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FACTS ABOUT Cutting of aluminium

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CONTENTS

Introduction ........................................................................... ....... 3

Process comparison ......................................................................3

Mechanical cutting ....................................................................... 4

Plasma cutting ............................................................................. 5

Introduction .................................................................................. 5

Principle ....................................................................................... 5

Gas selection ............................................................................... 6

Dry plasma cutting ...................................................................... 6

Underwater plasma cutting ......................................................... 6

Cut quality ..................................................................................... 7

High tolerance plasma arc cutting .............................................. 8 Equipment ................................................................................... 8

Future developments .................................................................. 8

Health and safety in plasma cutting ....................................... ..... 9 Hazardous gases . ................................... .....................................9

Fume ............................................................................................ 9

Noise............................................................................................. 9

Optical radiation .......................................................................... 9

Safety precautions - machine plasma cutting .......................... 10

Safety precautions - manual plasma cutting ............................ 10

External environment ................................................................ 10

Laser cutting .............................................................................. 11

Introduction ................................................................................ 11

Principle ...................................................................................... 11

Gas selection .............................................................................. 12

Water jet cutting ......................................................................... 14

Environment ............................................................................... 14

Gouging ...................................................................................... 14

Mechanical gouging ................................................................... 14

Plasma arc gouging .................................................................... 14

Finishing operations ................................................................... 15

Grinding ...................................................................................... 15

Bevelling ...................................................................................... 15

Working environment ............ ..................................................... 15

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INTRODUCTION / PROCESS COMPARISON

Introduction

Cutting into size and shape as well as gouging are different for aluminium compared to steel. One of the most popular methods of cutting steel is oxy-fuel cutting but this cutting process is not applicable for aluminium. This is due to the oxide layer on the metal which acts as a refractory skin. The oxide also has a melting point (2052°C) of more than three times that of the base metal (660°C). The heating action of the fl ame in oxy-fuel cutting melts the base metal well before the oxide melts, which in turn results in very crude cuts.

A general process comparison for different cutting methods available for aluminium can be made. This comparison can be made on a basis of general suitability for aluminium, representative cutting speeds, thickness ranges, cut quality and fl exibility. The suitability (see Table 1) is based on weighing all other factors stated above and on the state of the art technology available today.

The representative cutting speeds (see Table 2) depend on the quality of the cut. A higher cutting speed results in rougher cuts.

Process comparison

Table 1. Comparison of different cutting methods for aluminium.

Cutting method Suitability

Gas/oxy-fuel cutting Not possible

Plasma cutting ++

Mechanical cutting ++

Water jet cutting +

Laser cutting +

++ excellent, + good

Cutting methodCutting speed (mm/min) t=2mm t= 40 mm

Comments

Plasma cutting > 600 1200 Ar/H2, 240A

Laser cutting 5000 not possible CO2, 2600W

Water jet cutting 800 80

Table 2. Representative cutting speeds (mm/min).

The thickness ranges possible for different methods also depend on required quality of cut. Thicker plates also demand other cutting parameters.

Cutting method Thickness range (mm)

Plasma cutting 0.8 - 200

Laser cutting 0.1 - 8

Water jet cutting 1.5 - 100

Table 3. Thickness ranges.

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MECHANICAL CUTTING

The cut quality needed is based on what type of operations the sheet, plate or profi le will undergo after cutting. Different welding methods demand different fi t-ups of the joints for example.

Criterion Plasma cutting Laser cutting Water jet cutting

Cut quality

Surface roughness and unevenness +/- ++ +

Kerf width -/0 ++ +

Width of the heat affected zone - + ++

Cutting speed (6 mm) + 0 --

Flexibility

Contours: sharp edges - ++ ++

3-dimensional cutting + + --

Investment costs + - -

Table 4. Qualifi cation of different cutting methods.

++ excellent, + good, 0 fair, -poor, --insuffi cient performance

Mechanical cutting

Mechanical cutting is in many cases very economical and versatile. Aluminium can be worked with common machine tools found in most fabricating shops.

Aluminium is often compared with wood because the same tools work for both materials and at roughly the same cut-ting speeds. The main difference lies in that aluminium demands more power to maintain the cutting speeds. Even at high cutting speeds lubricants or coolers are not needed.

Saws are versatile tools when cutting to size and shape as well as for bevelling aluminium. Portable band saws do not permit the high blade speeds necessary and fl oor mounted saws are therefore more suitable. Effective sawing of alu-minium is dependent on three main factors: the blade speed, tooth shape and tooth spacing. High blade speeds

are necessary to achieve high cutting speeds and good surfaces. The following are recommended blade surface speeds:

• 2400 m/min for high speed steel circular blades.

• 3600 m/min for tungsten carbide tipped circular blades.

• 1500 m/min for band saw blades.

Adequate tooth spacing is normally 1-1.5 teeth per cm. A rule of thumb is that no more than 2-4 teeth should be in the cut surface at one time.

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PLASMA CUTTING

Plasma cutting

Introduction

The plasma arc cutting process is a highly productive method of cutting aluminium and is experiencing rapidly growing application.

Cuts can be made from thick foil thickness up to 200 mm although cutting in these thicknesses causes extreme noise levels that have to be taken into consideration when conside-ring the suitability of the process.

Plasma cutting was developed in the 1950’s for severing steel sheet and plate. Today, it is used on nearly all types of conduc-ting engineering materials. One limiting factor for the plasma process has been the high investment costs.

The trend today is that more simple and inexpensive machinery is used, making plasma cutting a realistic alternative to other cutting methods.

Principle

Plasma cutting is a melting process, compared to fl ame cutting which is a combustion process. A gas jet in the plasma melts and expels the material from the kerf. During the process an electric arc burns between an electrode and the workpiece. The electrode tip is placed in a water or air cooled gas nozzle in the torch. The plasma gas is conducted through the nozzle. The arc and the plasma gas are forced to pass through a very narrow orifi ce in the tip of the nozzle. The gas is heated and ionised. The concentrated plasma jet which is formed has a temperature of up to 30 000°C together with a high velocity. When the plasma jet hits the workpiece the heat is transferred due to recombination (the gas reverts to its normal state). The material melts and is expelled from the kerf by a fl ow of gas.

To initiate the process, and ionise the gas, a pilot arc must be generated. The pilot arc heats the plasma gas and ionises it. Since the electrical resistance of the main arc is lower than that of the pilot arc, the main arc ignites and the pilot arc automatically extinguishes.

Figure 1. The principle of plasma cutting.

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Gas selection

The selection of gas or gases for plasma arc cutting of alu-minium is based on such factors as the required quality of the cut, the thickness of metal to be cut and the gas cost. For cutting thin metal a single gas fl ow is often used to provide both the plasma and the arc shielding, but for cut-ting thicker metal, dual gas fl ows are used. The single gas fl ow may be air, nitrogen or argon. The dual gas fl ows may be nitrogen, argon or argon/hydrogen mixtures. For medium and thick metal, nitrogen or argon/hydrogen mixtures are used as the plasma gas.

The maximum currents for different plasma gases:

• Nitrogen 600A (Underwater cutting of aluminium)

• Ar/H2 1000A (Dry plasma cutting of aluminium)

• Air 300A

The suitable current range for manual cutting is 20A-100A and for mechanised 100A-1000A.

The effect of the cutting gas on the heat affected zone is shown in Figure 2. The HAZ is increased with increasing thickness but it is also increased when by using a N2 - Ar gas mixture instead of a H2 - Ar mixture.

GAS SELECTION / DRY PLASMA CUTTING

Figure 2. Width of HAZ as a function of plate thickness.

Dry plasma cutting

The best results are obtained with plasma gas consisting of 80% argon and 20% hydrogen. Cutting with a nitrogen and argon mixture results in a larger heat affected zone than cutting with argon and hydrogen mixture, see Figure 2.

When cutting with a 80% argon and 20% hydrogen mixture, the surfaces are smooth and fi nely cut with practically no dross formation. The cutting speed is of crucial importance. One problem when cutting aluminium is the formation of light weight particles that can travel a long way from the cutting table. These can be taken care of with a good ventilation system.

Underwater plasma cutting

Plasma cutting under water has been used for many years. The advantages of under water plasma cutting are numerous. Arc glare and noise are cut down to a level where no operator protection is needed. Fumes generated are reduced compared to conventional plasma cutting.

Nitrogen is used for underwater plasma cutting of alumi-nium. If oxygen is used, the surface becomes heavily oxidised. One problem with underwater cutting of alumi-nium is that there is a risk of hydrogen detonation. The actual cause of these detonations is believed to be the inte-raction of molten aluminium and water. The hydrogen can accumulate in pockets under the workpiece and ignite when the cutting arc passes near or over a pocket. If the slag is removed at specifi ed intervals and water stirring is applied the risk will be minimised.

Underwater cutting

The advantages: To consider:

• low noise level • hardness of cut surface

• less visible radiation • careful positioning of plate

• less fumes • diffi cult to supervise the

• less dust cutting process

• less deformation of the plate

Table 5. The advantages and considerations of underwater cutting.

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The partial melting of the grain boundaries can result in microcracking in the cut edges. The 2XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX series (heat-treatable) are particularly sensitive to hot crack-ing whereas the 1XXX, 3XXX and 5XXX series (non-trea-table) alloys are not so sensitive. The tendency to crack increases with metal thickness because the thicker metal imposes greater restraint on the solidifying metal.

Many standards for fabricating aluminium require that both the roughness and the cracked zone must be removed by machining the plasma cut edges to a depth of about 3 mm. This is of particular interest when the metal is to be stressed dynamically. The quality of cut is dependent on several factors. The alloy for instance: the 6XXX series alloys give smoother cuts than the 5XXX series alloys. The cutting speed plays a role because either excessive or too low speed reduce the cut quality. High arc voltage and high gas fl ows both increase cut squareness.

Cut quality

The plasma arc cut edge can be somewhat rough and is not perfectly square. While manually made plasma arc cuts can be fairly smooth, the best results are made with the mecha-nised process where higher currents and travel speeds are possible. Cut quality is improved further if water injection plasma is used.

Plasma arc cutting creates a heat affected zone and some partial melting of the grain boundaries. The HAZ (heat-affected zone) reduces corrosion resistance in the high-strength, heat-treatable alloys such as 2014, 2024 and 7075 (AA classifi cation). Due to this it may be necessary to remove some or all of the heat affected zone by mechanical means for certain applications.

The alloy and temper of the plasma cut plate infl uence the width of the heat affected zone. Figure 3 shows the relative microhardness as a function of the distance of the plasma cut edge.

The quality of a plasma cut is also affected by the shape of the electrode. During the process and especially during start-up the large rating of the electrode causes erosional wear which results in reduction of the cut quality.

CUT QUALITY

Figure 3. The effect of plate alloy and temper on HAZ micro-hardness profi les.

Other factors infl uencing the width of the HAZ is the heat input during the cut, which is a product of the current multiplied by the voltage divided by the cutting speed. The thickness of the plate being cut has also affects the HAZ. The HAZ width can for example range from 25 mm on a 10 mm thick plate to four times this on a 44 mm plate.

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The plasma torches for HTPAC differ from conventional plasma cutting in the accuracy of the components, and the way in which gas enters the torch. The accuracy of the cut is largely dependent on the accuracy of the front end of the torch. The electrode and the nozzle must be concentric to ensure the correct gas fl ow which otherwise will cause the arc to be displaced from the centre of the electrode. This will affect dross as well as the angle of the cut.

Future developments

Development appears to be concentrating on maintaining the same quality at higher powers. In the beginning of HTPAC only 30 A units were available on the market, and now units up to 130 A are becoming available. The higher powers will allow thicker materials to be cut together with increasing the speed of cutting within the present thickness range.

Regarding capital and running costs, these are typically half of the costs of laser systems and this means that much of the growth is expected in areas normally associated with laser cutting of aluminium alloys. The cutting gases for aluminium for HTPAC are nitrogen or air as plasma gas (15 l/min) and methane as shielding gas (20 l/min).

HTPAC

Figure 4. Three types of HTPAC torches.

HTPAC

High tolerance plasma arc cutting (HTPAC) was fi rst developed in Japan for precision cutting of thin steel sheets or plates in the range of 0.1 - 6.0 mm. While the conven-tional plasma cutting process is capable of high productivity on plate materials, the kerf width and cutting accuracy of conventional plasma cutting techniques cannot compete adequately with the high accuracy and narrow kerf width of laser cutting for sheet and thinner plate materials.

In an effort to compete with laser cutting, developers of plasma cutting have striven to fi nd a system capable of producing cuts with completely square edges and a narrow kerf width enabling higher cutting accuracy.

Equipment

The HTPAC cutting machine consists of three different components:

• High precision torch

• Electronic power source

• High precision cutting machine

The torch is probably the most critical part of the plasma machine, but the development of the system would not have been possible without new innovations in the other components.

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Health and safety in plasma cutting

The environmental problems usually encountered when plasma cutting are the formation of hazardous gases and fume, the high noise level and the optical radiation, which is very intense. With HTPAC one benefi t is that the fume generation is lower due to the narrow kerf because fume is generally proportional to the amount of metal removed. With HTPAC one only removes about one fourth of the amount compared to conventional plasma.

Hazardous gases

The hazardous gases formed in connection with plasma cutting are nitrogen oxides, ozone and carbon monoxide.

The nitrogen oxides are nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The threshold limit values for theses gases in Sweden are 25 ppm and 2 ppm respectively. The amount of nitrogen oxides formed are dependent on the current and the plasma gas. The higher the current, the higher the amount of nitrogen oxides. The choice of nitrogen as plasma gas also increases the amount of nitrogen oxides. Pure nitrogen is seldom used as plasma gas for manual cutting. Using air as plasma gas also leads to high amounts of nitrogen oxides.

The amounts of ozone (O3) and carbon monoxide (CO) formed when plasma arc cutting are normally well below the threshold limit values. The Swedish threshold limit value for ozone is 0.1 ppm and for carbon monoxide 35 ppm. The threshold limit values represent the maximum permissible average concentration for an 8-hour workday.

Fume

The amount of fume is dependent on the plasma gas used, the material being cut and the coating present on the material surface.

How dangerous the fume is depends on the material being cut.

Air and nitrogen produce twice as much fume as argon-hydrogen mixtures and considerably more fume than oxygen.

If the metal surface is painted or is coated with oil or oxides, it should be cleaned prior to cutting.

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN PLASMA CUTTING

Noise

The high exit velocity of the gas produces a high-frequency noise level of between 8 and 20 kHz.

The factors that affect the noise level are nozzle geometry, the work metal thickness, plasma gas fl ow and electric power. In general it can be said that the noise level increases with increasing work piece thickness, cutting gas fl ow and power.

The noise level in connection with machine cutting, measured at the operator's ear, is usually around 90-115 dB. Noise levels below 85 dB can only be obtained in manual cutting with low current. 80 dB is the maximum noise level normally allowed.

Optical radiation

The high exit velocity of the gas produces a high-frequency noise level of between 8 and 20 kHz.

Plasma cutting generates high intensity radiation within both the visible and the DV wavelength ranges.

To protect the operator against glare and skin damage caused by DV radiation, retinal damage caused by intense visible light and clouding of the lens of the eye caused by shortwave IR radiation, the operator must wear full-coverage clothing and eye protection lenses with a dark enough shade.

ISO recommendation for eye safety lenses for plasma-arc cutting:

• Current lower than 150 A shade No. 11.

• Current 150A -250A shade No. 12.

• Current 250A -400A shade No. 13

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HEALTH AND SAFETY IN PLASMA CUTTING

Safety precautions - machine plasma cutting

In machine cutting the concentrations of fume almost always exceed the Threshold Limit Value (TLV). Ventilation is therefore required for all machine cutting.

A water curtain around the torch reduces the fume concentration, but has little effect on the level of nitrogen oxides.

If cutting is carried out under water the fume concentration will be very low, but the amount of nitrogen oxides is not affected since they do not dissolve in water. It is therefore necessary to cut in well ventilated premises or to use local extraction.

Other advantages with cutting under water are the reduction of noise level, radiation density, distortion of the parts, and the improvement of tolerances. The plasma process best suited for cutting under water is nitrogen and oxygen plasma with water injection.

There are other ways to shield off the torch in machine cutting so that noise intensity is reduced. The extractor should be positioned underneath the work piece and the cutting table should be sectionalised in order to obtain suffi cient fl ow velocities.

Safety precautions - manual plasma cutting

For practical reasons, it is often diffi cult to arrange extraction in manual plasma cutting. The formation of both fume and nitrogen oxides can be reduced drastically by reducing the cutting current and switching to argon-hydrogen mixtures. If an extractor is used, it should be placed underneath the work piece or in the direction of the plasma jet.

External environment

In order to fulfi l the requirement for the quantity of dust in the extracted air, a textile suppression fi lter with large fi lter area in relation to the volume of air is required. The reasons for this are the large quantity of dust and the fact that the particles are extremely small and have a tendency to block the fi lter material.

This implies that the cost of the fi lter is as high as that of the cutting table in many instances. When it comes to the limit value in the wate.t; it must not exceed 2.0 mg/l of aluminium.

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Laser cutting

Introduction

Laser cutting is today a well established process in industry. There are essentially two types of lasers used in materials cutting - the CO2 laser and the Nd:YAG laser. The CO2 laser is the most commonly used. The laser medium is a mixture of gases (CO2, He, N2 ). The Nd:YAG laser is a solid state laser which means that the laser active medium is a solid and the Nd:YAG laser does not consume any laser gases.

CO2 lasers with powers in the range of 500W - 3000W are commonly used for cutting mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium together with materials such as wood and plastics. Nd:YAG lasers are being used for welding and marking more frequently. These lasers usually have lower powers of 100W - 500W but higher power Nd:YAG lasers are now available.

Figure 5. A laser cutting system.

LASER CUTTING

The cutting of aluminium with CO2 lasers is considered diffi cult due to the high refl ectivity and high thermal con-ductivity of the metal. Anodised aluminium is easier to cut due to the enhanced laser light absorption in the thick surface layer of aluminium oxide. It is also easier to cut aluminium alloys than pure aluminium. A high power laser; preferably over 2 kW, and a good laser mode are be-nefi cial to improve the cuttability of aluminium. A small focal length, about 63 mm, is advantageous for thinner sheets due to the higher power density in the focal spot. The maximum thickness which can be cut is 6 - 8 mm.

The Nd:YAG lasers experience a rapid development, and high power Nd:YAG sources allow speeds of between 2 m/min and 7 m/min on a plate thickness of 3 mm.

Principle

Figure 5 shows the laser cutting process. A laser beam is transferred to the workpiece and focused onto a small spot. The heat melts, evaporates or decomposes the workpiece. The laser beam is surrounded by a nozzle which enables a fl ow of cutting gas to fl ush out the melt or vaporise it.

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Figure 6. Dross free parameter ranges when using nitrogen and oxygen for cutting 2 mm pure aluminium and 2 mm aluminium alloy Laser power 1500 W.

Gas selection

The selection of the cutting gas is dependent on the mate-rial to be cut, the required cut quality and cutting speed as well as the total economy of the cutting process. Aluminium can be cut with both oxygen and nitrogen as cutting gases but the cutting speed using oxygen is not signifi cantly higher than with nitrogen. The reason for this can be found in the high melting point for aluminium oxide which is 2072°C. The aluminium oxide forms a seal on the cut front, preventing the oxygen from penetrating to the metal itself. The oxygen seal frequently bursts as a result of the turbulent melt fl ow and the oxidation reaction can still proceed, alt-hough at a lower rate.

Cutting with low oxygen pressure, less than 6 bar, is some-times used for aluminium cutting. The laser beam should be focused at the upper surface of the sheet. Standard oxy-gen is suffi cient (~ 99.7% purity) because a higher purity does not enhance cutting speed. The method results in a rather rough surface and cut edges with dross.

If high pressure nitrogen or oxygen cutting is used, dross free cuts can be obtained. It appears that nitrogen is the best alternative when cutting aluminium alloys, whereas oxygen is better for pure aluminium. This is demonstrated by the diagrams in Figure 6 which show parameter ranges where dross-free cuts are obtained for 2 mm sheets of pure aluminium (Al99.5) and an aluminium alloy (AlMg3). The surface roughness is always much higher with oxygen compared to nitrogen. When high pressure cutting alumi-nium, the laser beam should be focused close to the lower surface of the sheet. Typical parameters for cutting AlMg 2.5 are summarised in Figure 7.

GAS SELECTION

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In laser cutting the role of the cutting gas is fourfold:

• It expels molten and gaseous material from the cut kerf.

• It sometimes reacts exothermally with the metal being cut and the extra heat accelerates the cutting process.

• It cools the sides of the kerf, thus limiting the heat- affected zone.

• It keeps fume and particles out of the nozzle where they could contaminate the focusing lens.

Material thickness (mm)

Laser power (W)

Nozzle diameter (mm)

Nozzle stand-off (mm)

Nitrogen pressure (bar)

Cutting speed (m/min)

1.0 1500 1.4 0.6-0.8 9 2.0-5.5

2.0 1500 1.4 0.6-0.8 12 1.3-2.5

3.0 1500 1.4 0.6-0.8 15 0.5-1.1

4.0 1500 1.4 0.6-0.8 15 0.5-0.6

Figure 7. Parameters for laser cutting ofaluminium alloy AIMg2.5. This table applies to dross free cuts. Cutting gas: nitrogen.

GAS SELECTION

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Water jet cutting

Water jet cutting exists in two variants, pure water jet cut-ting and abrasive water jet cutting. Pure water jet cutting can be used for a variety of non-metallic materials but in order to cut metals an abrasive is added to the water jet. The principle is shown in Figure 8. Special pumps are used to achieve the high pressures needed. The water pressure can be up to 400 bar.

Gouging

Mechanical gouging

Most gouging operations are made with mechanical tools. Straight line gouging is probably best performed using a rotary cutter machine. A small portable saw can also be adapted for gouging aluminium by replacing the saw blade with a cutter which is ground to the required shape.

Tungsten carbide cutters are standard for all types of mechanical gouging machines. Pneumatic chipping is also often used although it creates a high noise level in the shop. This may sometimes be the only way to reach blind corners and other diffi cult locations.

Two factors determine the effectiveness of pneumatic gouging and the choice of gun shape. The gun should be large enough to provide good solid blows to the chisel and yet not so large that the operator cannot manipulate it easily. The other factor is that it should have a round nose rather than the diamond shape often used on steel.

Plasma arc gouging

Gouging aluminium with the plasma arc process is a fairly recent development. It is very effective and leaves a clean smooth surface which clearly indicates when the gouging has reached the sound metal. The nozzle orifi ce has to be larger than the one for plasma cutting in order to reduce the plasma jet velocity.

The power source should also have an open-circuit voltage to permit a long but stable arc. Skills are necessary to achieve effective gouging. Normally, a maximum groove depth per pass of 6 mm is preferred but multiple passes are possible. Mechanised gouging is also possible with this process.

Figure 8. Schematics of abrasive water jet cutting.

WATER JET CUTTING / GOUGING

Environment

The process does not produce any toxic fumes or airborne dust. Despite this an extraction devise should be placed under the nozzle to prevent abrasives from spreading into the surrounding air. The noise levels are high and can reach up to 100 dB(A) under certain conditions.

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FINISHING OPERATIONS

Finishing operations

Grinding

Grinding is most necessary when spatter from the cutting needs to be removed. This applies in particular to the parts that have fallen through the cutting grid and become exposed to spatter as the cutting continues.

Bevelling

Not long ago, only I-joints were cut in the cutting machine and the parts were bevel-cut manually. Manual bevel-cutting involves a great deal of lifting and the operator is subjected to a lot of fume, since he bends over the part to ensure the quality. Programmable bevelling units have been available for the last 7-8 years for plasma and are steadily being improved. Bevelling directly on the cutting machine saves machining and intermediate storage.

Working environment

Grinding and manual bevelling cause problems which express themselves primarily in the form of occupational injuries such as back ailments and white fi ngers.

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