Also, this technique is only suitable for thinner materials.įly cutting works by software analyzing the nest and identifying grids and lines of holes and then splitting the cutting into separate short line or arc segments that lie on the same line or circle. This is only relevant for users of machines that will support this functionality. If your components often contain arrays of holes such as air vents then fly cutting, also referred to as grid cutting can drastically reduce cutting time. However, when performing common cutting there are other considerations to take into account, such as sheet stability on machines with fixed head and intelligent cutting of notches at the adjacent component edges. Not only can this save material and consumables, but it can also significantly reduce the machine runtime. This is the process of eliminating the skeleton between parts, separating them instead with a single cut. Let’s start appropriately with one of the most common ways to improve efficiency – common cutting. It is during these two processes that advanced technologies can be applied that can reduce runtime and wear on the machine as well as improving the quality of the finished part. Next, it needs to go through the CAM process, with cutting technology applied based on the CNC machine to be used, followed by the creation of a nest of one or more components. Either way, you may not necessarily be getting the best performance out of your machine.Ī component starts life in CAD – perhaps either as a single entity or part of a more complex assembly. Martin Bailey, General Manager of JETCAM explains techniques that can squeeze more performance out of your CNC laser.ĬADCAM/nesting software may either have been supplied alongside your machine or you may have sourced a system to drive multiple brands and cutting types. Yet often companies will overlook the relatively inexpensive cost of appropriate CAM and nesting software that could get significantly better performance out of their investment. ![]() In this case, the feasibility and optimisation of the machining order with this cutting method advantages of laser cutting depends on the shape and position of the holes.The purchase of a new fiber laser is not an insignificant one. Meanwhile, a screen with circular holes is cut one hole at a time, optimising the path of the movements.Īpart from these two types of screens, which are the most common, it is also possible to machine another type of hole, composed of arches and/or segments. On a screen with rectangular holes, all the horizontal cuts should be made first, followed by the vertical cuts (or vice versa). Empty movements are also optimised so they are as short as possible between two cuts and have the smallest possible change of direction. The algorithm that calculates the machining order must detect holes in the screens to perform this type of cut.ĭepending on the shape of the hole, it has to be partitioned and reformatted to machine the maximum number of elements without changing direction to avoid processing the corners and minimising the speed reduction time for a change in direction. The machining order and process used for the holes must be correct to ensure the best possible performance during fly-cutting mode. In these cases, the machining time is considerably reduced, with a subsequent increase in productivity. This cutting mode is useful for certain jobs that involve parts with many interior holes, in which the cutting movements are alternated with short empty movements. To do this, the material thickness must be fine enough to be drilled without any activation time, a process known as “piercing on the fly.” To accomplish this kind of cut, the machine and the numeric control must be capable of turning the laser on and off, as well as being precisely positioned at a certain point within a minimum time interval (fractions of a second). In normal mode cutting, the machining process has separate paths, so the laser always turns on and off after the movement of the head shafts have stopped. The term “flying cut” refers to the cutting mode in which the laser cutting process is turned on while the head is moving. By Asier Ortiz, chief technical officer, Lantek ![]() Utilising the “flying cut” is especially useful to help with jobs that involve many interior holes.
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