this will increase the cost.

8. Composite board
For composite plates made of half stainless steel and half carbon steel, air cutting is usually used, and the cutting principle is the same as cutting stainless steel, usually with carbon steel facing up and stainless steel facing down.

9. Special metallic materials
For special metallic materials with high hardness, air cutting can be attempted. Due to the high hardness of these materials, the cutting speed may be slower, and the specific speed needs to be determined based on the hardness. If the air cutting effect is not good, you can try using high-pressure oxygen for cutting. However, if none of the above methods can achieve cutting, then traditional processing methods can only be used.