What is Plasma Cutter?

Plasma cutting is a process in which a jet of ionized gas at temperatures above 20,000 C is useful to melt and expel material from the cut. During this process, an electric arc struck between an electrode and the workpiece. The electrode recesses in water or air-cooled gas nozzles constrict the arc that causes the narrow, high temperature, high-velocity plasma jet to form.

When the plasma jet hits the workpiece, recombination takes place, and the gas reverts to its normal state. It emits intense heat as it moves. This heat melts the metal, and gas flow ejects from the cut. Plasma gases are usually argon, hydrogen, or nitrogen. These inert gases replace air, but it requires a special electrode of hafnium or zirconium.

It uses compressed air and makes this variant of the plasma process very competitive with the oy fuel process. Additionally, it cuts carbon manganese and stainless steel up to 20mm thick. Hence, while choosing plasma cutter machines, make sure to choose machines that have Hypertherm hpr260 consumables, Hypertherm powermax 45 consumables. Because they are easy to find and replace if and when needed.

Plasma arcs can cut a very wide range of electrically conductive alloys, including plain carbon and stainless steel, aluminum and its alloys, nickel alloys, and titanium. This method developed to cut the materials which could not cut satisfactorily by the oxy-fuel process.

Normally, the component or sheet to which you cut stays stationary, and only the plasma torch moves. The cost of plasma torches is low compared to other products using the price of manipulation equipment; it is common to plugin multiple torches in a cutting table.

Plasma arc cutting carries out underwater using special equipment.

How Plasma Cutting Works?

The process in plasma cutting and welding is it creates an electrical channel of superheated, electrically ionized gas, i.e., plasma. Forming a finished circuit using an earth terminal is important while using the plasma cutter. To achieve this, it uses a compressed gas, which blows to the material at high speed using a focused nozzle.

Inside the gas, an arc is formed between an electrode near the gas nozzle and the workpiece itself. This electric arc ionizes part of the gas and creates an electrically conductive plasma channel. The current from the cutting torch flows through this plasma; it radiates enough heat to melt through the material. Simultaneously, high-speed plasma and the compressed gas blow the hot molten metal away and separate the workpiece.

Plasma cutting is a great way to cut thin and thick materials compared to hand torches that can cut up to 38nm thick steel sheets; stronger computer-controlled torches can cut up to 150 mm thick steel sheets. Plasma cutters are very useful for cutting and welding sheets in curved or angular shapes as they are very hot. Make sure to have plasma cutting machines which have  hypertherm hpr260 consumables, hypertherm powermax 45 consumables.

Every technology has advantages and disadvantages. Similarly, a plasma cutter has its advantages and disadvantages. Let me walk you through them in brief:

Advantages:

• The operation of one or more burners depends on the series.
• Cuts off all electrically conductive materials
• Cuts of high alloy steel and aluminum materials in medium and large thickness
• It has an excellent performance in small and medium mild steel thicknesses.
• Plasma cutters have high strength structural steel with low heat input.
• They have high cutting speeds, i.e., up to 10 times higher than oxy-fuel
• Plasma cutting guarantees automation
• Plasma cutting underwater allows very low heat exposure and low noise level at the workplace.

Disadvantages:

• It has a restriction of the use of up to 160 mm for dry cutting and 120 mm for underwater cutting
• It slightly wider kerf
• Has relatively high power consumption
• Laser offers high cutting quality
• It is very expensive compared to oxy acetylene cutting systems

Conclusion:

Plasma cutters are one of the best innovations that can help fabricators create out of the box creation and unleash their creativity. Create the next big thing, and we are waiting to see what things you can create.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/what-is-plasma-cutter

Laser Cut Signs Ideas for your Businesses

Is it welcoming invitations, danger warnings, or shining signboards of comfort and relaxations that rule our world? Be it simple restroom signs, directional street signs, 10-foot tall letters advertising corporations, top skyscrapers, and important communication tools. They help you navigate everyday life facets, even if it might sometimes feel like blocking the scenery.

These types of signage are useful for industrial purposes and require elaborative engineering and professional installation. In this post, let us show you the ways you can make signboards use them professionally.

How to make a sign:

Out of all the endeavors, signs are some of the straightforward lasers cut projects. There are many things one must consider from size, laser machines, try to use the one which has amada parts and fanuc CNC parts as they are easy to replace, and material to design the overall aesthetics.

The sign consists of three things:

Audience + Message + Delivery Method

Audience: This includes the number of people you are trying to communicate with. It consists of things like age, gender, language, reading ability, etc.

Message: It includes things like what you are trying to communicate, i.e., rules, ideas, or images.

Delivery Method: It includes the best way to convey the message to your audience, i.e., either verbally, graphically, or both the ways. At what distance the message you need to see, what colors can communicate the message while attracting the audience’s attention, what is the perfect location for your message to grab your audience’s attention.

Once you set these three things, then you can start with making your signs. In the old days, you might need to have a tradesperson, a perfect painter whose hands are steady. But, with the advancements in technology, laser cutting is making these things easier to handle.

1. Make signs using laser cutting:

Laser cutters are an easy solution for making signs. Lasers can cut and engrave designs from flat sheet materials like acrylic, metal, or wood. The output is always pixel perfect and depends on the material thickness, and is three dimensional, which makes it look professional.

It provides easy options from flat panel to individual letters to backlit or edge-lit designs. For the artsy types who want to bring some uniformity in hand-painted signs, then you can cut custom stencils. You just need to start making signs via laser cutting as a vector design file, and this can also help the laser to work.

Pro-tip: While designing, make sure to consider the position of the sign. Whether it will be hanging, mounted, or freestanding, this will provide you with clarity on how many holes, hooks, or screws you need to add. Additionally, make sure to consider the size and weight of the sign. You can display the small interior signs using small adhesive screws. Whereas on large sign boards will need heavy hardware to install securely.

       1. Laser cutting process:

• Set the type of sign that is best suited for your audience, message, and delivery method.
• Choose the sign material from different materials like metal, plastic, wood, etc.
• Draw the designs on the computer
• Send it to the laser printing/engraving machine
• See you parts being created
• So if any finishing touches needed
• Sell the product

While designing, make sure to research some of the basic design principles, so your signboard comes out very well and has aesthetics added to it.

          2. Turning designs into signs:

If you are making a signboard, then providing a vector based file is essential to cut the design properly. Pixel-based pictures are not a perfect solution to solve. If the sign includes text, expanding the font to curves will ensure that the letters cut correctly without any actual font file loading on the laser cutting computers.

Make sure to follow the above-given instructions using the correct laser machine, which has parts like Amada parts and Fanuc CNC parts, making it easy for you to replace when and where needed.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/laser-cut-signs-ideas-for-your-businesses

Difference between WaterJet Cut and Plasma Cut

Any manufacturing industry has multiple ways to find a solution for one particular job. This is true when it comes to cutting raw materials. There are two popular methods that you might find in many shops, i.e., water jets and plasma cutter.

Both the machines are known for their ability to quickly and easily cut certain materials. But, like every machine, these two machines also have something different in them.

A brief about how water jet cut machine works:

A water jet is a cutting system that relies on a mixture of water and breaks down materials along a given path. You can assume it as a high-speed erosion. The abrasive feeds through a line into a mixing tube where it meets the water source and sprays out with immense pressure. It puts more than 50,000 psi and forms a cutting stream at the tip of a ceramic nozzle, which then moves along a path determined by the associated CNC software. It works at a speed that varies depending on the type of material and its thickness.

Now, let’s talk about working of plasma cutting:

Plasma cutters use gas and electricity. The gas forces through the constricted opening at high pressure at a point that it contacts an electric arc that passes through a nozzle causing a reaction, and the gas heats to the degree that it enters the fourth state of matter plasma. The plasma is hot enough to melt through the high enough speed that excess material blows away, resulting in a relatively clean cut. Make sure to use Hypertherm parts online, esab plasma cutter parts as they are easy to replace and help you have a precise cut.

You can use different gases depending on material type and thickness.

In this article, let’s explore the differences between the water jet cut and plasma cutting:

1. Quality:

The plasma cutter smoothly cuts many steels with an accuracy of +/- .01″- 0.30″ “depending on the setup. When the material thickness increases, the cut will be less clean as the plasma struggles to melt through all the materials without producing unwanted slag.

The water jet is a more accurate machine and will produce high-quality cuts across a wide range of materials and thicknesses. The water jet can hold a tolerance of +/- .005″ and has additional accessories available. They can further increase the accuracy of minimizing taper. The speed can adjust to improve surface finish and often eliminates any need for secondary machining.

2. Maintenance:

The water jet requires constant maintenance. Water jet parts are under constant pressure, and so the failure rate is very high. Replacement parts and rebuild kits are necessary and expensive. The water jet tank can also be pumped out regularly as it fills with abrasive over time. Some shops outfit their machines with costly waste management systems. Whereas others rely on vactor trucks or shovel out the excess to garnet them.

On the other hand, plasma cutting needs less maintenance except for gas that we need to operate; fewer consumables and components can break down. Preventive maintenance becomes the key to uninterrupted plasma production. This helps in proper cleaning and alignment of essential items; you need to check this on the basis of performance.

3. Materials:

Plasma cutters have a limitation in what materials it can cut. They are mostly useful for steel though certain materials can cut stainless and aluminum with a proper setup. Conductive materials do not cut well on plasma.

Thickness of the material also plays a major role in plasma’s cutting capabilities. The quality will begin to go on anything ½” “in thickness.

Whereas, you can use a water jet to cut any material type. Be it hardened steels to softer materials like wood, plastic, or even food items like bread or cake. The water jet material can cut up to 10″ “thick steel as the thickness does not limit it.

Conclusion:

While choosing the correct cutting material for your business, it’s important to know the major difference between both of them and choose the best out of them. Hence, make sure before purchasing any of them you know the major difference between each of them. Try to use plasma cutting machines which have hypertherm parts online, esab plasma cutter parts.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/difference-between-waterjet-cut-and-plasma-cut

10 Amazing Things using Laser Machines for your Home

Using laser engraving machines can give a new dimension to your business. It even provides you and your customers a freedom to create almost anything and everything. They are very useful to help you create home decors with the help of laser machines.

Here, we will discuss how you can create your dream decorations for your home/enterprise. Without a further ado, let’s see the things we can design using laser machines:

1. Clock:

Laser engraved clocks provide a unique way to tell time as digital clocks are a thing of the past. Using laser engraving machines, you can engrave or cut them and customize them. You can sell them in restaurants, coffee houses, offices, or even homes. It’s a DIY time. 

Laser engraved clocks can range anywhere between dollar 30 to 80 or more. But, can vary depending on complexity of designs. Additionally, it has a high profit margin opportunity for your business.

2. Wall art:

There is no limit when it comes to creating wall art. You can use different types of woods or acrylic materials to turn your imagination into reality. Using laser cutting machines cut them in an artistic way and gives the correct curve shape and design of your choice. Remember to use laser engraving machines which have Mitsubishi replacement parts and Bystronic laser consumables as they are easy to replace if needed.

3. Custom key holder:

Having a custom key holder can be the wish of many people and nothing is as attractive as it. With laser machines, you can create a custom key holder for your clients. You can engrave according to their requirements or even add your own creativity like the logo of your company, generic designs and many more.

4. Sign Boards:

For signage industry materials like wood, acrylic, or any other are useful. There are a lot of opportunities to design signage and show your creative side in it. You can cut indoor and outdoor signs with high precision, speed, and great quality. You can also easily streamline your sign production using laser cutters.

5. Bottle holders:

Customized bottle holders are everyone’s wish and are in trend like always. They are a booming market product and a perfect space for you to unleash your creativity. Try your hands and create some custom bottle holders for your customers’ home and grow your business.

6. Customized candle holder:

We all want to come home to a place which is vibrant and candles always have a special part to play. Especially scented candles. Using laser machines you can create your custom candle stands or handles. Try to make them as vibrant and creative as possible. Use different colors, designs, and shapes and put them in a proper candle handle.

7. Garden stakes:

Garden stakes are perfect for someone who loves to spend time with nature. Using laser cutting machines you can create custom garden stakes for them. This can also work as a perfect gift for your family and friends. Don’t forget to wear safety glasses while creating them and add your own personal touch to it.

8. Custom Furniture:

There is almost nothing which we cannot create using laser machines. Create a custom cool looking chair for your clients or even for your home. Create a chair, table, or anything and add your personal touch in it. If you are creating for your customer then remembers to add their names, some dedicated designs, and many such things.

9. Custom lamps:

Lamps are the most attractive thing in anyone’s home and they too create a very warm and welcoming environment. Now, with laser engraving/cutting machines you can create a custom lamp, hang, or keep them anywhere. They are best suitable for any space in your homes.

10. Paperweights:

Paperweights are very small things which most of the time goes unnoticed by people. But, with laser engraving machines you can now customize and create them in an attractive way. Create custom paper weights, add unique designs to it, and sell it to your customers.

Final words:

There are multiple custom home decor things you can create for your customers. Personalizing them adds more value to it and helps you grow your business. Laser machines are available from various manufacturers but make sure to have Mitsubishi replacement parts and Bystronic laser consumables. They are easy to replace if and when needed.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/10-amazing-things-using-laser-machines-for-your-home

Tips to Choose Laser Machine

Laser marking technology is one of the most important techniques in almost all types of manufacturing. This is because of the increasing demand from manufacturers and federal regulations to track and trace products. 

One of the common questions which fabricators ask is: how do they choose the correct laser marking technology? The truth is, marking and engraving is not the same thing. There are various factors which go into choosing the best and perfect solution for your application. 

Before making any important and big investment in laser marking equipment, consider these three major considerations and also replace parts like precitec nozzles or precitec laser head parts. It will help you choose the best laser technology: 

1. Materials:

Your first step is the type of material you are going to use for marking. Break down materials into two major parts i.e. organic and non-organic. 

Organic materials are wood, glass, plastic, or paper products. Whereas, non-organic materials are steel, aluminum, or anything which sparks in a microwave. 

So, firstly select the type of material you are going to use. This will give you the first step of clarity on what you want to engrave or mark. 

2. Type of Mark:

Once you decide the material the next you need to define is the mark you want to look like. Ask yourself with questions like are you looking for deep marks? Or do you want contrast marks? 

Depending on the type of marking technology you can easily create either dark or frosted marks. For example, if you are doing barcode technology and struggling with your vision systems ability to code then you need to frost backgrounds and dark marks. 

3. Consider safety:

Firstly, you need to think about which part you are going to engrave. Will it be on the plant floor near operators, do you use enclosed space? Will this machine be replacing another type of technology like an inkjet? 

Understand that the laser marker location is on an open shop floor and your laser supplier will help you to install the class 1 safety system. It includes a laser safe enclosure, warning lights, and curtains to form safe entryways. 

If you have a class IV laser then you need a dedicated room. It meets certain safety conditions like area posting, protective eyewear, and a key switch so that you can still meet safety requirements. 

Next up, let’s see which type of laser to use when. 

1. CO2 lasers:

Generally, if you want to mark product information on organic materials along with a non-contrast mark then go for CO2 laser marking. With the wavelength of 10.6 microns, it is safe to use it in open floor situations. A CO2 marking machine is a best suitable solution while replacing other marking technologies like inkjet, dot peen, or labeling. 

Remember, CO2 lasers provide you with a high mark quality and are a cost effective solution. They are useful for marking date codes, serial numbers, and other products like wood, glass, rubber, plastics, cardboards, etc. 

2. Fiber lasers:

If you are marking non-organic materials like metal or plastic and want contrast in your mark then a fiber laser is the solution. Fiber lasers are at 1 micron wavelength, it should be in a separate room and enclosed with doors. They should follow the CDRH i.e. Center for Devices and Radiological Health safety considerations to work in safe environments.

Note: Fiber mark lasers offer a wide range of capabilities and produce high quality marks. You can easily engrave serial numbers, bar code, 2D Data matrix, and graphics on materials like metals, plastics, and ceramics.

Additionally, make sure to use laser parts like precitec nozzles, precitec laser head parts, etc. as they are easy to replace.

3. Diode Pump Lasers:

If you are marking on plastic or anodized aluminum with a high contrast mark then use diode pump laser technology. It has three times more power than conventional fiber lasers. This delivers short pulses which creates clean, crisp marks using minimal surface.

Note: Diode pumped lasers deliver razor sharp, high contrast marks which improves readability. Additionally, it also increases the traceability via throughput process.

Conclusion:

Understanding different laser types and which to use when is important. We can understand there are plenty of different laser machines useful today. And many times it can be difficult to choose one over another. We hope this helps you overcome your confusion and helps you choose the correct laser.

Source: https://altpartsinc.wixsite.com/altpartsinc/single-post/tips-to-choose-laser-machine