In 1895, the Frenchman Lechatelier invented the oxyacetylene flame. By 1900, Fouch and Picard produced the first oxyacetylene torch. As the oldest thermal cutting technology, oxyacetylene flame cutting is still a processing method in mechanical manufacturing.
So, what is a flame cutter?
Oxygen cutting, also known as flame cutting, is to use the high temperature generated during the combustion of iron oxide to cut carbon steel. Traditionally, acetylene gas was used for cutting, then propane was used, and now natural gas cutting has appeared. Considering all aspects of pollution, energy consumption, and cost ratio, natural gas is currently the most suitable gas for cutting.
But natural gas also has its limitations, that is, the flame temperature is not high, which results in lower cutting efficiency than acetylene. In order to make up for this shortcoming, manufacturers who use natural gas cutting generally choose to add synergists to natural gas to increase the flame temperature and improve cutting efficiency.
Flame cutting application
Flame cutting is widely used in automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding, fan manufacturing, mining equipment, petroleum equipment, power equipment, steel structure processing, steel plate cutting, advertising cutting, construction machinery, agricultural machinery, ordinary carbon steel plate, stainless steel plate, aluminum plate, Copper plate, plate cutting use.
As you can see, its application field is actually very wide, but the machine is still been knocking out continuously.
How did this happen?
The equipment cost of flame cutting is low and it is the only cost-effective means of cutting thick metal plates, which can cut metal thickness from 1 mm to 1.2 meters, but it has its shortcomings in thin plate cutting.
Because the heat-affected zone of flame cutting is large and the thermal deformation is large, when the thickness of most low-carbon steel plates to be cut is less than 20 mm, other cutting methods should be used.
And although flame cutting is cheaper than other cutting methods, it will cause other losses during use.
It’s not easy to operate and it have more wasted materials
The process of flame cutting steel is a thermochemical process that requires intense heat, often referred to as pure oxygen. This oxy-fuel can be found in bulk systems and cylinders. Impure oxygen will reduce the cutting speed of steel. Therefore, oxy-fuel can get mixed with impurities through leaks, bad hoses, and incorrect connections. Oxygen fuel should be used with care or there is a risk of serious injury.
When using a flame cutting machine, an operator with rich experience is required to adjust the flame more accurately to obtain better precision dimensions and avoid more thermal deformation. In addition, the processing process of the flame cutting machine is relatively cumbersome, very time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it is easy to waste materials because of the process, which is an invisible increase in cost.
There is no doubt that oxyfuel can help people cut materials into different shapes at a lower cost, but it is worth noting that not everyone has access to the high quality or precision oxyfuel parts they need, and many factories will suffer due to The quality at the time of delivery is not up to standard and the final payment cannot be obtained for a long time, so the cutting machine should be carefully selected according to the demand.
Of course the flame cutting machine has its own advantages
1. Lower cost and lower investment;
2. Flame cutting is the only way to cut thick steel plates;
3. It is relatively cheap compared to other technologies;
4. Suitable for rough machining.
Nowadays, as the invention of laser cutting, plasma cutting and waterjet cutting, people can cut sheet metal more efficient and have less waste of materials.
But the flame cutter is still a good option for the low-budget situation. So will the flame cutting has no possibilities to develop?
Factors that maters performance of flame cutting
Two factors affect the performance of the oxyfuel cutting process, nozzle selection and fuel type. These two factors can increase or decrease labor costs and cutting speed.
Among other things, the oxy-fuel jet and the gas used can affect the cutting time used to cut the material. In most cases oxy-fuel is mixed with other gases such as propane, methane; acetylene, propylene and MAPP to ignition temperature.
The temperature at which flame cuts steel must be below the melting point of the material. Then, pure oxygen fuel is passed through a preheated zone to start the flame cutting process.
The ignition gas chosen depends on whether the process is mechanized or manual, the type of material and the workpiece being processed. If the gas doesn’t produce the heat you need or it’s out of your budget, it’s not suitable for use.
Summary
Here comes the conclusion, which is flame cutting has not been completely eliminated, and it does a good job in thick sheet metal cutting.
So what kind of cutting machine will you choose?
Which one do you prefer?
