Plasma Cutting Machines | Laser Cutting Machines | Plasma and Drilling Machines | CNC Hypertherm Plasma Cutters
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FOR TRUE HOLE TECHNOLOGY PLEASE VISIT:
AUSTECH 2010
The Austech Exhibition was a great success for Farley Laserlab. We would like to thank AMTIL for putting on a great show and looking forward to next year’s one.
We would also like to thank everyone who visited our stand at the show. It was great to chat with our existing customers and suppliers as well as having the opportunity to meet new contacts within the industry.
Farley Laserlab New Drilling and Tapping Head for Magician and Trident Plasma Cutting Machines
Welcome to FARLEY LASERLAB Australia - Plasma, Laser and Drilling Machine Manufacture
Farley Laserlab is a world leader in the fields of Hypertherm High Definition CNC plasma cutting, oxy cutting, laser cutting and drilling machines. Farley Laserlab have been supplying CNC laser and plasma cutting machines to the industry for over 30 years. Today Farley Laserlab has thousands of CNC profile machines installed in over 23 countries worldwide.
Farley Laserlab cutting machines are products attributed to years of customer collaboration and research and development. This is what makes Farley Laserlab the world leader in laser and plasma cutting, and drilling machine tool technology. Farley Laserlab has produced the very best in cutting machines for the past 30 years and continues to develop new technologies for the future.
Farley Laserlab enjoys excellent working relationships with all key component suppliers for both plasma cutting machines and laser cutting machines. The Farley Laserlab plasma and drilling machines run all Hypertherm high definition plasma systems, SIEMENS servos and drives and GE FUNC processor boards in the Farley Laserlab PDF-TS CNC controller. The Farley Laserlab Laser cutting systems use a combination of Rofin, PRC and CP laser sources, SIEMENS servos and drives and a SIEMENS 840D CNC controller with a Farley Laserlab HMI.Farley Laserlab are a company committed to quality and only use the best components throughout their entire range of quality machines.
Farley Laserlab also carries a large range of Hypertherm consumables so gives us a call today to on 03 9931 9400 03 9931 9400 03 9931 9400 03 9931 9400 receive a price list. At Farley Laserlab we prefer to reward our loyal customers with consistent and ongoing percentage off discounts so that our customers always know exactly what their cutting costs will be. We also provide an overnight delivery service on all Hypertherm HyPerformance HPR and HPRXD consumables.
Plasma and Laser Cutting FAQ
At Farley Laserlab we often have customers thinking of upgrading to a new machine or just looking into what machine could possibly suite their profiling needs. We decided to put together a list of frequently asked questions and provide some short and concise answers. We hope that this FAQ may help you in quickly ascertain some of the basics involved when looking into a profile machine purchase.
What is Plasma?
Plasma is the forth state of matter along with solids, liquids and gases. Plasma is a jet or beam of ionised gas capable of conducting electricity. This ionized jet or beam produces extreme heat of around 22,000 C.
What is Laser?
Laser is actually an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Simply put , a Laser is an optical devise emitting high density light, this high density light either melts or vaporises material when in contact.
What is a CNC Cutting Machine?
CNC stands for Computer Numerically Controlled; a CNC Machine is a machine which is controlled by a computer through a numerical program, this program is often in a format called G-code. G-code is also used on a wide variety of CNC machines such as Lathes and Mills. 2D profiling CNC machines can use Plasma or Laser to sever material into almost any 2D shape by melting or vaporising the material. This type of 2D profiling CNC machines have been used in industry for over 25 years.
Why have a Cutting Torch and Drill on the one machine?
Multi Processing Machine Advantage
There is a huge advantage to drilling, tapping and cutting parts in the one setup such as less materials handling, more accurate parts, faster part production, no need for second or third operation and many more. Have a look at our Fabricator XRP video to see what is possible, also check out the benefits of multi processing by clicking on the above link.
What is High Definition Plasma?
Hypertherm High Definition Plasma Systems
High Definition Plasma is the same process as plasma cutting but the plasma beam is delivered through a much smaller orifice at higher velocity and results in more accurate profile cutting. A shield gas is also used to swirl around the plasma beam to constrict the beam and keep the cutting beam straight resulting in a square edge on the cut parts. Hypertherm have been the market leaders in the High Definition cutting industry and continue to push the boundary of what is possible with their new 400 amp High Definition unit the Hypertherm HPR400XD capable of piercing mild steel 50mm thick.
What is a Virtually Dross-Free finish?
A virtually dross free finish means that the cut edge finish is almost totally free from any molten dags of material still stuck to the underside of the part once it is cut. A virtually dross-free finished edge will be able to be handled without any other de-burring process being necessary. Virtually dross-free edge finish is the goal of High Definition systems and machines.
What are the advantages of a water table?
Farley Laserlab supply many of their machines with water tables because of the following reasons; water muffles the sound of the plasma cutter, parts can be kept cooler and wont distort, fumes are pushed into the water rather than the atmosphere, less power is needed compared to a fume extraction table, the table is silent except for when its raising or lowering the water and there is no need to purchase an expensive fume extraction system.
What are the advantages of a fume extraction table?
Farley Laserlab has just designed an all new moving dross box fume extraction system which we are sure will be very popular with our customers. Some of the advantages of a fume extraction table are as follows; no contaminated water to discard off, no possibility of a table leaking, dross bins are often easier to clean out and parts have no chance of getting wet.
What table option is the best?
Every companies needs are different so the best way to find out what tables suits your needs is to discuss your products, production style and space requirements with a professional.
What Industries use Laser cutters?
There are a huge range of industries that use Laser cutting on a day to day basis and many of the everyday product that you may use yourself are Laser cut. Laser cutting is a very versatile process because of the ability to cut both conductive and non conductive material at high speed with great accuracy of around.
What industries use Plasmas Cutters?
Many different industries use plasma for cutting, for example because of the thickness cutting capabilities many companies in the heavy engineering sectors use plasma to efficiently cut thick steel plate that would not be suitable for Laser. This doesn't mean that Plasma can't be used in many other industries looking for reducing their cost of cutting such as the very competitive ducting industry which often use small machines such as the Farley Laserlab Rapier. Plasma machines with Drilling functionality are also very popular in the Bridge Building and Structural Steel industry because of the advantages gained from multi processing by drilling and cutting in the one setup.
How does Laser compare to Plasma?
Both cutting disciplines have their place within the 2D profile cutting industry and both excel in different areas. Lasers are best for thin gauge material where plasma cutters are best at cutting thicker material. With Laser resonator getting more and more powerful and High Definition plasma systems cutting better and better all the time there's now a large cross over between the two. The best way to ascertain which discipline is right for your company is to talk with an expert in both fields about the thickness of material needing to be cut, the amount of work needing to be processed, the finish and accuracy needed and the rough budget for the machine.
How does Oxyfuel compare to Plasma?
A Plasma cutting machine is capable of cutting material much faster than oxyfuel, but plasma is only capable of piercing material up to 50mm thick. Plasma is also able to cut a larger range of material and transfers much less heat into material than oxyfuel. Often plasma cutting torches and oxyfuel cutting torches are mounted on the same CNC cutting machine to give the machine a larger range of processing thicknesses, for example 3mm - 150+mm. For most work Plasma is more efficient than Oxyfuel as 90% of steel cut is less than 50mm thick and if you were to compare a Hypertherm HPR400XD to an oxyfuel system it would process 50mm mild steel more than twice as fast..
What Materials can be cut on a Plasma Cutter?
Plasma Cutters are able to cut many conductive materials including Mild Steel, Aluminum, Copper and Stainless Steel. The most popular material cut in the industry is mild steel which also gives the best cutting results.
What thickness of material can be cut with Plasma?
Generally Plasma is used to cut mild steel between 3mm - 50mm thick. Although there are many customers in the industry cutting both thinner and thicker material.
What High Definition Plasma System has the greatest range of processing thickness?
The new Hypertherm HPR400XD now provides the greatest range of processing from a high definition plasma system. The Hypertherm HPR400XD is capable of cutting 0.5mm mild steel at 30 amps and still able to cut 50mm mild steel at 400amps. See the video of the Hypertherm HPR400XD cutting 50mm mild steel plate.
What thickness of material can be cut with Laser?
Laser can cut a range of material thicknesses depending on the size of the resonator. Laser cuts thicknesses up to 10mm - 12mm mild steel best, but there are customers who choose to cut material over 20mm thick.
What Material can be cut on a Laser Cutter?
There are many materials that can be cut on a laser but some cut better than others. Laser often need higher quality or higher grades of material to cut efficiently. Materials that can be cut on a laser include Mild Steel, Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Wood, Plastic and many more. Care should be given when cutting different types of materials on Laser machine set up to cut steel. Good quality stainless steel cuts best on a laser machine.
Are Plasma Cutters expensive to run?
Plasma cutting machines are a very affordable way to 2D profile steel parts and good quality plasma machines require little maintenance. Most of the cost incurred while cutting comes from consumables such as Gas, Electrodes and Nozzles which are relatively cheap in comparison to the amount of cutting they can produce. Hypertherm systems use the best technology available to maximise consumable life and therefore minimise the cost of cutting for the end user. When purchasing a machine make sure the manufacturer can supply you with a good supply of well priced consumables.
Do you need a highly skilled Operator to run a Plasma Cutter?
For most simple 3 axis cutting machines, operators with no experience can be trained in a couple of days to be a successful operator. With the machines and cutting equipment technology increasing all the time the modern machines are very easy to run and high cut quality can be produced without the need for years of experience. Farley Laserlab also provides their customers with a PC based Selfed Paced Learning Program before the official training starts so that customers staff can already begin learning about plasma cutting and the machine operation before the machine even arrives.
If you have any other questions or need more information on any of the above feel free to contact us at sales@farleylaserlab.com.au