In Search of Higher-Pressure Laser Gas: Today’s Laser-Cutting Challenge

Metal fabrication shops of all sizes are facing new challenges when it comes to laser cutting. Advances in laser technology have led to a requirement for more powerful assist gas pressures as part of the cutting process. As a result, shop owners all over are searching for ways to maintain their high-quality production levels while also finding a cost-effective way of generating these higher pressures - often with high purity gasses.

Whether you are looking for solutions that will provide long-term value, or just need quick answers on getting your shop up and running with increased pressure requirements, there are a few options available that will meet your operational needs.

Compressed Gasses in Metal Fabrication

Compressed gasses are a crucial component of metal fabrication. When laser light impinges on a solid target, it is either reflected, absorbed, or transmitted according to the incident energy density, duration, wavelength, and the physical properties of the material to be processed. If the power density is low, the light that’s absorbed appears as heat, which is then slowly distributed throughout the materials by thermal diffusion. This leads to the absorption of energy at just below the surface level.

At higher power densities, intense local heating of the surface will occur, and the reflectivity will fall to perhaps half its normal value. Under these conditions, the heat cannot be conducted away quickly enough to prevent the surface temperature from reaching melting point and forming a molten pool. A further increase in power density will cause the surface temperature of the molten pool to reach boiling point and vaporization will occur. This happens when the energy dissipated is approximately equal to the latent heat of sublimation. The molten material is removed by gravity, or by a jet of assist gas, such as compressed argon, helium, and nitrogen.

By harnessing the power of compressed gas, metal fabricators are able to manipulate and shape metal in precise ways, leading to high-quality and accurate finished products.

New Lasers Can Bring New Unforeseen Challenges

The newest generation of laser-cutting machines utilizes assist gas (sometimes referred to as process gas) at much higher pressures than the previous generation laser cutters. That’s because they are designed to be even more accurate and efficient than their aging counterparts.

However, operators using these newer laser cutters are facing a similar issue: their gas supply system is only set up for the flow rates needed by the previous generation of laser-cutting apparatuses. As one can expect, without the proper gas pressure, the cutting process suffers—resulting in lower quality products and more wasted materials.

So, at issue now is how to generate higher pressures without incurring the costs of building out the new plumbing, infrastructure, and equipment that’s needed to facilitate the new pressure requirement—especially after having made a substantial capital expenditure for the new laser itself.

Cost-Effective Solutions for Increasing Laser-Cutting Gas Supply Pressure

Finding solutions to increase pressure without further sacrificing production time and costs can be a challenging task. However, with the help of gas boosters­–compact but powerful gas compressors designed to generate and maintain high pressures–desired pressure levels can be achieved without the need for expensive plumbing or infrastructure.

Technologically advanced gas boosters, such as those developed by Haskel, offer higher pressure with ease, while maintaining a safe operating environment, and without any negative impact on efficiency. For dealing with high purity compressed gasses, such as with compressed oxygen, it’s imperative that the system is free of hydrocarbons/oils that could potentially ignite. As it is particularly important to feed laser jets with gas that has minimal contaminants, Haskel offers Level II Cleaning Mods for gas boosters that can boost gas at 99.999% purity.

With gas boosters you can achieve your desired pressure levels without having to build out new plumbing and infrastructure. Not to mention, there’s no wasted cutting materials or wasted return gas. Gas boosters allow you to draw the compressed gas cylinder down to the minimum return pressure, even below the pressure that’s needed for the application. For example, if you need your assist gas at 1,000 psig, without a gas booster you would have to send the bottle back when the pressure dropped below 1,000 psig. By using a gas booster, you can go all the way down to minimum. Or, if you have several use points and normally buy smaller bottles­—at a higher price per cubic foot—by using a Haskel booster, you could now purchase larger bottles and fill the small bottles directly yourself.

In addition, not only will a gas booster or packaged system allow you to use 90% to 95% of the gas in your purchased cylinders, but also will maintain your process pressure when cylinder pressure drops to as low as 30 psig. (Minimum level is usually selected in each application based on specific cost and availability of the purchased gas.)

And for larger metal fabrication operations that uses multiple laser cutters at the same time, you can obtain these types of benefits at a larger scale by utilizing the automated gas compression prowess of Haskel’s technologically advanced electric gas compressor, Q-Drive. Its onboard tracking data features are powered by smart technology that can help with efficiency and performance by providing real-time information and trends. Investing in these innovative solutions not only saves time and effort, but also guarantees that your laser-cutting operations are running at peak performance.

If you’re in need of higher gas pressures, contact a Haskel representative today to discover how Haskel Gas Boosters can help you meet your high-pressure gas and laser-cutting requirements.