Laser Cutting Samples

Machine Structure: Gantry or Desk Type

Fiber laser cutters are built in two basic ways. The structure decides how well the machine keeps its accuracy at high acceleration and under the heat of long cutting runs.

Gantry structure (PCL standard)

• Rails apart from the cutting table: heat from the cutting zone goes into the table, not into the frame that carries the rails.
• Dual drive: both sides of the gantry are driven, so it stays square at high acceleration.
• Open sides: sheets can be loaded by forklift or crane from the side.
• Service: worn table slats and parts are replaced without touching the rails.

Integrated desk structure

• One welded body: table and rails sit on the same frame, which is compact and costs less.
• Heat: cutting heat goes into the same frame that carries the rails, which matters more at high power and on long runs.
• Loading: closed sides make loading large, heavy sheets slower.
• Best for: lower power, smaller sheets and limited budgets.

At high power and high acceleration, the gantry structure keeps the precision parts away from the heat of cutting. That is why PCL builds its fiber laser cutters this way.

Machine Bed: Plate-Welded or Tube-Welded

The bed carries the gantry and takes every acceleration of the cutting head. How it is built decides how long the machine keeps its accuracy, especially above 3 kW and on heavy plate.

Plate-welded bed (PCL standard)

• Thick steel plate: welded from 12–16 mm carbon steel plate; the mass damps vibration at high acceleration.
• Stress relief: annealed at about 600 °C and cooled slowly in the furnace, so welding stresses do not distort the bed later.
• Machined in one set-up: all mounting faces for rails and racks are milled on a large gantry milling machine in a single clamping, so they stay parallel.

Tube-welded bed (economy design)

• Hollow square tube: lighter and cheaper, but more prone to vibration at high acceleration.
• Thinner walls: more sensitive to heat and to the forces of heavy plate and fast moves.
• Best for: low power and thin sheet, where loads are small.

When comparing quotations, ask how the bed is built, whether and how it is stress-relieved, and how the mounting faces are machined. These answers say more about long-term accuracy than the accuracy figure on the data sheet.