CNC cutting
The versatile alternative to milling.
CNC cutting is an economical alternative to milling. The process adapts to the requirements of the materials and workpieces and delivers highly precise results. One of the special features of CNC cutting is the availability of different cutting tools and cutting technologies. Choose between technologies such as waterjet, plasma and laser cutting. Or use different cutting tools depending on the material. These include drag knives and tangential knives in their various designs. This allows you to achieve precise and reproducible results at all times with high efficiency for demanding materials such as thin and fine foils or moulds with tight radii.
Advantages
Cutting with CNC technology
Variety of materials
Thanks to the various cutting technologies such as laser, plasma or waterjet cutting as well as tools such as drag knives or tangential knives, CNC cutting is suitable for almost all materials. These include almost all electrically conductive metals, non-ferrous metals through to plastics, ceramics, glass or wafer-thin foils. You can use CNC cutting to shape any of these materials, from simple to complex.
Precise and clean results
All processes are characterised by their high precision and reproducibility. In certain situations, you can achieve significantly better results with CNC cutting than with milling. One example is laser cutting, which allows you to machine complex geometries with the laser in places that are inaccessible to the milling machine. Waterjet cutting, on the other hand, is a cold cutting process that minimises post-processing of the cut surfaces.
Increased economic efficiency
In various areas, CNC cutting is more economical than CNC milling. For example, CNC machines for laser cutting require significantly less maintenance than milling machines. In addition, laser cutting reduces production costs for complex shapes. This also applies to water jet cutting. Here, for example, post-processing costs are reduced as the cold cutting process results in no or only minimal structural changes to the cut edges.
FAQ
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about CNC cutting
CNC cutting cannot replace CNC milling, but it does offer various advantages in certain situations. For example, CNC laser cutting is the ideal alternative to milling for complex geometries. For sensitive materials that react to the thermal stress of milling with undesirable changes in the material structure, water jet cutting is often a more suitable process. Laser cutting, on the other hand, is a non-contact cutting process that does not transfer forces to the workpiece. This makes laser cutting suitable for workpieces that react sensitively to the effects of external forces. A further advantage is the different cutting processes, which can be ideally adapted to the material and the desired result and produce highly complex shapes with maximum precision.
CNC milling is a machining process in which the milling machine removes material with each revolution until the desired shape is achieved. During this process, contact with the workpiece is repeatedly interrupted. When cutting, the tool is positioned exactly at the cutting point and cuts out the contour. This process does not produce fine chips, as is the case with milling. The contact between the material and the cutting tool remains permanent until the cutting process is complete. While post-processing of the cut edges is often necessary with CNC milling, depending on the CNC cutting process selected, this is either no longer necessary or only minimal post-processing is required.
Cutting using CNC machines works via the specified CNC programming. This controls the work of the tool and specifies all the points required to give a workpiece the desired shape. Depending on the process selected, cutting is carried out using laser, water jet or plasma cutting or with specially developed knives such as drag and tangential knives.
CNC cutting is always used when a material is not suitable for machining by milling. However, there are also other reasons why CNC cutting is preferred. For example, cold cutting processes such as water jet cutting are more suitable as a machining method for thermally sensitive materials. Very complex geometries require several, sometimes time-consuming, work steps when milling, as the tool cannot reach certain areas. In this case, laser cutting is the best option. This also applies if clean cut edges are required without further post-processing. Even then, CNC cutting with laser is the process of choice. Whether you decide in favour of CNC cutting or CNC milling depends on various criteria.
CNC cutting enables the fast and efficient processing of a wide range of materials and reduces production costs while maintaining the high quality of the finished products or workpieces. Depending on the processed materials and the manufactured geometries of the workpieces or the type of products, CNC cutting is suitable for almost all materials and is an economical alternative to CNC milling.