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O1 laser cutting blanks
- Thread starter BadKnife
- Start date
- Joined
- May 6, 2009
- Messages
- 924
i dont know much about laser cutting but from what i understand there can be an issue with the high heat all the edges endure, besides that iv only heard good things.
Have you considered water jet cutting? I live in St.Catharines about an hour south of you and if you need a good place i can speak for a local company that has been a pleasure to deal with. They have even worked with some very well known Canadian knife makers.
feel free to let me know if youd like to know more about them.
Have you considered water jet cutting? I live in St.Catharines about an hour south of you and if you need a good place i can speak for a local company that has been a pleasure to deal with. They have even worked with some very well known Canadian knife makers.
feel free to let me know if youd like to know more about them.
If the temperature goes above critical, the surrounding areas will essentially harden as it cools and if you don't have the necessary equipment to anneal it, it will be much more difficult to work with afterwards. I found this out when trying to drill through a part that I forged.
Also, the hardening is not due to air cooling. It's due to radiation so there's pretty much nothing you can really do other than holding it in a container that's at the annealing temperature. Kaowool will work (I believe by reflecting as much radiation back) to some extent but not back to the original soft state.
Also, the hardening is not due to air cooling. It's due to radiation so there's pretty much nothing you can really do other than holding it in a container that's at the annealing temperature. Kaowool will work (I believe by reflecting as much radiation back) to some extent but not back to the original soft state.
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2007
- Messages
- 1,380
I've worked with over 7,000 laser cut blanks. The cons are:
Any cut edges will be ROCK hard. You will have great difficulty machining laser-cut holes, scribing a center line, etc - unless you anneal or grind off the HAZ (heat affected zone).
The blanks will likely be warped.
If your laser cutter doesn't do a great job, any fine protrusions (e.g. knife tips) may be melted and rounded off.
The pros are:
Cut perpendicularity is usually very good (often better than waterjet). Cut quality is hopefully very good (often better than waterjet).
Any cut edges will be ROCK hard. You will have great difficulty machining laser-cut holes, scribing a center line, etc - unless you anneal or grind off the HAZ (heat affected zone).
The blanks will likely be warped.
If your laser cutter doesn't do a great job, any fine protrusions (e.g. knife tips) may be melted and rounded off.
The pros are:
Cut perpendicularity is usually very good (often better than waterjet). Cut quality is hopefully very good (often better than waterjet).
Thanks for the replies. I am nervous about getting my blanks laser cut now. I thought it would be an easy process but it seems like much more than I bargained for.
Has anyone had blanks laser cut ? This process was to make it easier but it is seeming to be more work.
How large is the heat affected zone?
Has anyone had blanks laser cut ? This process was to make it easier but it is seeming to be more work.
How large is the heat affected zone?