How To Choose Industrial Laser Metal Cutting Machine

Selecting the right industrial laser metal cutting machine represents a critical investment decision that impacts production capacity, product quality, and long-term profitability. With laser cutting technology advancing rapidly and numerous manufacturers offering diverse options, understanding key specifications, features, and capabilities becomes essential for making informed purchasing decisions.

This comprehensive guide walks through the critical factors to consider when choosing an industrial laser metal cutting machine, helping manufacturers match equipment capabilities with their specific production requirements and business objectives.

Tips For Choosing One Laser Metal Cutting Machine

Laser Power Requirements

Laser power directly determines cutting capability, speed, and material thickness range.

1-3 kW Lasers – Suitable for thin materials (up to 6mm steel, 3mm stainless steel, 8mm aluminum). Ideal for sheet metal fabrication, electronics enclosures, and decorative metalwork. Lower initial cost but limited capacity.

4-6 kW Lasers – Mid-range workhorses handling materials up to 12mm steel, 8mm stainless steel, and 15mm aluminum efficiently. Excellent balance of capability and cost for general manufacturing.

8-12 kW Lasers – High-performance systems cutting up to 20mm steel, 15mm stainless steel, and 25mm aluminum at production speeds. Suitable for structural steel fabrication and heavy equipment manufacturing.

15-30 kW+ Lasers – Ultra-high-power systems for extreme thick cutting (25mm+ steel) and maximum productivity. Justified only for specialized heavy industry applications with demanding production volumes.

Selection Guideline: Choose power based on your thickest regular production material plus 20-30% capacity buffer. Avoid under-powering, which limits future growth, or excessive over-powering that wastes capital.

Working Area Dimensions

Table size must accommodate your largest typical workpieces plus allowance for fixtures and scrap skeleton removal.

Standard Sizes:

• Small: 1500mm x 3000mm (5′ x 10′) – Sheet metal shops, job shops
• Medium: 2000mm x 4000mm (6.5′ x 13′) – General manufacturing
• Large: 2500mm x 6000mm (8′ x 20′) – Structural steel, large fabrication
• Extra Large: 3000mm x 12000mm+ (10′ x 40’+) – Shipbuilding, heavy industry

Considerations: Larger tables cost significantly more, require more floor space, and reduce cutting speed due to longer acceleration distances. Select the smallest size meeting 90% of production needs, outsourcing occasional oversized work.

A laser cutting machine is a new type of equipment that uses a laser beam to cut metal materials. Compared with traditional water cutting,sawing, mechanical cutting, oxygen acetylene cutting torch, plasma cutting torch, and other metal processing methods, laser cutting is more precise, more flexible, larger in output, more environmentally friendly, and more energy-saving. With the development of laser technology, the power of laser sources has gradually increased, its functions have gradually increased, and the price of the machine has become more affordable. In recent years, the market for laser metal cutting machines has gradually increased, and more and more customers are choosing to use laser cutting machines to replace outdated machines to cut metal materials and elevate processing efficiency. So how to choose a laser cutting machine?IGOLDENLaser, as a professional manufacturer with 13 years of experience in the production and sales of laser cutting machines, has listed some tips for you to choose a laser metal cutting machine. We hope we can help you choose a suitable metal laser metal cutting machine.

Clarify demands

Before choosing a suitable laser metal cutting machine, you must first clarify the type, thickness, and size of the metal materials you often need to cut, because these are the most important factors that affect your choice of cutting machine. In addition, the amount of cutting material and the required accuracy of processing materials are also important factors that affect the selection of laser cutting machines. Generally speaking, the more materials that need to be processed and the higher the accuracy requirements for the processed materials, the higher the quality requirements for the machine, and the higher the price of the machine will be.

Determine the format of the cutting machine first

After confirming the needs, we can first confirm the format of the cutting machine according to the size of the metal material that needs to be cut, and then select the laser cutting machine by selecting the appropriate cutting format. Once the format of the laser metal cutting machine is determined, you can greatly narrow the selection of laser cutting machines and save a lot of time selecting laser machines. If you need to process workpieces in batches, we recommend you try to choose a large cutting format. Because it takes a certain amount of time to replace the metal plates. Large-format machines can place more plates at one time, which reduces the time to replace the plates. You can produce more workpieces in a fixed amount of time. In addition, if the space and budget are sufficient, we recommend that you choose a dual-platform machine, which is more efficient. You can change the cutting material on another platform while the laser cutting machine is cutting the plate on one platform. This kind of platform saves the time of changing materials and greatly improves cutting efficiency.

(The picture below is IGOLDENLASER’s dual-platform laser metal cutting machine 3015. It can complete the exchange of platforms within 15 seconds, greatly improving the cutting efficiency.)

Pay attention to the power and brand of the laser source

The laser source is the core component of the laser metal cutting machine. The power of the laser source determines the maximum thickness of the metal material that the entire laser cutting machine can cut. At the same time, the laser source is also an important factor that determines the cutting speed and cutting quality of the entire machine. The higher the laser source power of a laser cutting machine, the better the quality, the faster the machine’s cutting speed, and the better the cutting quality. When choosing a laser metal cutting machine, you can send the material and thickness you need to cut to the sales staff and let them help you choose a suitable laser source. In addition, the quality of a laser source also largely determines the service life and experience of the machine. Therefore, choosing a laser brand with good quality and service is very important for a laser metal cutting machine. At present, due to the continuous development of the laser industry, the production threshold of laser sources has been lowered. Some small manufacturers have also begun to produce laser sources. The quality and after-sales service are difficult to guarantee. We recommend that you choose some big brand lasers such as IPG, RAYCUS, MAX, RECI, etc. They have rich laser production experience and a professional after-sales team that can guarantee product quality and after-sales service.

(The picture below is a picture of a commonly used Max laser source)

Pay attention to the performance of the laser cutting head

The laser cutting head is a component used to process the laser beam emitted by the laser source and output the laser beam for material cutting. It directly determines the quality of laser cutting, so a good laser cutting head is very important for a laser metal cutting machine. Generally speaking, we recommend choosing a laser cutting head based on whether it has an automatic focusing function, the power of the laser source, compatibility with the laser source, dust resistance, and whether it can cut highly reflective materials. The cutting head with auto-focus can adjust the focus faster and more accurately, saving more time and improving cutting efficiency when cutting different thicknesses and materials. High-power lasers generate a lot of energy and may damage the laser head. In this case, a high-performance laser head needs to be selected based on the power of the laser to process the light emitted by the laser head. Since the manufacturers of laser source and laser cutting heads are generally different, you should pay attention to the compatibility of the laser cutting head when choosing a laser metal cutting machine. Regarding sealing, as a precision optical instrument, the sealing of the laser cutting head is particularly important. If dust enters the laser cutting head, it is likely to cause damage to the laser cutting head and the laser source. Therefore, when selecting a laser cutting head, the sealing of the laser head is an element that cannot be ignored. In addition, the type of cutting material also has a great influence on the type of cutting head selected. If you need to frequently cut highly reflective metal materials such as aluminum, copper, and gold, it is recommended to choose a special cutting head. This type of cutting head is more expensive, but the cutting effect is better.

(The picture below is a picture of a common laser-cutting head)

Confirm cutting accuracy

Generally speaking, the accuracy of laser cutting machines is very high. The accuracy of fiber laser cutting machines is within ±0.03mm, which can be suitable for processing most workpieces. But if you need to process particularly precise workpieces, you must pay attention to the accuracy of the laser cutting machine. The accuracy of the laser cutting machine is generally reflected in the repeat positioning accuracy (as shown in the picture below). The smaller the value, the higher the accuracy of the machine. In addition, you can judge the cutting accuracy of a machine from its accessories. The accuracy of a laser cutting machine equipped with a rack is higher than that of a laser cutting machine equipped with a ball screw. The better the rack, the higher the cutting accuracy of the entire machine. Besides,the laser metal cutting machine equipped with a reducer has better-cutting accuracy.

Choose a laser metal cutting machine with fast cutting speed

The speed of the laser metal cutting machine has a direct impact on production efficiency. The faster the cutting speed of the laser metal cutting machine, the more products can be produced per unit of time. Generally speaking, the factors that affect the cutting machine mainly include the laser, motor power, and the transmission mode of the machine. The impact of lasers on cutting speed has been explained in the section on laser selection. Now we mainly talk about the impact of motor and machine transmission methods on cutting speed. The movement of the cutting head of the laser cutting machine needs to be driven by a motor fixed on the beam (the picture below marks the position of the motor in the laser metal cutting machine), so the greater the motor power of the laser metal cutting machine, the faster the cutting speed of the laser cutting machine will be. In addition, you can also judge the efficiency of a laser cutting machine by its acceleration. The faster the acceleration, the faster the laser head moves per unit time. The shorter the time required to reach the maximum speed, the higher the cutting efficiency. In addition, the moving speed of the laser cutting head has a lot to do with the transmission mode of the whole machine. The precision and speed of rack-driven machines are better than those of ball screw-driven machines. When choosing a laser metal cutting machine, try to choose rack-driven machines.

Pay attention to the operability and functionality of the software

If the laser source is the heart of the laser cutting machine, then the software of the laser cutting machine is equivalent to the brain of the entire machine. For novices, software with simple operations and full functions is easier to use. For users who need to cut materials in batches and often need to process different types of materials and handle different complex graphics, it is very important to have good software. Good cutting software can help users process graphics faster and design cutting routes, efficiently utilize cutting materials, and reduce the waste of cutting materials. When selecting a laser cutting machine, you can judge the performance of the software by confirming with the manufacturer the functions of the software, such as whether it has flying cutting, automatic typesetting, and other functions. (The picture below is the interface of CYPCUT software, an efficient software commonly used for laser cutting machines. It is calculating the path.)

Pay attention to confirm the safety of the machine

Safety is something that must be paid attention to when choosing a laser metal cutting machine because lasers have ultra-high energy, and if the machine does not have a safety protection system, it can easily cause serious injury to the user. So how to check the safety of a machine? Firstly, we can determine whether the product has safety certificates such as CE and FDA. If the product has safety certificates, it can prove that it has passed the safety inspection of the European Union and the United States, and its safety can be guaranteed. Secondly, we can check whether there are safety signs emergency stop buttons, and other accessories on the machine. Emergency stop buttons are very important for handling emergencies. If a machine does not have an emergency stop button, it can be said to be completely unqualified. In addition, we recommend choosing a machine with a safety cover as much as possible. This kind of machine cover can not only block the optical radiation of the laser but also help control the exhaust gas emitted when the laser cutting machine processes metal, making it more friendly to the production environment.

Confirm the strength of suppliers

When selecting a laser metal cutting machine, it is also very important to determine the overall strength of the supplier. A good supplier can guarantee the quality of the machine and service. You can determine the strength of the supplier from the following aspects:

1. Whether the supplier has its factory and the size of the factory. Generally speaking, suppliers with independent factories have faster delivery times. The larger the factory scale, the more popular the machine is, the quality of the machine will be better. If possible, it is recommended to go to the factory for an on-site inspection.

2. If they have experience in producing laser cutting machines. With the continuous development of the laser industry, more and more manufacturers of other industries have entered the laser industry and want a share of the pie. However, they are not professional enough in laser cutting production and do not have expertise in product development and processing. The quality of the machine produced is difficult to guarantee due to the problem of capacity.

3. whether there is an after-sales team. The laser cutting machine is a large-scale mechanical equipment, which has a certain degree of difficulty in operation and requires professional guidance. In addition, if there is a problem, it requires professional personnel to repair it. At this time, it is particularly important to have professional personnel who can help solve the problem.

4. whether there are safety certificates such as CE, FDA, etc. As mentioned before, the safety of laser cutting machines is very important. In addition, in some areas, if there is no professional safety certificate, it may be detained by the customs during import customs clearance. causing unnecessary losses.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Laser Cutting Machines Compared with Common Cutting Tools

Cutting machine is a common and very important tool for material processing. Common cutting machines include water jet cutting machines, plasma cutting machines, punch presses, CNC routers, etc. They have different working principles and processing methods, and are used in the processing of different materials. In recent years, with the development of laser technology, more and more customers choose to use laser cutting machines for cutting, and laser cutting machines occupy some of the past market share of other cutting machines. So what makes laser cutting machines stand out in the fierce market competition? Today, let us analyze the advantages and disadvantages of laser cutting in cutting machines by comparing the characteristics of commonly used cutting machines on the market.

Advantage 1: High-precision

Laser cutting uses a high-power density laser beam to scan the material surface, heating the material to thousands to tens of thousands of degrees Celsius in a very short time, melting or vaporizing the material, and then using high-pressure gas to melt or vaporize the material. The chemical substance is blown away from the cutting seam to achieve the purpose of cutting the material. Laser cutting uses an invisible beam instead of a traditional mechanical knife. The mechanical part of the laser head has no contact with the work and will not cause scratches to the work surface during work. In addition, due to the small diameter of the beam,.the contact surface with the materials is smaller, so the cutting accuracy is higher. The working principle of plasma cutting machine is to use the heat of high-temperature plasma arc to partially melt the metal at the incision of the workpiece, and use the momentum of high-speed plasma to remove the molten metal to form an incision. Its cutting slit is larger, so its accuracy is smaller than that of laser cutting machines. The water jet cutting machine uses a supercharger to pressurize water, spray it from a small nozzle, and convert the pressure energy into kinetic energy. It uses the kinetic energy of this high-speed jet to impact and destroy the workpiece to achieve the purpose of cutting and forming. The diameter of the water column is larger than the diameter of the laser beam, which causes the water cutting machine to have a large cutting slit, so the cutting accuracy is smaller than that of the laser cutting machine.

Advantage 2: Fast cutting speed

By virtue of the extremely high energy of the laser source, the laser cutting machine can release a large amount of energy to cut the metal in a very short time,which empowers the lightning cutting speed. Especially when cutting thin metal sheets, laser cutting machines can cut faster than other machines such as water jets and plasma cutting machines.

Advantage3:Less waste and low maintenance costs

Compared with water jet and plasma cutting, laser cutting does not require the use of other media other than laser source for cutting. This greatly reduces the cost of using the laser cutting machine. Users do not need to frequently replace and adjust the parameters of various media, which also saves a lot of operating time.

Advantage 4: High flexibility

Laser cutting machines can not only be used to process various graphics on flat sheets, but can also be used to cut pipes, including various special-shaped pipes such as round pipes, square pipes, rectangular pipes, oval pipes, hexagonal pipes, C-shaped steel, angle steel.and H steel .

Advantage 5: Batch Processing

Due to the fast cutting speed, high accuracy, and the ability to operate through a computer system, laser cutting machines are often used in batch processing. In addition, in order to improve the processing efficiency, laser cutting machine manufacturers have developed a series of accessories, such as exchange platforms, rolling devices, automatic loading platforms, etc. These equipment can save your time and labor required for material change in batch processing. These devices also greatly reduce labor costs in production, which is unachievable by other processing methods.

Advantage 6: Fewer material restrictions

Laser cutting machines can be divided into fiber laser cutting machines and CO2 laser cutting machines. Fiber laser cutting machines can be used to cut metal materials, and CO2 laser cutting machines are generally used to cut metal and non-metal materials. Plasma cutters, on the other hand, can only be used to cut metal. Water jet need machine to bring materials into contact with water. It is difficult to process some materials that cannot be in contact with water for a long time.

The picture above is the metal and non-metal laser cutting machine independently developed by IGOLDEN. The machine can cut both metal and non-metal.It helps users save MORE processing space and the cost of purchasing machines.

Advantage 7: Smooth cutting surface and no further processing

Materials processed by laser cutting machines have smooth cutting surfaces and can be used directly without secondary processing, which save more labor cost and the time required to complete the workpiece. The surface of the material cut by the plasma cutting machine has slag, which requires secondary treatment. The picture below is a picture of the finished product of the same accessory processed by a plasma cutting machine and a laser cutting machine.

Advantage 8: Less pollution and less noise

Compared with water jet and plasma cutting machines, laser cutting machines make less noise and emit less exhaust gas when processing parts. No wastewater will be produced to pollute the environment, and there is no need to worry about how to treat the wastewater or increase the cost of treating the wastewater.

Although laser cutting machines have many advantages, there are some aspects where it cannot replace other cutting machines. Let’s talk about the disadvantages of laser cutting machines.

Disadvantage 1: Upfront Costs

Although the cutting efficiency and usage cost of laser cutting machines are lower than water jet and plasma cutting machines, the cost of purchasing laser cutting machines is much higher than purchasing water jets and plasma cutting machines. For some low-cost entrepreneurs, it may be difficult to purchase a cutting machine.

Disadvantage 2: Limited Cutting thickness

Since the power of the laser of the laser cutting machine is limited, the cutting thickness of laser cutting is also limited. For cutting some thick plates, water jet and plasma cutting have advantages.

Disadvantage 3: Difficult to cut highly reflective materials

Due to the characteristics of lasers, it is difficult for laser cutting machines to cut highly reflective materials such as aluminum, gold, and copper. Special laser sources and cutting heads are required for cutting. Such laser source and cutting heads are relatively expensive and the cutting speed is relatively slow. The water jet cutting machine is a physical cutting machine that does not react with highly reflective materials and can be used for large amounts of cutting.

If you have any questions about laser cutting machines, want to know more models and prices, and get more cutting parameters, please feel free to reach out.

Conclusion

Choosing an industrial laser metal cutting machine demands careful evaluation of numerous technical, operational, and financial factors. The optimal selection balances current needs with future growth, prioritizes reliability and service support, and aligns with specific application requirements.

By systematically assessing laser technology options, machine specifications, construction quality, control systems, and total cost of ownership, manufacturers can confidently select equipment delivering maximum return on investment. The laser cutting machine represents a long-term partnership with suppliers, making thorough evaluation and informed decision-making essential for manufacturing success.