LaserToolManager en

8.
Cutting technology
8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4
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Index
Preface
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5
Materials that can be processed
Iron alloys ........................................................................................................................ 6

Stainless steels ................................................................................................................. 7
The classification of stainless steels .................................................................. 8
Aluminium alloys ............................................................................................................ 9
Conventional classifications ............................................................................ 10
Hot-galvanized and electrogalvanized steel .................................................................. 11
Reference materials ....................................................................................................... 12
Maximum thicknesses that can be cut............................................................................ 16
Tools and sub-tools
17
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 17
Cutting tools .................................................................................................................. 17
Marking tools ................................................................................................................ 18
Piercing tools ................................................................................................................. 18
Special tools .................................................................................................................. 18
Architecture of the software application
19
Salvagnini applications .................................................................................................. 19

Structure of the technological data ................................................................................ 20
LaserToolManager ........................................................................................................ 22
Cutting tables ................................................................................................................. 23
General cutting parameters
24
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 24
Assist gases.................................................................................................................... 24
Heat cutting ..................................................................................................... 24
Melt shearing................................................................................................... 25
Using assist gases .......................................................................................................... 25
Importance of the assist gases ......................................................................... 26
Gas purity and cutting performance ................................................................ 27
High-alloy steels.............................................................................................. 27
Aluminium and titanium.................................................................................. 28
Purity of the assist gases.................................................................................. 28
PLM and DCM power modulation ................................................................................ 29
PLM and DCM power modulation as a function of the cutting speed............. 31
Cutting speed ................................................................................................................. 32
Sensor speed and sensor acceleration ............................................................................ 32
Acceleration, deceleration and starting acceleration ..................................................... 32
Stand-off ........................................................................................................................ 32
Type and dimension of the nozzle ................................................................................. 33
Focus position ............................................................................................................... 34
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Tool radius .................................................................................................................... 35

Settling time before cutting ........................................................................................... 35
Cutting and piercing sensor thresholds .......................................................................... 35
Piercing sequences ........................................................................................................ 36
Piercing time.................................................................................................................. 36
Ramp initial value and time ........................................................................................... 37
Sensor delay length........................................................................................................ 37
Settling time before piercing ......................................................................................... 37
Sensor activation height................................................................................................. 37
Maximum speed and acceleration on curve ................................................................... 38
Attenuation for effect of S-shaped bends....................................................................... 38
Maximum variations for abrupt acceleration and braking ............................................. 38
Graphic interfaces of the general and local versions of LaserToolManager .................. 39
Example of the general version of LaserToolManager for the material
indicated .......................................................................................................... 39
Example of the local version of LaserToolManager for the Cutting toolclass and the Cutting sub-tool ...................................................................... 41
Example of the local version of LaserToolManager for the Cutting toolclass and the Piercing sub-tool ................................................................... 43
Example of the local version of LaserToolManager for the Cutting toolclass and the Accurate piercing sub-tool...................................................... 44
Example of the local version of LaserToolManager for the Chiselling
tool-class and the Accurate piercing sub-tool .............................................. 45
Example of the local version of LaserToolManager for the Marking toolclass and the Cutting sub-tool ...................................................................... 46
Cutting quality parameters
48
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 48
Width of the cut edge .................................................................................................... 48
Roughness of the cut edge ............................................................................................. 49
Rectangularity of the cut edges ...................................................................................... 50
Striations on the cut edge .............................................................................................. 50
Dross on the bottom of the cut part ............................................................................... 51
Heat cutting of mild steel ................................................................................ 51
Melt shearing of stainless steel ........................................................................ 52
Melt shearing of aluminium alloys .................................................................. 52
Cratering ........................................................................................................................ 52
Heat affected zone ......................................................................................................... 53
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Preface
Introduction
This manual provides technological and technical information about the
"Technological data tables" and "Cutting tables" applications which can be
activated by the operator for correct use of the Salvagnini laser cutting system.
The first part contains a brief description of the materials that are normally
used for laser cutting. It gives details of their chemical and physical
specifications and their behaviour in response to cutting stress, together with
the standard names that are used to identify them.
The second part analyses the different uses of a laser beam, virtually
classifying it as tools and sub-tools for three different processes: piercing,
marking and cutting.
We then describe the architecture of the software applications that can be used
to manage the technological data. Here you will find a chapter describing the
parameters that can be accessed by the user to control the cutting process.
The manual ends with a list of the cutting quality faults that are most
commonly generated if the parameters are set incorrectly, together with
suggestions on how to remedy them.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Materials that can be processed
Iron alloys
Of all the elements that can be alloyed with iron, the most important is without
doubt carbon. Small variations in its concentration give rise to radical changes
in the mechanical and thermal resistance of the iron.
Iron alloys
Cast irons
C>2%
Steels
C<=2%
Alloy steels
Low-alloy steels
Each element
in alloy <5%
High-alloy steels
At least one element
in alloy 5%
Non-alloy steels
Non-stainless
steels
Stainless steels
Fe+Cr( 10.5%)+C
Martensitic steels
Fe+Cr(12 19%)
+C(0.08 1.2%)
Ferritic steels
Fe+Cr(10.5 30%)
+C(0.015 0.08%)
Austenitic steels
Fe+Cr(16 28%)+Ni(6 32%)
+C(0.02 0.1%)
Family tree of iron alloys
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
The iron-carbon alloys that are normally used for laser cutting contain less
than 2% carbon and may or may not contain alloying elements. They belong to
the category of low carbon content non-stainless steels, commonly known as
"steel plate".
The steel plate that is most suitable for laser cutting is bright (cold-rolled) or
pickled (hot-rolled with chemical removal of the oxide). Black plate (hotrolled) usually has a highly uniform surface layer of oxide that does not
significantly affect cutting. Rusty steel plate is very difficult to cut, mainly
because the layer of rust is irregular. Sandblasted steel plate has permanent
inclusions of particles of silicon which prevent the material from melting:
acceptable results can only be obtained by energetically brushing the surface
of the plate.
If there is any paint on the plates, it will absorb energy, making them more
difficult to cut. Moreover, paint tends to flake away and peel off around the
cutting zone. Heat-resistant paints, such as ceramic paints, totally prevent
cutting. Another important factor which must be taken into consideration is the
toxicity of the fumes generated when vaporizing paint.
Stainless steels
The term stainless steels refers to all alloys based on iron, chrome, carbon
and other lesser elements such as nickel, molybdenum, manganese, silicon and
titanium which make them particularly resistant to corrosion.
This is due to the ability of these alloys to passivate in a sufficiently oxidizing
environment through the formation of a film of adsorbed oxygen on the
surface, protecting the material underneath it from corrosion.
Stainless steels belong to the category of high-alloy steels, as shown in the
family tree of iron alloys given above.
Other types of stainless steels which are not shown in this family tree are
austenitic (with Cr, Mn and Ni), austenitic-ferritic (Duplex or Dual Phase)
and precipitation hardened (PH).
The behaviour of stainless steels during laser cutting is basically the same for
both austenitic steels, such as AISI 304, and martensitic steels, such as AISI
403. In the case of the latter, laser cutting accentuates the surface hardening on
the walls of the cut edge, usually to favourable effect. Ferritic steels, without
Ni, such as AISI 430, allow a slightly higher speed and a better finish.
Moreover, being magnetic, they create fewer problems when the blanks are
destacked from the pack in order to be fed to the system.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
The classification of stainless steels

Before we continue to describe the different families of material, we must
provide some information about their identification in terms of the European
and international standards, given that it is common practice to order material
from sheet metal suppliers using only its identification code.
The best-known classifications are AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute),
ISO (International Standardization Organization) and EN (European Norms),
which aims to unify all the standards applied in the various countries in
Europe. Local classifications such as UNI for Italy, AENOR for Spain,
AFNOR for France, BSI for Great Britain, DIN for Germany, GOST for
Russia, JISC for Japan and MNC, SIS and SMS for Sweden, still survive in the
stainless steel market.
The American Iron and Steel Institute sub-divides stainless steels into three
categories:
austenitic steels with chrome-manganese-nickel, identified by a threefigure number starting with 2 (e.g. 2xx);
austenitic steels with chrome-nickel, identified by the number 3 (e.g. 3xx);
ferritic and martensitic steels with just chrome, identified by the number 4
(e.g. 4xx).
The International Standardization Organization has the task of issuing norms at
world-level to which the individual international and community standards
must conform. In the stainless steel sector, it has defined the ISO 683/XIII-86
standard, which is divided into other standards to identify stainless steels for
specific uses.
The European standard identifies stainless steel with the code UNI-EN 10088
which, in turn, is divided into three parts:
UNI-EN 10088-1 lists the different types or families of stainless steels,
describes them and gives their physical and chemical composition;
UNI-EN 10088-2 specifies the technical conditions for the supply of hot
and cold-rolled blanks and coils, giving the relative dimensions and
tolerances, the data for ordering blanks and information about
manufacturing methods and heat treatments;
UNI-EN 10088-3 contains the same information as the above standard but
refers to semi-finished products, bars, rods and sections for general uses.
Under the European standard, a stainless steel is defined by an alphanumeric
string which gives the carbon content, the chemical symbols of the elements in
the alloy and the mean percentage content of each element, separated by a
hyphen. For example, X5CrNi18-10 indicates an alloy steel (X) with 0.05%
carbon (5), 18% chrome and 10% nickel.
This type of steel can also be identified by the number 1.4301 where the first
figure indicates the number of the material (1 = steel), the second pair of
figures (43) indicates the group to which it belongs on account of the chemical
composition of the material and the last two figures classify the material within
its group.
In addition to the standards, we should also mention the acceptance
specifications. These define the characteristics of steel products such as sheets,
forged parts, bars, rods, welded and non-welded tubes, wires and so on. The
best-known and most-used of these specifications are those produced by the
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) which uses the AISI
names to classify material.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Aluminium alloys
Aluminium is a material that offers good resistance to corrosion and
atmospheric agents. As a result, it is widely used in a large number of fields. It
also has a low specific weight, making it light, together with excellent thermal
conductivity and high plasticity. All of these characteristics make it an
indispensable material for the composition of a wide variety of metal objects.
The pure aluminium available on the market is generally 99.5% strong and
constitutes the starting base for the production of aluminium alloys. Secondary
aluminium, with a much higher degree of purity, is destined for decorative use
or for the production of special alloys in which protection against corrosion is
important.
As with all metal alloys, it is the chemical elements, known as alloying
elements, which are added to aluminium that determine the physical and
mechanical characteristics of the resulting alloy. The alloying elements for
aluminium are copper, silicon, magnesium, manganese and zinc. They can be
added singly to form binary alloys or combined with other elements to form
more complex alloys.
Non-iron metals, such as aluminium, are excellent reflectors, absorbing less
CO2 laser radiation (wavelength of 10.6 m). Much of the incident radiation is
reflected, limiting performance and sometimes even making laser cutting
impossible. The lower the percentage of aluminium in the alloy, the easier it is
to cut. The most commonly used alloy in aluminium laser cutting applications
is AlMg3. This contains magnesium which reacts exothermically during the
cutting process, increasing the temperature and reducing reflectivity: both
these factors help to improve energy absorption.
Magnesium is added to aluminium up to a maximum strength of 10-12% and
makes the alloy particularly resistant to corrosion. Moreover, Al-Mg alloys are
heat-resistant, ductile and easy to process, making them suitable for welded
joints. In proportions of up to 10%, Mg produces a general increase in the
mechanical characteristics.
Magnesium oxidizes easily, reacting explosively. As a result, the accumulation
of magnesium dust in closed containers generates a fire hazard, i.e. the risk of
reactions characterized by an increase in the volume of the reactants, resulting
in a pressure wave capable of damaging parts of the machine. In practice, the
problem is limited to the fume suction and filtering system, where magnesium
powder is most likely to accumulate. For this reason, we use a specially
designed non-flammable version of filtration unit with a wall that will yield,
channelling the pressure wave into a shaped conveyor so as to absorb the
impact energy and prevent further damage. These filtration units are usually
installed out of doors.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Conventional classifications
The UNI standard classifies aluminium alloys according to whether they have
been obtained by casting or plastic processing, identifying them with the
letters G and P respectively, accompanied by the strength and chemical
symbols of the various alloying elements.
A cast alloy is classified as follows:
1) Indication of the type of casting:
- Gs: sand-cast blank;
- Gc: shell-cast blank;
- Gp: pressure-cast blank;
- SG: secondary alloy;
- GD: pressure-cast alloy.
2) Symbol for aluminium, followed by the predominant elements in the
alloy, together with their strength.
3) Symbols of any corrective elements that characterize the type of alloy.
4) Any further information about the status of the supply, such as:
- T: solution hardening with water cooling;
- N: natural ageing after solution hardening;
- A: artificial ageing at a temperature above 50 degrees;
- S: dimensional stabilization;
- R: annealing;
- B: tempering i.e. solution hardening followed by natural or artificial
ageing.
Thus, for example, Gc-AlCu4NiMgTi-TA identifies a shell-cast blank alloy,
containing 4% of copper, nickel, magnesium and titanium, hardened and
artificially aged.
The same type of classification is used for alloys obtained as a result of plastic
processing, with the letter P indicating the type of processing performed:
-
Pl: rolled semi-finished part;

Pe: extruded semi-finished part;
Pf: forged semi-finished part;
Ps: pressed semi-finished part;
Pt: drawn semi-finished part.
In the case of cast alloys, the degree of hardening can be specified more
clearly. This is conventionally indicated by the letter H, followed by a twofigure number indicating the percentage of hardening.
Alongside the UNI classification, wide use is also made of the standard of the
American Aluminium Association (AA). This is used for alloys that are
obtained by plastic processing.
The American system uses a four-figure number to define the material. The
first figure identifies the group to which the alloy belongs:
-
technical aluminium (minimum Al=99.0%);

Al-Cu, Al-Cu-Mg and Al-Cu-Mg-Si type alloys;
Al-Mn, Al-Mn-Mg and Al-Mn-Si type alloys;
Al-Si type alloys;
Al-Mg type alloys;
Al-Mg2Si type alloys;
Al-MgZn2 type alloys.
The second figure defines any variants of the original alloy, for which the
number 0 (zero) is used. The last two figures identify the individual alloys
within the group. For the first group, on the other hand, they indicate the
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
degree of purity of the aluminium. For example, alloy 1050 is a technical
aluminium containing 99.50% Al.
The aluminium alloy AlMg3 is generally used for laser cutting applications.
This is indicated as EN AW 5754 Al-Mg3 PERALUMAN (3.1% magnesium,
0.25% manganese and 0.15% chrome).
Hot-galvanized and electrogalvanized steel

The surface of mild steel plate is often treated with a layer of zinc to improve
its resistance to corrosion. Generally speaking, there are two methods of
galvanizing material: with hot galvanizing, the steel is immersed in a bath of
molten zinc, whereas with electrogalvanizing, the sheet is coated with zinc by
a process of electrolytic plating. The first type of galvanizing gives a thicker
layer of zinc, making the sheet more resistant to corrosion.
Galvanized steel is difficult to cut by laser: because of its low melting point,
the zinc releases fumes into the cutting zone and these fumes absorb energy,
reducing cutting efficiency.
If the layer of zinc is more than a few m thick, it tends to flake at the sides of
the cut edge, reducing the anti-corrosion protection. Lastly, zinc fumes are
potentially toxic and require filtering units that can even block particles with
an aerodynamic diameter of less than 1 m.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Reference materials
The following tables list the maximum thicknesses of the various materials
that can be cut with CO2 or fiber sources depending on the different types of
gas used. In all cases, the minimum thickness that can be cut is 0.5 mm.
By quality production we mean the absence of burring and process
repeatability over the entire worktable. In quality production, it is possible to
obtain holes with a diameter of up to half the thickness. In production at the
limit values, the diameter of the smallest hole that can be obtained with quality
is equivalent to the thickness of the material.
Reference materials for 3 kW CO2 Laser
MATERIAL
STANDARD
GAS
THICKNESS
(mm)
Quality
Limit
Oxygen
15
20
Nitrogen
Air
Nitrogen
10
Air
EN 10088
Nitrogen
EN 10088
Air
EN 10327
Nitrogen
EN 10327
Air
EN 10152
Nitrogen
EN 10152
Air
EN AW 5754
Nitrogen
EN AW 5754
Air
Mild steel
S235JR
EN 10025
EN 10025
Stainless steel
X5CrNi18-10 1.4301
EN 10088
Stainless steel + plastic film

X5CrNi18-10 1.4301 +
PVC one side70m
Hot galvanized steel
DX51D + Z200
Electrogalvanized steel
DC01 + ZE 25/25
Aluminium
AlMg3
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Reference materials for 4 kW CO2 Laser
MATERIAL
STANDARD
GAS
THICKNESS
(mm)
Quality
Limit
Oxygen
18
25
Nitrogen
Air
Nitrogen
10
12
Air
EN 10088
Nitrogen
EN 10088
Air
EN 10327
Nitrogen
EN 10327
Air
EN 10152
Nitrogen
EN 10152
Air
EN AW 5754
Nitrogen
10
EN AW 5754
Air
Mild steel
S235JR
EN 10025
EN 10025
Stainless steel
X5CrNi18-10 1.4301
EN 10088

X5CrNi18-10 1.4301 +
PVC one side70m
DX51D + Z200
DC01 + ZE 25/25
Aluminium
AlMg3
Systems equipped with CO2 laser source must not be used for cutting:
pure aluminium or alloys containing more than 96% of aluminium
aluminium copper alloys
brass
copper
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Reference materials for 2 kW fiber laser
MATERIAL
STANDARD
GAS
THICKNESS
(mm)
Quality
Limit
Oxygen
12
18
Nitrogen
Air
Nitrogen
10
Air
EN 10088
Nitrogen
EN 10088
Air
EN 10327
Nitrogen
EN 10327
Air
EN 10152
Nitrogen
EN 10152
Air
EN AW 1050A
Nitrogen
EN AW 1050A
Air
EN 1652
Nitrogen
EN 1652
Oxygen
Mild steel
S235JR
EN 10025
EN 10025
Stainless steel
X5CrNi18-10 1.4301
EN 10088

X5CrNi18-10 1.4301 +
PVC one side 70m
DX51D + Z200
DC01 + ZE 25/25
Aluminium
AlMg3
Brass
CuZn37 CW508L H055
Copper
(*)
(***)
Cu-ETP CW004A H040
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(*)
(*)
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Reference materials for 3 kW fiber laser
MATERIAL
STANDARD
GAS
THICKNESS
(mm)
Quality
Limit
Oxygen
15
20
Nitrogen
Air
Nitrogen
12
Air
EN 10088
Nitrogen
EN 10088
Air
EN 10327
Nitrogen
EN 10327
Air
EN 10152
Nitrogen
EN 10152
Air
EN AW 1050A
Nitrogen
EN AW 1050A
Air
EN 1652
Nitrogen
EN 1652
Oxygen
Mild steel
S235JR
EN 10025
EN 10025
Stainless steel
X5CrNi18-10 1.4301
EN 10088

X5CrNi18-10 1.4301 +
PVC one side 70m
DX51D + Z200
DC01 + ZE 25/25
Aluminium
AlMg3
Brass
CuZn37 CW508L H055
Copper
(**)
(***)
(*)
(***)
Cu-ETP CW004A H040

(*)
(*)
(*)
Burr can be present, but it can easily be removed on thickness up to 5 mm

Aluminium and magnesium alloys can generate potentially explosive
dusts. We recommend that you use filtering units equipped with suitable
protection devices.
Other types of copper and brass (hard and half-hard) can be cut by
reducing the speed.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Maximum thicknesses that can be cut

The maximum thicknesses of the materials that can be cut with the different
types of laser source are shown below.
The quality of the cuts on limit thicknesses will depend on the geometries
required, the quality of the material and the operating conditions of the system.
At the limit values, there may be burrs on the lower edge of the cut.
DC015 Power 1500 W CO2

Mild steel
(S185JR,S235JR, RAEX 250 C LASER)
12
Stainless steel (AISI 304)
Aluminium (AlMg3)
Thickness [mm]
Mild steel
15
Aluminium (AlMg3)
Thickness [mm]
Mild steel
18
Aluminium (AlMg3)
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Thickness [mm]
Thickness [mm]
Mild steel
20
12
Aluminium (AlMg3)
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Tools and sub-tools
Introduction
The wide variety of situations in which laser beams can be employed are
catalogued using the familiar concept of "tool". Different "tools" are used in
different working conditions.
In the first place, we have defined three main classes of tool:
- cutting,
- marking,
- piercing.
Cutting tools
The cutting tool-class can be subdivided into different tools that allow the
cutting parameters to be adapted to the geometric form of the profile being cut
and the type of cutting technology used.
Each tool is then subdivided into three sub-tools: cutting, piercing and
accurate piercing. The last of these is identified in the programming language
by adding the letter P to the tool number.
Tool 1
Sub-tool for fast piercing TA 1

Sub-tool for accurate piercing TA 1 P
Tool 2
Sub-tool for fast piercing TA 2

Sub-tool for accurate piercing TA 2 P
For almost all materials, tool 1 automatically adapts its cutting parameters to
the geometric form of the profile being cut. For thick sheets of mild steel, a
second tool has been introduced to cut profiles that are shorter than, or the
same length as, the thickness of the sheet. In such cases, in fact, the quantities
of heat are so high that a completely different set of parameters from that used
in tool 1 is required.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Gas
Tool
Type of contour
Ratio between thickness

and hole diameter
Mild steel
O2
TA 1
TA 2
Large
Small
>1:1
<1:1
Stainless steel
Film-covered stainless
steel
Mild steel
Aluminium
Hot galvanized
Electrogalvanized
N2
TA 1
All
Materials
Assignment of cutting tools according to technology used
To pierce the material correctly, select a lead-in length of one and a half times
the thickness of the material; for lead-ins inside circles, select a dimension that
corresponds to the radius of the circle. This will cause the laser cutting process
to start as soon as the material has been pierced and, in the case of fast
piercing on medium-thick mild steel, prevent the crater made by the piercing
from ruining the profile of the part.
The distinction between accurate piercing and fast piercing is given not only
by the letter P next to the cutting tool in the program but also by the different
piercing parameters in the cutting table. This difference is very noticeable
when cutting mild steel with oxygen but irrelevant when cutting with nitrogen
because large craters are not created and the quality of fast piercing is
therefore as high as that of accurate piercing.
Marking tools
Marking is a surface incision made at very low power to imprint alphanumeric
characters, signs or symbols on the blank. No piercing sub-tools are therefore
required. Marking can be performed using either nitrogen or oxygen,
depending on the material being processed and the type of finish required.
With oxygen, the writing is opaque black; with nitrogen, it is shiny silver grey.
Piercing tools
Piercing is a pointed incision made on the surface of the blank to identify the
point at which drilling should start. Sometimes these holes are made with a
drill instead of a laser beam in order to facilitate subsequent thread-cutting
operations. With this class, only the sub-tool for accurate piercing can be used.
Piercing can be performed using either nitrogen or oxygen, depending on the
material being processed.
Special tools
The user can define special tools for particular or customized processes, such
as micro-welding or pre-cutting just the protective film.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Architecture of the software

application
Salvagnini applications
The LaserToolManager application is the name of the set of software
applications used to manage the technological data on the Salvagnini laser
systems. Basically, the application is configured as a database, the general
database, which contains the cutting parameters arranged under material,
thickness, cutting technology, optics, tool and sub-tool. Another database, the
local database, is associated with each individual program and only
contains the data for the material, thickness, cutting technology and optics
specified.
The general version of the graphic interface gives the user access to the
general technological data, whereas the local version allows him to view and
modify the technological data for the individual program.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Structure of the technological data

The data in the technological database is structured as a series of co-related
definitions arranged in cascade format as shown below:
LASER
SYSTEM
The laser system can be equipped with
a number of laser sources"
LASER
SOURCE
Each laser source can process many
materials
MATERIAL
Each material can be processed in an
infinite number of thickesses
THICKNESS
Each thickness can be processed using

different
assist
gases
(cutting
technologies)
CUTTING
TECHNOLOGY
Optics with different focal lengths
can be associated with each
technology
FOCAL LENGTH
A tool-class can be associated with
each optic
TOOL-CLASS
Each tool-class can have different
tools
TOOL
Each tool has from 1 to 3 sub-tools
SUB-TOOL
Each sub-tool has a number of
parameters
PARAMETER
Each parameter has a single value

VALUE
Structure of the data in the technological database
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
As shown in the above diagram, the optimum cutting parameters are chosen in
the following order:
LASER SOURCE: the Laser System can use different models of laser source.
Two types of laser source are currently used: gas CO2 and fiber Yb:YAG.
Each type has different power levels, requiring specific cutting parameters.
MATERIAL: once the source has been defined, different materials can be
processed. Each material is identified by a single material code and is
described by the following properties:
- material code;
- name (descriptive string);
- family (iron, steel, ...);
- permitted range of thicknesses;
- date of creation.
THICKNESS: different thicknesses can be processed for each material
chosen. Each thickness is identified by the following properties:
- value of thickness;
- date of last modification.
CUTTING TECHNOLOGY: each material can be cut using different assist
gases.
The following properties describe the cutting technology used:
- assist gas code;
- name (descriptive string).
FOCAL LENGTH: each material can be processed using lenses with different
focal lengths. The following properties describe the focal length used:
-focal code;
- name (descriptive string).
TOOL-CLASS: this determines the type of processing performed (cutting,
marking or piercing) and is identified by:
- class code.
TOOL: this contains the data needed to process the material and thickness
chosen and is identified by the following properties:
- tool number;
- description.
SUB-TOOL: this contains a set of parameters for the tool chosen. It is
associated with one of the intermediate processing phases: cutting and piercing
on, or off, the profile and is identified by:
- sub-tool code.
PARAMETER: this, with its VALUE, represents a specific processing
characteristic and is identified by:
- parameter code;
- permitted range of values;
- unit of measurement;
- descriptive string.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
LaserToolManager
The LaserToolManager application is used to manage graphically the
information in the general database. The customer can modify only the
materials he himself has created in the database (and for which he is specified
as the owner) but not the Salvagnini reference database (for which Salvagnini
is specified as the owner).
The database is therefore divided into two parts:
1. Salvagnini reference database
For materials created by Salvagnini, the application allows the user to:
view the data contained in the database and export it to the local cutting
tables;
copy a material, thickness, optic, technology, focal length or tool to a new
database owned by the user.
2. Customer database
For materials created by the customer, the application allows the user to:
create, modify and eliminate materials from the customer database;
create, modify and eliminate thicknesses;
create, modify and eliminate tools;
define materials, thicknesses or tools from the data already present in the
database;
import data from other general databases;
export data to the local cutting tables.
The customer cannot delete or modify a material, thickness, optic,

technology or tool that is declared to have been created by Salvagnini.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Cutting tables
The local version of the LaserToolManager application is used to create the
local cutting tables and to manage graphically the cutting parameters.
The user can create new tools as required and modify the cutting parameters.
These will then be exported to the users general database by the specific
command Export all tools to main database (which is only enabled for the
materials or thicknesses owned by the user).
He can also:
import data from the general database;
export the tool selected to the main database;
import data from other programs, provided they have the same material,
thickness, technology, focal length and tool;
export data to other programs, provided they have the same material,
thickness, technology, focal length and tool.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
General cutting parameters
Introduction
Both the general and the local versions of the LaserToolManager interface
show all the technological parameters characterizing the type of material and
the thickness about to be cut. In this chapter, we shall analyze them one by
one, explaining what they mean and how best to use them.
This chapter contains numerical references in square brackets, such as [nn],
for which you should refer to the paragraph entitled Graphic interfaces of the
general and local versions of LaserToolManager.
Assist gases
The first item in the general cutting tables is the type of assist gas to be used
for laser cutting. Two assist gases [1] - Fig. 1, page 39 (oxygen and
nitrogen) are available: the choice of gas will depend on the type of material to
be cut and the degree of finish required on the cut edge. The two cutting
technologies which use these gases are described below, highlighting the
advantages and disadvantages of each.
Heat cutting
Heat cutting uses oxygen as the assist gas and is employed for ferrous
material. The oxygen oxidizes the surface of the material it comes into contact
with. This has two effects:
1.
It reduces the surface melt temperature of the material with respect to that
of pure iron.
2.
It unleashes an exothermic reaction that releases an amount of energy

which is equivalent to that of the laser beam.
Both these effects are useful when cutting ferrous material, given that a far
greater amount of energy is available than when cutting with nitrogen and the
melt temperature of the material can be lowered. This means that the ideal
thermal conditions for cutting are reached more quickly and explains why
cutting with oxygen is called "heat cutting". The oxygen acts as a supporter of
combustion for a process which releases more thermal energy in addition to
that already provided by the laser beam. This additional heat means that even
thick ferrous material can be cut using less laser beam power than when
performing melt shearing with nitrogen.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Generally speaking, the rules for efficient heat cutting are as follows:
-
use heat cutting only for ferrous materials where more energy than that
already provided by the laser beam is required;
balance the power [4] [5] - Fig. 1, page 39 and the pressure of O2 [2]
Fig. 1, page 39 that is released in the material according to its thickness;
use a focus position on the surface of the material (zero or positive focus
position) to optimize the power density on the surface and thus trigger the
exothermic reaction of the oxygen.
Melt shearing
During melt shearing, the material in the cut edge is melted by the intensity of
the laser beam and then removed by a high-pressure jet of inert assist gas
(such as nitrogen).
This technique is mainly used when cutting stainless and galvanized steels or
aluminium alloys. To improve the expulsion of the molten material, the laser
beam is focussed inside the material or even underneath it. As a result, the
walls of the cut edge slope inwards, making it easier for the assist gas to pass
through. Generally speaking then, the following cutting parameters must be set
for efficient high-speed melt shearing:
-
cutting with the maximum power [4] [5] - Fig. 1, page 39;
focus position inside the material or even underneath its surface (negative
focus positions);
high nitrogen pressures (more than 8-10 bars) [2] - Fig. 1, page 39;
wide-diameter nozzle (1.8-3) to facilitate the exit of the assist gas.
Using assist gases

This paragraph is taken from a technical article by A. Farwer, published by
Messer Italia S.p.A.
Nowadays, manufacturers of pre-formed parts frequently use lasers to cut
them. Thanks to an extraordinary combination of features, laser cutting gives
excellent results with thin sheet metal. The thin cutting line, the low quantity
of heat produced and the small amount of distortion make laser technology
impossible to beat in this sector. Moreover, the surfaces are processed with
complete accuracy and, as a result, pre-formed parts cut using laser technology
do not usually require finishing treatment. Laser cutting is therefore the ideal
complement to plasma and torch cutting. Laser technology can be used to cut
almost all metals and even non-metals such as wood, plastic and ceramic.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Importance of the assist gases

Gases make an invisible contribution to many thermal welding and cutting
processes. Their importance is often underrated because people rarely know
exactly what the function of each gas is. The price of the gas itself is not an
important cost factor in welding or cutting, because it generally represents less
than about 5% of total running costs. Too often, however, we forget that gases
can nevertheless constitute an extremely decisive cost factor on account of
their indirect impact on production: a gas that improves performance or
component quality will generate a considerable reduction in costs.
This is why the gas used in laser cutting must be chosen carefully according to
the type of material and cutting required, so as to obtain the highest quality
and make the greatest savings.
In part, this also implies gas purity problems, where this is a determining
factor for the cuts made. Messer Griesheim have taken a system which has
long been in use for protective gas welding and developed it to analyse laser
cutting costs. The figure below shows a typical cost structure.
100%
95%
50%
2.5%
1.5%
1%
0%
space costs
energy costs
assist gas costs
laser gas costs
Laser cutting cost structure
Laser cutting technology is mainly used to process non-alloy or low-alloy

steels. The use of oxygen as an assist gas gives decidedly higher performance
and better results than other assist gases, because laser cutting is actually a
kind of torch process in that, during the cutting process, combustible energy is
released from the steel.
Numerous experiments have shown that the purity of the oxygen used for
cutting has a considerable effect on the laser power. Technical oxygen is
generally guaranteed 99.5% pure, which gas manufacturers define as 2.5
degree purity. At international level, gas purity is defined as follows: the figure
in front of the dot indicates the number of nines (before and after the decimal
point) whereas the figure after the dot indicates the last decimal figure.
Examples: 2.0 = 99.0%, 3.5 = 99.95%, 4.6 = 99.996% and 5.0 = 99.999%.
- 26 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Gas purity and cutting performance

The higher the purity of the oxygen compared to these technical quality
standards, the higher the cutting performance. The percentage increase in
performance increases parallel to the increase in the thickness of the material.
Comparative experiments on different impurities (argon, nitrogen,
hydrocarbons and humidity) have shown that the decisive element is not so
much the type of impurity as the concentration of it. The best cutting results
have been obtained with 99.95% purity. This means that whereas lower
degrees of purity result in lower performance, higher degrees of purity do not
given even better performance. Cost analysis has shown a saving of more than
10% for sheets 3 mm thick and almost 30% for sheets 6 mm thick. It follows
that even when costs are decidedly higher because an extremely pure assist gas
is being used, a saving can still be obtained because the cutting speed is higher
too. The figure below shows the results obtained.
Costs per metre

of cut
b
a - technical
oxygen
a
a
b - 3.5 degree
pure oxygen
A = 3 mm
B = 6 mm
C = 10 mm
Costs per metre of cut as a function of thickness and oxygen purity

The fact that high purity oxygen allows greater thicknesses to be cut is also
important. By "thicknesses to be cut" we mean those thicknesses that can be
cut without producing any dross. When a laser is used to cut steel, there must
be absolutely no dross, meaning that no finishing treatment is required. With
high-purity oxygen, excellent results can still be obtained on sheets 10 mm
thick using 1 kW of laser power: the same cannot be said of technical oxygen.
High-alloy steels
With high-alloy steels, the oxygen will still provide the maximum cutting
power but the surface will contain traces of oxidation after processing. This is
why nitrogen, which produces shiny cuts without dross is often preferred to
oxygen when cutting thin sheet metal. It does, however, create a number of
problems because the thickness that can be cut is decidedly lower than for
non-alloy steels. This problem can, to a certain extent, be overcome by
increasing the cutting pressure. Nowadays, it is common to work with pressure
of 15 bars or more: this so-called high-pressure technology increases both the
thickness that can be cut and the cutting power. It remains to be seen whether
further developments, such as the geometry of special high-pressure nozzles,
will produce a further increase in performance. With oxygen, almost the same
maximum sheet thickness can be reached as for non-alloy steels.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Aluminium and titanium

In the case of aluminium or copper, it is important to remember that the
surface of the material is highly reflective of laser light. This does not help the
cutting process. Generally speaking, this problem can partly be overcome by
roughening or colouring the surface to be processed, but this is not easy. As
with chrome-nickel steel, the highest quality cuts are obtained using nitrogen.
Oxygen provides higher cutting power and only slightly reduced quality, with
the result that oxygen is generally used. In the case of aluminium, the
formation of dross is not as serious a problem as for steel, because it is easy to
remove. Titanium is a highly reactive metal and incorporates oxygen and
nitrogen in its surface at relatively low temperatures, resulting in considerable
hardening problems. For this reason, argon must generally be used to process
titanium as it produces clean, high-quality cuts.
Purity of the assist gases

The table below lists the different assist gases together with the materials for
which they are most suitable. The different purity requirements for each gas
must also be taken into account. The second table shows them with the lasing
gases. We have already discussed the question of the degree of oxygen purity
required for non-alloy steels. In the case of nitrogen, it is usually possible to
use technical quality oxygen although this may produce temper colours, in
which case it is better to use oxygen with a higher degree of purity.
Assist gas
O2
N2
3.5
4.0
2.5
2.8
Purity
Purity requirements for assist gases
The valves and gas tubes must also be appropriate for the degree of purity
required. Maximum protection against impurities is given by valves with a
membrane of alloy steel (known as valves for high-purity gas) whereas
stainless steel is preferable for the tubes. Synthetic materials, such as PVC or
polyamide, which release large quantities of humidity or hydrocarbons, must
never be used. With reservations, polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene
have proved suitable. As for all gas welding and cutting processes, the entire
range of supply systems is available for CO2 laser cutting processes too: from
the canisters to the evaporators which make liquid gas available at a low
temperature.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
PLM and DCM power modulation

The energy transmitted by the source to the material being cut can be emitted
in either continuous mode or pulsed mode (i.e. a rapid sequence of alternate
starts and stops in the activity of the source). The continuous and pulsed
modes of operation are known respectively as PWM and DCM. They are
modulated separately in order to obtain the cutting power required as per the
following equation:
Pcutting = Psource PWMDCM

Continuous modulation or PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is expressed as a
percentage indicating the duration of the radio pulses stimulating the source
compared to the full periodic impulse. Pulsed modulation or DCM (Duty
Cycle Modulation) is always expressed as a percentage indicating the duration
of the activity of the radio-frequency stimulating the source, in a cyclical
sequence of starts and stops. For example, we can measure half the cutting
power for a 3000 watt source by acting on the PWM continuous modulation,
or the DCM pulsed modulation, or both modulations, as follows:
Pcuttting=3000x(50%)x(100%)=1500 watts continuous

Pcuttting=3000x(100%)x(50%)=1500 watts pulsed
Pcuttting=3000x(70%)x(70%) =1470 watts pulsed
In the first example given, half the nominal power of the source is transferred
to the part in continuous mode by acting on the power modulation
(PWM=50%) with a saturated pulsed mode (DCM=100%=continuous mode).
In the second example, with the maximum power modulation (PWM =100%)
and half the pulse rate (DCM=50%), half the nominal power is transferred to
the part in pulsed mode.
The third example gives another mode of pulsed operation, with about half the
power, obtained by acting on both modulations.
Figures b) and c) show graphically the activity of the source for the first two
examples given above. The sum of the areas covered by the grey rectangles is
the same in both cases. This means that the same amount of energyis
transmitted to the material during the 200 microsecond period indicated
(duration of the "DUTY" cycle), but in one case it is distributed uniformly
(continuous) whereas in the other case it is concentrated on half the period
(pulsed). For easier reading, we can rewrite the initial formula as follows:
Pcutting = (Psource PWM)DCM = PLM DCM,

with PLM (Power Level Modulation) expressed in Watts and DCM again as a
percentage %. With reference to Fig. 1 on page 39, we can thus define the next
two pieces of technological data to be set in the table as PLM power level [4]
and DCM on-off pulsing [5].
If the laser system has a CO2, source, the laser program drop-down menu [6]
allows the user to select the pulse frequency from between 8 and 5000 Hz with
one of the 64 programs available for this purpose (pulse period from 125 to
0.2 ms).
If, instead, the laser system has a fiber source, the frequency can be set using
the Frequency cursor.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
P (W)
f = 60kHz
~ 15s
PWM=100%
DUTY=100%
Pcut=3000W
3000
200
100
300
400
t (s)
a) Continuous wave mode at maximum power. The laser source is stimulated with radio pulses lasting
about 15 s. These pulses are repeated at a constant frequency of 60 kHz.
P (W)
f = 60kHz
~ 7.5s
PWM=50%
DUTY=100%
Pcut=1500W
3000
300
200
100
400
t (s)
b) Continuous wave mode at half power. The PWM power setting consists of reducing the duration of the
pulses while maintaining the same repetition frequency (60 kHz). In the case shown above, the pulses
are halved to approximately 7.5 s (PWM=50%).
P (W)
f = 60kHz
~ 15s
PWM=100%
DUTY=50%
Pcut=1500W
3000
Ton
100
Toff
200
Ton
300
Toff
400
t (s)
f = 5000 Hz
c)
- 30 -
Pulsed mode. The laser source can be stopped for a time of T off. This "off" time is repeated at a preset
frequency (every 200 s in the case shown). The DUTY pulse rate represents in percentage form the
source's Ton activity time with respect to its Ton+Toff time. With pulses of the maximum duration
(PWM=100%) and Ton of 100 s (DUTY=50%), the figure above shows a pulsed mode for a cutting
power of 1500 W.
LASER TECHNOLOGY
PLM and DCM power modulation as a function

of the cutting speed
With reference to Fig. 1 on page 39, the speed [3] and the resulting PLM
power level [4] define the power-speed ratio process constant typical for
standard linear cutting of each specific material. It is obvious that, in the
transitory acceleration and braking phases, the power must be reduced in
proportion to the lower speed. In other words, to transfer the same energy to
the material, we must provide half the power if we are at half the normal
speed, a quarter of the power if we are at a quarter of the normal speed, and so
on. These considerations are clearly shown in the Power graph (Fig. 4 on
page 42) where it is possible to intervene with an initial power that we can
adjust using the Power-speed ratio cursor [25]. We can move the Starting
speed cursor [24] away from zero if we want to maintain an additional
starting speed that is constant over a given amount of time.
We know that at low speeds, such as in narrow curves and on sharp corners, a
pulsed laser mode prevents local burning because it limits the thermal stress
on the material. We therefore usually work in pulsed mode at low speed and in
continuous mode at higher speeds. These considerations are visible in the
PLM-DCM graph with the linear growth of the DCM % pulsing (sloping green
line) up to a given speed (23 mm/s in the example shown). For higher speeds,
we increase the PLM power level (sloping blue line) with constant DCM
pulsing. The End of pulsing cursor [26] defines the speed of the switch from
pulsed mode to continuous mode.
Lastly, the Final speed cursor [27] anticipates the emission of the full cutting
power programmed for the process concerned.
Power modulation in transitory mode
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Cutting speed
The cutting speed [3] - Fig. 1, page 39 is expressed in mm/s and determines
the maximum speed reached by the x and y axes of the machine during a linear
cut.
When cutting circular profiles, the speed is limited by the radius of the circle,
the maximum angular speed and the maximum centripetal acceleration
required of the axes of the machine.
Sensor speed and sensor acceleration

The parameters called sensor speed [11] - Fig. 1, page 39 and sensor
2
acceleration [12] - Fig. 1, page 39 express in mm/s and in mm/s respectively
the speed and the acceleration with which the vertical z axis of the machine
tracks the sheet being cut.
Acceleration, deceleration and starting acceleration

The acceleration [9] and deceleration [10] parameters - Fig. 1, page 39 are
expressed in mm/s2 and determine the acceleration and deceleration required
of the machine axes during linear cutting.
The starting acceleration [31] - Fig. 5, page 43, on the other hand, is the
acceleration required of the axes during the first stretch of cutting after
piercing (this must normally be lower than the working acceleration).
Stand-off
The stand-off parameter [15] - Fig. 1, page 39 is used to set (in the table) the
distance between the nozzle and the sheet and to keep this distance constant
throughout the entire cutting process for the part. This is important because a
change in the distance between the nozzle and the sheet would result in a
change in the distance between the focusing lens and the material. This, in
turn, would alter the focus position, as well as the flow of gas across the cut
edge, creating an irregular cut along the geometry of the part.
To keep the nozzle at a constant distance from the sheet, a capacity sensor is
used to measure the electrical capacity between the blank and the bottom of
the nozzle moment by moment, translating it into a voltage signal that is sent
to the controller of the z axis, which is locked at the height set.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Capacity control to keep the nozzle at a constant distance from the sheet
The capacity sensor not only constantly measures the distance between the
nozzle and the sheet, it also tells the axis controller when the workpiece is
about to collide with the laser head (this collision is identified as a short circuit
between the nozzle and the workpiece). The machine axes stop as soon as they
receive the collision signal, preventing damage to the laser head, especially
during unmanned production.
Type and dimension of the nozzle

The assist gas and the laser beam leave the head through the nozzle. There are
two types of nozzle: standard and double-chamber. These can be selected
using the nozzle type drop-down menu [17] - Fig. 2, page 41 in
LaserToolManager.
Double-chamber nozzles can be used on thick sheets of mild steel (more than
10 mm) to obtain a better quality edge than standard nozzles, although they do
require the assist gas to be at a higher pressure.
The diameter of the nozzle (from a minimum of 1 mm to a maximum of 3 mm)
can be selected using the dimension drop-down menu [18] - Fig. 2, page 41.
At the same pressure, increasing the diameter of the nozzle will increase the
flow of gas.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Focus position
The focus position parameter [16] - Fig. 1, page 39 is the distance between
the focal point and the tip of the nozzle. It is closely linked to the focal length
of the optics used in the laser head. At present, two types of focusing lens are
used: one with a focal length of 5 (127 mm) and one with a focal length of
7.5 (190.5 mm). As can be seen in the figure of the focusing head, the focus
position parameter can be changed either by changing the stand-off parameter
[15] - Fig. 1, page 39 or by vertically moving the position of the focusing lens.
As a result, the most suitable focus position for obtaining good cutting quality
must be identified for each material and thickness.
Focusing head
In general, mild steel and RAEX require positive or zero focus positions (i.e.
with the focal point just above the material), whereas highly negative focal
lengths must be defined in order to position the focal point underneath the
material when using nitrogen to cut stainless steel, galvanized material and
aluminium alloys.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
The relationship between the dimensions involved in focusing the beam is as
follows:
D
D
F
d
where:
distance between beam focus and sheet surface or real focus position [23];
focal length of lens (5 or 7.5 inches);
distance (stand-off) [15] - Fig. 1, page 39 between nozzle and sheet
surface;
excursion of motorized lens or focus position [16] - Fig. 1, page 39;
distance between nozzle and motorized lens in zero position.
(f
Tool radius
The tool radius parameter [7] - Fig. 1, page 39 widens or reduces the
dimension of the part, depending on whether tool compensation outside or
inside the profile to be cut has been activated. The tool radius generally has
values of several tenths of a millimetre in order to satisfy special tolerance and
accuracy requirements. A simple way of calculating the correct value of the
tool radius for a given profile is to cut a circle with a radius of r
programmed without tool compensation and to find the difference between this
and the radius actually measured on the part after cutting it. In other words:
Tool radius = programmed radius actual radius
If the tool radius obtained is positive, compensation outside the profile will be
activated; if it is negative, the opposite will be the case.
Settling time before cutting

The Settling time before cutting parameter [8] - Fig. 1, page 39 is the
amount of time required after piercing for all the parameters defined in the
cutting table (and, in particular, the pressure of the assist gas) to reach their
working values.
When cutting thick ferrous material, this wait allows the sheet to cool down
after piercing in order to achieve the best cutting conditions.
Cutting and piercing sensor thresholds

The cutting sensor threshold parameter [13] - Fig. 1, page 39 is used to stop
the machine when the cutting quality is not optimum.
Three sensors located inside the optical head allow the controller to record the
level of light that comes from the cut edge, moment by moment. The cutting
quality is not optimum when this level goes above the threshold defined.
The controller intervenes to stop the machine axes, turn the source off and
request the intervention of the user.
The piercing sensor threshold parameter [14] - Fig. 1, page 39 makes use of
the same sensors and allows cutting to start as soon as piercing has been
completed.
During piercing, the controller checks the signal from the sensors and, when
this level goes below the threshold defined, immediately proceeds to cut the
material.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Piercing sequences
The parameters used for piercing, both on and off the profile, are the same as
those used for cutting, plus a number of parameters specifically for piercing:
-
the type of piercing sequence;

the piercing time;
the time for settling before piercing;
the sensor activation height.
Seven piercing sequences [28] - Fig. 5, page 43 are currently available on

the laser machines. These have been created to allow the piercing process to
be adapted to the type of material being processed as efficiently as possible.
Sequence 1 Standard: guarantees rapid high-power piercing, but creates
a large crater. Once piercing has been completed, the head goes to the standoff distance defined for the cutting sub-tool.
Sequence 5 Dross expulsion blast: adds a transversal blast of air to the
standard sequence in order to expel the dross and clean the surface of mild
steel more than 3 mm thick, cut using oxygen.
The duration of the blast is proportional to the piercing time.
Sequence 7 "On the fly": allows thin blanks (up to 1.2 mm thick) to be cut
with a considerable reduction in the cycle time.
In fact, in on-the-fly cutting, the traditional piercing phase is omitted and the
material is pierced directly with the parameters used for cutting. This
eliminates the time spent waiting to go from piercing to cutting as well as the
time spent making the piercing. It can be applied to any type of lead-in; the
most suitable, however, is profile-profile.
Sequence 21 Standard with duty ramp: this has been developed in
order to guarantee extremely high-quality piercing, but it does take longer.
The frequency of the pulse rate is gradually increased until it reaches the value
set in the laser program.
Sequence 24 Start with sensor up and duty ramp: this lends itself to
piercing with nitrogen. In fact, once piercing has been completed as per
sequence 21, the focusing head remains at the stand-off distance defined for
the piercing sub-tool, cutting the sheet for an amount corresponding to the
sensor delay length parameter defined for the cutting sub-tool; only then does
the head go to the actual cutting position.
Sequence 61 Film-covered - Standard with duty ramp: this adds a shot
at the sensor activation height before sequence 21 so as to melt the plastic film
and prevent it from swelling up.
Sequence 64 Film-covered - Start with sensor up and duty ramp: this
adds a shot at the sensor activation height before sequence 24. It is indicated
for film-covered mild steel more than 2 mm thick.
Piercing time
The piercing time [29] - Fig. 5, page 43 is the time taken by the laser beam to
completely pierce the material. It is of fundamental importance when piercing
thick steel sheets where it is necessary to wait a few seconds for the piercing to
be perfectly complete.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Ramp initial value and time

Piercing sequences 21, 24, 61 and 64 use a ramp in duty frequency to achieve
accurate, high-quality piercing. This ramp can be modified using the ramp
initial value and time parameters.
The ramp time parameter [35] -Fig. 7, page 44, expressed in seconds,
indicates how long it takes for the duty frequency to go from ramp initial
value [34] - Fig. 7, page 44, expressed as a percentage, to the maximum value
described in the laser program (laser programs 50 to 59 are associated with the
duty ramp). Piercing finishes when the piercing time ends.
Sensor delay length

The sensor delay length parameter [32] - Fig. 5, page 43, expressed in mm,
is used to deactivate the sensor control, locking the focusing head at the standoff distance defined at the end of piercing sequences 24 and 64. After this
length, the head goes to the stand-off distance defined for the cutting sub-tool.
This delay helps to start cutting material with nitrogen correctly, when the
melted material accumulates on the surface around the crater during piercing.
Settling time before piercing

The Settling time before piercing [30] - Fig. 5, page 43 is the time taken by
all the parameters defined in the cutting table (and, in particular, the pressure
of the assist gas) to reach their working values.
Sensor activation height

The Sensor activation height parameter [33] -Fig. 5, page 43 indicates the
absolute position of the z axis from which the capacity sensor is commanded
to activate position tracking.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Maximum speed and acceleration on curve

The maximum speed on curve [19], expressed in radians per second, and
2
maximum acceleration on curve [20], expressed in mm/s , parameters limit
the speed on circles and arcs of trajectory with a small radius of curvature, so
as to increase the reliability and quality of cutting. In particular, the first
rectilinear stretch (a) in red is the limitation due to the maximum speed on the
curve, the second stretch (b) in green is the limitation due to the maximum
acceleration on the curve. Lastly, in the horizontal stretch (c) in blue, we go
from the dynamic limitation of axis control to the physical limitation due to the
specific cutting process which imposes the rectilinear cutting speed. Reducing
the maximum speed on the curve more or less increases the length of the red
stretch (a). Reducing the maximum acceleration on the curve increases the
length of the green stretch (b) which corresponds to reduced speed cutting
compared to that of the blue stretch (c) for rectilinear cutting.
Attenuation for effect of S-shaped bends

The Attenuation for effect of S-shaped bends parameter [21], expressed in
mm/s2, reduces the acceleration that results from narrow S-shaped cutting
trajectories where the variations in acceleration are added together. This
parameter can typically have a value of one and a half times the maximum
value of the acceleration on the curve.
Maximum variations for abrupt acceleration and

braking
The Variation for abrupt acceleration [22] (Fig. 3 on page 41) and Variation
3
for abrupt braking [23] (Fig. 3 on page 41) parameters, expressed in mm/s ,
are used to soften the accelerations and decelerations in order to obtain
maximum cutting reliability, at the cost of a slightly longer cutting time. The
softening effect is obtained by reducing the values set.
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LASER TECHNOLOGY
Graphic interfaces of the general and local versions

of LaserToolManager
Below you will find examples of graphic interfaces with the relative comments
and numerical references.
Example of the general version of

LaserToolManager for the material indicated
Fig. 1
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Material: number identifying and describing the material

Thickness: thickness of the material
Cutting technology: type of assist gas
Focus length: focus length of the lens
Tool-classes: radio buttons for selecting the class of tool for which you
want to consult or modify the technological processing data table

(f) Tool: list of the tools available for the class selected
(g) Sub-tool: icon for selecting the sub-tool
Cutting
Piercing
Accurate piercing
- 39 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Ref.
Go to
Field
[1]
Gas
[2]
Pressure
[3]
Speed
[4]
PLM power level
[5]
DCM on-off pulsing
[6]
Laser program
[7]
Tool radius
Tool radius
[8]
[9]
Acceleration
Assist gases
Cutting speed

[10] Deceleration
[11] Sensor speed
Sensor speed and sensor acceleration
[12] Sensor acceleration
[13] Cutting sensor threshold
Cutting and piercing sensor thresholds
[14] Piercing sensor threshold
[15] Stand-off
Stand-off
[16] Focus position
Focus position
- 40 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Example of the local version of

LaserToolManager for the Cutting toolclass and the Cutting sub-tool
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
- 41 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Fig. 4
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Material: number identifying and describing the material

Thickness: thickness of the material
Cutting technology: type of assist gas
Focus length: focus length of the lens
Tool-classes: radio buttons for selecting the class of tool for which you
want to consult or modify the technological processing data table

(f) Tool: list of the tools available for the class selected
(g) Sub-tool: icon for selecting the sub-tool
Cutting
Piercing
Accurate piercing
Ref.
[17] Nozzle type
Field
[18] Nozzle value

[19] Maximum speed on curve
[20] Maximum acceleration on curve
Attenuation for effect of S-shaped
[21]
bends
[22] Variation for abrupt acceleration
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
- 42 -
Variation for abrupt braking

Starting speed
Power-speed ratio
End of pulsing
Ending speed
Go to
Type and dimension of the nozzle
Maximum variations for abrupt acceleration and braking
LASER TECHNOLOGY

LaserToolManager for the Cutting toolclass and the Piercing sub-tool
Fig. 5
Ref.
Go to
Field
[28] Piercing sequence
Piercing sequences
[29] Piercing time
Piercing time
[30] Settling time before piercing
Settling time before piercing
[31] Starting acceleration
[32] Sensor delay length
Sensor delay length
[33] Sensor activation height
Sensor activation height
- 43 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY

LaserToolManager for the Cutting toolclass and the Accurate piercing sub-tool
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Ref.
Field
[34] Ramp initial value
[35] Ramp time
- 44 -
Go to
LASER TECHNOLOGY

LaserToolManager for the Chiselling toolclass and the Accurate piercing sub-tool
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Ref.
Field
[34] Ramp initial value
[35] Ramp time
Go to
- 45 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY

LaserToolManager for the Marking toolclass and the Cutting sub-tool
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
- 46 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Fig. 12
Ref.
Field
Go to
[19] Maximum speed on curve

[20] Maximum acceleration on curve
[21]
Attenuation for effect of S-shaped

bends
[22] Variation for abrupt acceleration

Maximum variations for abrupt acceleration and braking
[23] Variation for abrupt braking
[24] Starting speed
[25] Power-speed ratio
[26] End of pulsing
[27] Ending speed
- 47 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Cutting quality parameters
Introduction
The following parameters determine the quality of a part that has been cut by
laser:
-
the width of the cut edge;

the roughness of the edge;
the rectangularity of the edges with respect to the surface;
the presence of striations on the edge;
the presence of dross on the bottom;
the presence of cratering on the edge;
the size of the heat-affected zone.
Width of the cut edge

The width of the cut edge is determined by the shape of the kerf in the
direction in which the material has been cut. In the case of melt shearing,
where focus positions inside the material must be used, it will be funnelshaped (i.e. wider at the top). In the case of heat cutting, on the other hand,
where the focal point remains on the material, the cut edge will be wider at the
bottom.
a) Shape of the cut edge in the

case of melt shearing
b) Shape of the cut edge in the

case of heat cutting
To classify a part according to the width of the cut edge, a thickness gauge is
used to measure the width of the cut edge one third of the way down the
thickness of the material and then again at the bottom of the cut. The values
measured are then compared with those stated in DIN 2310 which defines the
quality of thermal cuts.
In the case of heat cutting, the width of the cut edge is influenced more by the
pressure of the oxygen being used than by the thickness of the material being
cut, whereas in the case of melt shearing, the deeper the focus, the wider the
cut edge will be at the surface.
- 48 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
The causes of an excessively wide cut edge are as follows:
incorrect focus position;
dirty lens or damaged lens coating: a dirty or damaged lens may focus
the beam on a higher point than required, with the result that the
width of the cut edge is not consistent with the type of cutting
technology used or the thickness of the material being cut;
thermal variation of the laser resonator caused by dirty optics: if the
mirrors of the confocal resonator inside the laser source are dirty, the
laser beam leaving the source may not be perfectly circular and the
focal diameter may be enlarged; this would alter the shape of the kerf
and thus widen the cut edge.
Roughness of the cut edge

The roughness of the cut edge is determined by the depth of the striations (or
cratering) and local erosion generated during cutting. This parameter,
measured in microns, is the result of the mathematical average of the
roughness measured on five typical adjoining sections of the cut edge,
measured in the middle of the cut edge for sheets up to 2 mm thick and two
thirds of the way down the cut for thicker sheets.
The DIN 2310 standard classifies a cut with roughness of less than 20 m as a
good cut (class N8), one with roughness of 40-50 m as acceptable (class N9)
and one with roughness of more than 100 m as unacceptable (class N10).
Generally speaking, the roughness increases as the thickness of the material
being cut and the pressure of the assist gas increase, whereas it decreases as
the cutting speed and power increase.
The causes of an increase in the roughness of the cut edge are as follows:
incorrect assist gas pressure;
incorrect cutting speed;
incorrect laser power;
linear laser beam polarization or asymmetrical optical path,
preventing the laser cut from being uniform along x and y; in this
case, the status of the polarizer mirror and the alignment of the
machine optics must be checked immediately.
- 49 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Rectangularity of the cut edges

The rectangularity of the cut edges is the distance between two parallel
straight lines drawn perpendicular to the surface of the material, starting from
two points on the edge at a distance of s from the top and bottom edges
respectively:
The dimension of s depends on the thickness (s) of the material:

s = 0.1 mm for s<2 mm;
s = 0.2 mm for s>2 mm.
The rectangularity (u) is measured using a comparator (dial gauge) and is
expressed in mm.
The causes of excessive rectangularity are as follows:
incorrect focus position;
incorrect assist gas pressure;
asymmetrical laser beam polarization or astigmatism, preventing the
focused spot from being circular.
Striations on the cut edge

Striations on the edge are a characteristic of the surfaces of parts cut by laser.
With a low cutting speed, the striations will be vertical and run parallel to the
direction of incidence of the laser beam, whereas the higher the cutting speed,
the more they will tilt in the opposite direction to that in which cutting is being
performed.
Form of the striations on the cut edge
- 50 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Generally speaking, these striations will not be uniform all the way along the
cut edge: there will be close vertical striation at the top of the cut and wider
oblique striation lower down, indicating an incomplete cut, with dross and a
very wide edge. Because of this phenomenon, the parameter is defined as
the ratio between the zone of vertical striation and the full depth of the
material.
Cut edge
The parameter is used to define the cutting quality values with reference to
the speed and laser power values: =2/3 gives the optimum working
conditions.
Dross on the bottom of the cut part

The shape of the dross on the bottom of the cut part indicates various changes
in the cutting parameters. Dross can have the form of thin threads, droplets,
fins or scales (both of the latter can easily be removed by finger). We shall
now examine the different forms of dross one by one, first for heat cutting and
then for melt shearing.
Heat cutting of mild steel

The presence of scale-shaped dross which is easy to remove can be attributed
to:
insufficient oxygen pressure;
incorrect focus position.
As can be seen, there are many causes of poor cutting quality, but the most
probable cause of this type of dross is low oxygen pressure which means that
insufficient heat is contributed to the melting process.
The presence of thread-shaped metal dross which cannot be removed can be
attributed to:
incorrect oxygen pressure;
impurities in the oxygen;
excessive cutting speed;
incorrect focus position.
In this case, too, the most probable causes of thread-shaped dross on the
bottom of the material are the quality and pressure of the assist gas. It is also
important to have the correct focus position (for the heat cutting of mild steel,
this will always be on the surface of the material).
- 51 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Melt shearing of stainless steel

The presence of long, thick dross which is difficult to remove can be attributed
to:
focus position too high;
nitrogen pressure too low;
cutting speed too low (given the high laser power used to cut steel,
this may overheat the material).
The presence of thin dross, on the other hand, can be attributed to:
focus position too low;
cutting speed too high;
nitrogen pressure too high.
If the cutting speeds are high and/or the material is thick, dross may appear on
only one side of the sheet while the other side will be perfectly smooth.
Melt shearing of aluminium alloys

While dross is not normally generated when cutting aluminium up to 2 mm
thick, the following types of dross may appear when cutting aluminium above
this thickness:
Long, thick dross which is difficult to remove can be caused by:
cutting speed too low;
focus position too high;
nitrogen pressure too low.
Long dross which is easy to remove can be caused by:
cutting speed too low.
Thin metal dross which is, however, difficult to remove can be caused by:
cutting speed too high;
focus position too low.
Cratering
In addition to the presence of dross on the bottom of the cut part, another
feature of laser cutting quality is cratering.
Cratering is when there is irregular erosion of the metal along the cut edge,
which means that it is not uniform. This can be the result of impurities
(especially volatile impurities, such as sulphur or phosphorus) in the material
being cut, or an irregular flow of the assist gases.
- 52 -
LASER TECHNOLOGY
Heat affected zone

The control of the size of the heat affected zone (or HAZ) is another
important parameter for laser cutting quality. Both around the piercing zone
and on the left and right of the cut edges, the material overheats because of the
laser power used. The HAZ is caused by the fact that when the material cools
down quickly, its crystalline structure changes. This heat produces a change in
the chemical structure of the material, leaving burn marks on small contours.
Laser technology limits the HAZ because the total quantity of heat is far lower
than with other thermal cutting technologies, such as plasma or oxygen
cutting. This problem can be overcome, and the thermal stress zone reduced,
as follows:
when cutting with oxygen, reduce the laser power or the oxygen pressure
in order to limit the amount of heat supplied to the material;
when cutting with nitrogen, increase the cutting speed and the nitrogen
pressure in order to limit the overheating of the part (by making it cool
down faster).
- 53 -

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8.

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

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8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Materials that can be processed

Iron alloys ........................................................................................................................ 6

Tools and sub-tools

Architecture of the software application

Salvagnini applications .................................................................................................. 19

General cutting parameters

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Tool radius .................................................................................................................... 35

Cutting quality parameters

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Materials that can be processed

Family tree of iron alloys

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

The classification of stainless steels

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Pl: rolled semi-finished part;

technical aluminium (minimum Al=99.0%);

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Hot-galvanized and electrogalvanized steel

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Reference materials for 3 kW CO2 Laser

Stainless steel + plastic film

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Reference materials for 4 kW CO2 Laser

Stainless steel + plastic film

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Reference materials for 2 kW fiber laser

Stainless steel + plastic film

Cu-ETP CW004A H040

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Reference materials for 3 kW fiber laser

Stainless steel + plastic film

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Cu-ETP CW004A H040

Burr can be present, but it can easily be removed on thickness up to 5 mm

Maximum thicknesses that can be cut

DC015 Power 1500 W CO2

Stainless steel (AISI 304)

DC020 Power 2000 W CO2

Stainless steel (AISI 304)

DC025 Power 2500 W CO2

Stainless steel (AISI 304)

DC040 Power 4000 W CO2

Stainless steel (AISI 304)

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Tools and sub-tools

Sub-tool for fast piercing TA 1

Sub-tool for fast piercing TA 2

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Ratio between thickness

Assignment of cutting tools according to technology used

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Architecture of the software

8.1 Cutting technology - EN 2.4

Structure of the technological data

Each thickness can be processed using