Because these materials are quite soft they are also good candidates for an abrasive waterjet.
Laser cutting vs waterjet cost.
Type of metal or material you d like to cut cost involved the efficiency of the machine or.
Waterjet and laser are typically much more expensive to operate requiring specialist gases and other high cost consumables.
Say you have a project that adds up to 15 000 in total cuts.
The cutting stream of a water jet is typically 030 040 in.
Thick and brass less than 0 16 in.
Customers often choose laser cutting for its cost effectiveness cutting tolerances as close as 003 repeatability 001 and for its cutting capacity up to 3 4 carbon steel and 5 8 stainless steel.
Waterjet is both slow and costly to run making it the least productive system to operate.
Waterjet is usually considered to be the most expensive typically estimated at about 30 hour.
Waterjet cutting is much slower and much more costly per hour of use.
Laser cutting cost in terms of operation is not even close.
Combined with the speed and precision of cutting waterjet vs.
Choosing between laser and waterjet cutting would therefore entirely depend on your specifications.
Method and the convenience of each method.
When cutting thin materials with laser very high cutting speeds can be achieved which can help to reduce the cost per part.
The cost of laser would be slightly higher typically estimated at around 20 hour.
The bottom line the best method to use whether its plasma cutting vs.
Choosing between laser and waterjet cutting is not as straightforward as it may seem.
Waterjet cutting vs laser cutting.
Waterjet will depend on the quality of the outcome.
Let s do some quick math.
Laser cutters can cut thick materials but a waterjet machine can cut thicker objects the optimal thickness being 0 4 to 2 0 10 to 50 mm while for laser cutting it is 0 12 to 0 4 3 to 10 mm.
It s not possible to say which one is better as each can be more suitable for different materials and applications.
Many advertisements for fiber laser tout its ability to cut brass copper and aluminum.
The accuracy and quality of the cut.
Generally though laser will cut faster on aluminum less than 0 20 in.