3 Aluminium Cutting Problems to Avoid
Have you ever struggled to cut aluminium in the way that you want? Aluminium is a versatile material with great properties that have made it a favourite with many manufacturers, but cutting aluminium properly isn't always as easy as you might wish. Poor quality cutting can result in imperfections which remain visible on the finished item.
When you want to cut aluminium to create your new piece of equipment or product, then you must partner with an experienced metal fabrication company who knows how to work with aluminium and how to create the professional standard of work that you need.
Here are three problems that can occur with aluminium that you must look out for when checking the quality of your products.
Excessive burring
If the person doing your aluminium cutting is inexperienced, then it is common for burring to occur. While burring can normally be removed once the aluminium cutting is completed, this introduces an additional process which adds to the manufacturing time and costs. It is better to look for a company that has sufficient experience to set up the cutting equipment correctly the first time. By precisely calibrating the controls of the machine, burring can be avoided and the company can get the cut right at the first attempt.
The laser beam is allowed to reflect
Aluminium is a reflective metal, and this can be problematic since one of the most common ways of cutting metal is laser cutting. If the laser beam is allowed to bounce back from the reflective surface of the metal, then not only will it fail to cut the metal, but it could even damage the aluminium cutting equipment. A professional metal cutting company will be familiar with this problem and will know the right equipment settings to use to avoid the 'bounce.'
A less experienced company might talk about coating the aluminium with a non-reflective material, but that is a poor solution. It will work for the first cut made in the metal, but once that cut is made, the reflective surface is exposed and the same problem returns.
Not considering the thickness of the aluminium
While aluminium cutting using a high-powered laser will often be the right solution, as the thickness of the aluminium sheet increases, it often makes sense to consider alternative options like water cutting.
Speak to any prospective aluminium cutting company and find out which method of cutting they propose to use for your project.