Cutting 1inch A514 Steel on a Fiber Laser

Has anyone tried cutting out A514 steel on a Fiber Laser and is it possible?.

I tried to cut 1 inch A514 steel on my Amada Ensis 3015 AJ Fiber Laser but it can only sometimes get a good pierce based on where I put the start position at. When I don't get a good pierce it doesn't pierce all the way through and slag ends up shooting everything. Is there a way to change my pierce condition to make it better? Thanks!

I don't know about A514, but a subcontractor for us cuts 3/4" AR400.

It's slow, but it gets there eventually.

Looks like you are past the max thicknesses listed in the specs for that machine (I found 1.00" mild steel, probably A36). If it cuts okay after a good pierce then it should be possible to dial in a pierce setting. Write a program with a sampling of maybe 5 different pierce parameters a bit more aggressive each and do 10 tests of each see how that goes. I wouldn't expect to be able to get 95+% reliability since you are out of capacity... Definitely in plasma territory if allowable for parts.

I used to work at a place that used Donner Laser Company in MN as a sub-contractor. They do awesome work and show examples on their website of up to 2.00" mild steel on a laser. A514 was no problem for them and we even had them cut tap size holes in .50" plate that we would cut tap with flex arm pretty amazing work done by those boys. We would do thinner plate in house (maybe up to .625") with the old clapped out laser some A514.

Yeah we have cut A36 1" steel like a dream. The A154 cuts out good once you get past the terrible pierce. Thanks for the advice!

We have cut 3/16 AR500 in the past without any issue. We have also cut 1" A36 and it cut out perfectly fine. I just think since the material is already hardedend it's hard for the laser to go all the way through it. Thanks for the reply!

I have no idea if this is possible in your software, but could you pierce in a scrap area with a zig-zag motion, then when a good cut is established move to the actual part?

Milland said:

I have no idea if this is possible in your software, but could you pierce in a scrap area with a zig-zag motion, then when a good cut is established move to the actual part?

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Not too sure if I can make this happen in the software I use. I can add a radius to my lead in, but i'm not sure if adding one will make a difference. I heard on water jets you can do a "spiral" through thick material to make it go through better but that's on a water jet. Thanks for the reply!

Milland said:

I have no idea if this is possible in your software, but could you pierce in a scrap area with a zig-zag motion, then when a good cut is established move to the actual part?

Click to expand...

noflo_jon said:

Not too sure if I can make this happen in the software I use. I can add a radius to my lead in, but i'm not sure if adding one will make a difference. I heard on water jets you can do a "spiral" through thick material to make it go through better but that's on a water jet. Thanks for the reply!

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Seen it done on plasma and oxy on thick, it is usually a spiral.

Point is to make a long lead in so the pierce is not blowing back up into the nozzle. by making a long lead in (spiral to take up less space) the jet coming back up is deflected at an angle by the torch continuously moving away.

May or may not apply but I did watch a video where the laser starts to pierce and then stops and retracts. It did this for all pierces required. Operator then took a scraper and knocked the slag off at the pierce areas. Then had the laser resume. I only have 1000 watts so 1" is not possible.

With a laser the pierce is a lot less dramatic than plasma, oxyfuel, or waterjet. If you have the right nesting software (ProNest) you can do common line cutting which basically cuts all the exterior lines in one cut.

OT, but how old is your Amada and what did you pay for it?

Drill a pilot hole with a magnet drill?

Or punch a clearance slug with a 60+ ton ironworker?