Acrylic had been widely use in the market for display standee, wall unit, and more. Some acrylic products manufacturers used laser cutting method to process the products, or using blanking press and turret punch process. Blanking press used a special cutting tools to form the shape requested, while turret punch has number of small tools and punches to cut limited number of hole size and line shaped blades to form outer edges. The laser cutter is used to trace the outline with laser melting the materials. Below are the advantages of using laser cutting to process acrylic products.
Low Power Usage
A general blanking press or turret punch usually consumes the total 50kW of power. For 4kW laser system, it usually uses 10kW of the power total.
High Safety
For blanking press, it has a large blade that moving up and down consistently, which the safety features is not necessary needed to prevent the hand getting cut or caught in. For fiber laser, it requires a enclosed light tight box which designed to run the process without human involvement when cutting.
Saving Up Material Scrap
Some cutting tools require material on either side of the cut, there would be at least ½ inch of the border is required. If using laser cutting services, it can be done with a single without scrap for parts that shares common outline. Some material may only have minimal scrap, as small as 1/16 of an inch or lesser.
Cutting Features
A blanking press can only cut the materials up to certain tensile strength. For laser cutting, it can cut any strength of material, as long as the material can be melted at certain temperature.
Easy Maintenance
If you are using blanking press or turret punch, it has expensive tools that need to be sharpened and stored regularly. Laser cutting can change the parts by changing the programs, which only need inexpensive replacement parts such as lenses and nozzles.
Easy Operation
Blanking press requires a very high investment, which may cost RM200, 000 depending on the shape. Turret punch allows you to program any shape to process smaller shape. However, the design change is limited due to the tools available, and you would need to purchase new tool to replace the available slot on the turret. Unlike blanking press and turret punch, laser cutting allows you to change the setting in less than an hour. It only require less than RM500 to apply the change.
Better Edge Quality
As blanking press and turret punch are trim through the material, there will be stretching the edge until it breaks. The top part usually has a rounded over edge, while the bottom part has stretched ribbons which is very sharp. It required a secondary process to clean off, which add on the prices. For laser cutting, it cut the part and forms a mirror-like surface, while the top edge remains square and the bottom edge is smooth when touching it.