Plasma, Oxyfuel and Waterjet Cutting Machines

High Definition Plasma Cutting Machines

Plasma cutting has long been seen as a low cost alternative to oxy-fuel and laser profiling where cut angle was not an issue. Recent developments in the high precision/high definition plasma process have significantly improved the quality and capabilities of plasma cutting, making it a more versatile and accurate option than ever before.

Application Suitability

Plasma cutting is suitable for various materials particularly mild steels and stainless steels producing an excellent edge finish.

Enhancements to the control systems now mean that optimum cutting performance for a range of materials and thicknesses from 1mm to 50mm in mild steel (dependent upon the power of the plasma unit) can be achieved.

Parameters associated with cutting a wide range of materials and thicknesses such as cutting speed, gas types and gas pressures can now be controlled automatically by the Kerf equipment, ensuring a consistently high cut quality. Users now have a truly cost effective alternative to other cutting processes.

Oxyfuel Cutting Machines

As a tried and tested process, oxy-fuel cutting has been around for many years and will be around for many more to come. Ideal for a wide range of industrial applications, oxy-fuel cutting has been enhanced and refined to make it a more cost-effective method of manufacturing components.

In some instances, oxy-fuel can produce parts that other processes simply cannot. In other cases, many components can be produced more economically than through laser, plasma or water-jet cutting.

Waterjet Cutting Machines

For many years the flexibility and reliability of waterjet cutting systems has seen the process used in both high volume production scenarios and with lower volume or one-off bespoke creative applications.

The Benefits

A uniquely accurate and powerful process, a waterjet facilitates the cutting of the widest range of materials and thicknesses. Offering a rapid transition from drawing to finished part, the benefits are many and varied. High accuracy and edge finish often eliminates the need for secondary cutting in the majority of applications.

Waterjet cutting is a cold process, meaning that there are no heat effected zones, hardened material or material stresses. A clean accurate burr-free finish often eliminates the need for secondary surface finishing. The process also leads to small diameter highly accurate kerfs, ensuring that the clean finished products can be manufactured in a way that might not be possible with other processes.

As well as being ideal for both short and long production runs, waterjet cutting also means that prototypes for products still in development are quickly and easily created. Where second generation prototypes are needed, these can be turned round quickly and at less expense than when the product has to be sent back to the planning stage.

A selection of materials that can be cut with a Kerf machine.

Hard materials such as:

- Aluminium

- Brass

- Copper

- Mild steel

- Stainless steel

- Titanium

- Tool steel

Soft materials such as:

- Acrylic Foam

- Nylon

- Polypropylene

- Rubber

Brittle materials such as:

- Carbon Fibre

- Ceramic

- Glass

- Granite

- Kevlar

- Marble