Process |
Advantages |
Limitations |
| Laser Cutting |
Extremely versatile, fast and accurateCan handle large parts to 5′ X 10′ and very small partsComplex geometry easily produced |
Thickness limited to 1 inch in carbon steels, can’t cut silver or glass, copper can damage the laser optics, poly-carbonates (lexan) and plastics give off hazardous gases |
| Turret Punch Presses |
Fast for rectangular, hole intensive parts |
Special tools often needed, overlapping slots/edges need de-burring, hole diameter minimum .03″ |
| Milling Machining |
Accurate pocketing, thick materials |
Geometry limits and slow speed (mostly aluminum) |
| Plasma Cutter |
Good cutting, ok piercing, good for thick aluminum |
Heat along edges, not good for small diameter holes, UV Radiation, noisy |
| Flame Cutting |
Several inches thick possible, fast cutting |
Poor accuracy, poor hole piercing, noisy, fumes, dirty process |
| Wire EDM |
Excellent edges and highly accurate on small parts (around 12X12 inches) |
Very slow cutting speeds, starter holes must be pre-drilled and wire fed through manually |
| Water Jet Cutting |
Cuts soft materials and thick materials (stone, foam, etc. |
Accuracy on hard materials +/-.015 inches, messy when grit is added |
| Hard Tooling |
Great for long runs of 1,000-1,000,000 lances/forms/louvers |
Costly for short and medium runs |
| Drilling |
Deep holes and drilling stacks |
Slow, one size at a time, accuracy poor for over a diameter of .03 inches, fixturing/locating time consuming |
| Routing |
Good for softer materials like woodand plastic |
Poor to impossible for hard metals |
| Shearing |
Good for general purpose shearing, straight cuts for tolerances >+/- .02 inches |
Angles hard to accomplish, poor accuracy +/-.02 inches thin and thick parts “bow” and “twist” |
| Sawing |
Good for structural cutting |
Poor accuracy, slow cutting flat parts, saw blades expensive |
| Contour Punching |
Good for occasional openings |
Poor edge scallops > .015 inches needs removal, secondary operation |
| Nibbling (Pullmax) |
OK edges on large openings for fans and circles |
Can’t compare cut quality with any type cutter |
