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When cutting materials, whether it be ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals - such as aluminium - or even cutting wood, the choice of cutting process is determined by many factors. These include the need for portability, repeatability and the available space. Therefore, users typically opt for either a laser, plasma cutting process or an oxy-fuel set-up. Each application has its own benefits.
Applications Engineer
How does gas purity affect the quality of laser cut parts?
A relatively small amount of impurities can make a big difference. Gas purity is often referred to in grades 3, 4, and 5. Grade 3 is 99.9% pure, 4 is 99.99 %, and 5 is 99.999%. Many OEM’s typically require grade 5, or five 9’s, purity. It is often more meaningful to talk about the impurity levels rather than overall purity. The main impurities of concern are oxygen and moisture, which can oxidize the material being cut. Most industrial liquid nitrogen grades meet the five 9’s purity level, meaning they contain less than .001%, or 10 PPM, of oxygen. Also, the dew point (moisture level) of gaseous nitrogen from a liquid nitrogen supply is typically less than –90°F, or less than 3 PPMV. Lower impurity levels result in less oxidization, yielding cleaner cut metals.
The impact of N₂ purity on the cleanliness of the laser cut is illustrated in the photos below. In this example, a bright, clean surface is achieved only with a nitrogen purity of at least 99.995%.
Let Air Products put our experience in laser applications to work for you. We provide total solutions for your laser cutting requirements with equipment, technology and reliable gas supply. We have the expertise that comes from being a leading supplier to the industry around the world.
Air Products gases, typically provided in gaseous and liquid form, enable customers in a wide range of industries to improve their environmental performance, product quality, and productivity.
Delivered by truck and stored on your site either as a liquid in cryogenic tanks or as a gas in high-pressure tubes based on your volume, desired pressure, purity level, flow rate, and operating pattern.
An option for smaller volume users in which gas is supplied by filling on-site tanks instead of cylinders and dewars.
Valued for its reactive and protective properties, and used by many industries such as electronics, foods, glass, chemicals, refining and more can benefit from its unique properties to improve quality, optimize performance and reduce costs.
Useful as a gas, for its inert properties, and as a liquid for cooling and freezing. Virtually any industry can benefit from its unique properties to improve yields, optimize performance and make operations safer.
In addition to its use as a respiratory gas for healthcare applications, its strong oxidizing properties benefit many industries by improving yields, optimizing performance, lowering costs and reducing carbon footprint compared to other fuels.