By While laser cutters offer a host of benefits in manufacturing and fabrication, the technology does come with numerous challenges that need to be addressed at the earliest. If not, it will not only incur huge monetary losses on the business but also cause production delays, increased material damage, and several such problems. Since the investments needed in a laser cutter is pretty high compared to other cutting machines, you must acknowledge the probable challenges to be faced later on during the entire manufacturing and production lifecycle. This will further help you to prepare the workarounds and mitigate the risks of failures and delayed production.
In this following article, we will discuss the major challenges you might face with laser cutting techniques along with describing a few ways to mitigate the problems. With this guide, you will gain valuable insights into the problems to be encountered in the future and prepare the optimal workarounds to overcome the bottlenecks and improve the deliverables by significant levels.
Handling diverse material thickness
Challenge
In the manufacturing and fabrication industry, different types of materials need to be handled at once. For instance, you might have to use both metals and non-metals to prepare the final products as per the project requirements. Furthermore, the material thicknesses also vary from one type to another. If you consider the galvanized steel sheets, their thickness will be much more than the regular PVC sheets. Therefore, handling such versatility in the material type and the sheet thickness will prove to be a major challenge while using laser cutters for the process.
Solution
To overcome this challenge, it would be best to invest in a CNC-powered 3D laser cutting machine. It is equipped with advanced capabilities to alter the wavelengths of the laser beam so that it can easily cut through different materials despite the differing radiation absorption properties. Furthermore, it can also handle varying material sheet thickness, depending on the intensity of the laser beam and the diameter. Therefore, you should go with this advanced form of laser cutting rather than relying on the conventional one.
Intricate designs with precise detailing
Challenge
Several manufacturing and fabricating projects demand exclusive accuracy and precision in the cuts or designs to be etched on the material sheets. Achieving such a high level of accuracy won’t be possible with the regular laser cutters. Furthermore, if the designs to be made are intricate, it might become a huge challenge for the professionals since the laser cutters available in today’s market aren’t that efficient to achieve such a level of complex designing.
Solution
The best way to overcome this bottleneck will be to use a laser cutter machine powered by CAD/CAM software. It not only allows the professional to prepare a detailed draft design with accurate dimensions and calculated measurements but also produces the right set of instruction guides for controlling the movements of the laser arm while etching the designs or making the cuts along the material sheets. Apart from this, you can also invest in the multi-axis laser cutting machine since it is able to handle a cutting tolerance of +/- 0.25 mm. With such a value, it is expected that the laser cutter can make precise and accurate cuts while etching the intricate details on the material sheets without any further problem.
Efficiency and turnaround time
Challenge
Another area where you might encounter problems while using the laser cutters is maintaining optimal operational efficiency and reducing the overall turnaround time. Due to the dynamically changing supply and demand chain, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the manufacturers to keep up with the pace. Besides, the basic laser cutting machine isn’t that efficient to meet the demand of the production cycles while maintaining optimal quality of the final products. Owing to this, several manufacturers have to deal with production delays and leaks.
Solution
To address this bottleneck, it would be best to invest in multiple laser cutters that would operate constantly for 24X7. Now, here’s the catch! If you run a laser cutting machine endlessly, it will not only wear out the mechanical parts of the equipment but also significantly impact the production efficiency. Therefore, you need to plan an operational schedule where laser cutting workflows will be carried on for 24X7 but not all units will be engaged simultaneously. This way you can distribute the workload while ensuring the turnaround time can be reduced and the production efficiency can be improved with time.
Material wastage and damage
Challenge
Another major challenge to be faced while using the 2D or 3D laser cutting machine is in terms of material wastage and damage. The laser beam usually eliminates a huge section of the material while creating the kerf, which indeed leads to significant wastage of the raw materials. Furthermore, the eliminated parts are damaged to an extent where they can’t be recycled further.
Solution
For this, you should use a laser cutting machine equipped with advanced nested software. It is capable of designing a cutting route via which material usage can be optimized and the wastage section can be significantly reduced.
Conclusion
Since here we have discussed the major challenges most manufacturers face with laser cutting machines, it’s time you acknowledge these risks and make plans for mitigating them beforehand. This way the production speed and efficiency won’t be compromised further and you will be able to successfully execute the projects with optimal results.
