In the custom machining of aluminum enclosure, the choice of craftsmanship is of vital importance. Faced with the same effect as the aluminum enclosure sample, how would you choose the manufacturing process? In fact, the amount of craftsmanship used depends not only on the product but also on the final effect the product is supposed to achieve and the quantity of the product.
ENCLOSURE BY CNC MACHINING
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For instance, for an aluminum enclosure with a screen hole, what process should be chosen to make it? Most people will choose laser cutting. However, it should be noted that if the quantity of the product is relatively small, choosing CNC often has more advantages. The reason is that the aluminum enclosure is not a flat surface. Choosing the laser cutting process requires an additional mold to fix the shell on the laser cutting instrument to ensure the normal operation of the hole opening work. As a result, the cost is too high.
So taking this opportunity, today I'll introduce to you the differences between laser cutting and CNC.
Laser Cutting
By irradiating the material to be cut with a high-power-density laser beam, the material is quickly heated to the vaporization temperature and evaporates to form holes. As the beam moves along the material, the holes continuously form very narrow (such as about 0.1mm) slits, thus completing the cutting of the material.
Main features:
►1. Good cutting quality reduces labor costs
Laser cutting machines take advantage of the non-contact processing feature of lasers, which does not damage the workpiece. The cut products have no squeezing deformation, and the processed products have good quality without burrs. There is no need for manual grinding, eliminating unnecessary processing procedures and optimizing the labor intensity of workers.
►2. Save investment in molds and reduce production costs
Laser cutting machines can directly produce various hardware workpieces without molds. There is no mold consumption, no need for mold repair or replacement, which can save a large amount of mold usage, reduce processing costs, and lower production costs. It is especially suitable for the processing of large products.
►3. It has a very high precision and effectively improves productivity
Laser cutting technology emerged as an alternative to the "shearing - punching" process, featuring precision, flexibility and high efficiency. It can effectively process various complex parts. Once the cutting pattern is made and imported into the control system, the size can be set for cutting. This helps directly shorten the product processing and manufacturing cycle and effectively improve labor productivity.
►4. Fast cutting speed, optimizing the working environment
Laser cutting machines cut quickly, operate stably, generate low noise, produce no dust, and do not produce any chemical substances harmful to human health or the environment. They also provide a considerate protection for operators, ensuring a clean and tidy production site, reducing later investment, minimizing pollution, and helping hardware enterprises optimize their working environment and keep up with the trend of environmental protection.
►5. Low maintenance cost in the later stage and high cost performance
The maintenance of mechanical products is very costly, while laser cutting machines have stable performance, are sturdy and durable, can work continuously, and are not prone to damage. They have a significant advantage in terms of later maintenance costs.
CNC machining
CNC(Numerical Control Machine Tool) is the abbreviation of Computernumericalcontrol Machine Tool, which is an automated machine tool controlled by a program. This control system is capable of logically processing programs specified with control codes or other symbolic instructions. Through the computer, it decodes them, enabling the machine tool to perform the prescribed actions and process the raw material into semi-finished and finished parts through tool cutting.
Main features:
►1. Minimum setting error
Traditional machine tools rely on the operator's proficiency in measuring tools. Of course, excellent workers can set the parts very precisely. However, there are only a few outstanding domestic operators. This is the reason why many CNC systems adopt dedicated coordinate measurement probes. It is usually installed in the spindle as a tool and its position is determined by the probe contacting the fixed part. After that, determine the zero point of the coordinate system to minimize the setting error.
►2. Stable replication accuracy
Nothing is more stable than a verified computer program. The movement of the instrument is always the same because its accuracy only depends on the accuracy of the stepping motor. In conventional processing, the replication accuracy varies greatly because it comes from the operator. And human errors are always greater than those of programs.
►3. Fewer test runs
Traditional processing inevitably involves some test parts. The CNC system has a way to avoid trial operation. They adopt a visualization system, enabling operators to actually see what will happen in the inventory after all the tools have passed.
►4. Complex surfaces are easy to manufacture
It is almost impossible to manufacture complex surfaces with high precision in the traditional way. It requires a lot of physical labor. The CAM system can automatically form tool paths for any surface. This is one of the greatest advantages of modern numerical control processing technology.
►5. Higher flexibility of machine tools
The traditional methods are milling machines to process grooves or planes, lathes to process cylinders and cones, and drilling machines to process holes. CNC machining can combine all the above functions in one machine tool. Because you can program the tool path, you can replicate any motion on any machine tool. So, we have milling centers that can manufacture cylindrical parts and lathes that can mill grooves. All of these are aimed at reducing the configuration of parts.
The different from the two
1. Cutting strength
It refers to the intensity of the laser beam incident on the surface of the material. For a specific cut, the greater the intensity, the greater the depth. Within the range of 1% to 100%, the adjustment range is 1%. The greater the intensity, the greater the equivalent speed. The deeper the cutting depth is, the more.
2. Cutting speed
It refers to the speed at which the laser head moves, usually expressed in IPS(inches per second). High speed leads to high production efficiency. Speed is also used to control the depth of cutting. For a specific laser intensity, the slower the speed, the greater the depth of cutting.
3. Spot size
In fact, the spot sizes of CNC and laser cutting are also different. The spot size of the laser beam can be adjusted by using lenses of different focal lengths. Lenses with small light spots are used for high-resolution cutting. Lenses with large light spots are used for lower-resolution cutting, but they are an excellent choice for vector cutting. The standard configuration of the new equipment is a 2.0-inch lens. Its spot size is in the middle and it is suitable for various occasions.
As an experienced manufacturer in the field of CNC fabrication, we provide cnc aluminum enclosure to a full range of industries. Our modern technology and precision CNC machines enable us to produce complex and customized CNC parts for a wide range of industries and applications. We place great emphasis on precision and efficiency to ensure that each custom enclosure meets our high quality standards. We work closely with our customers to develop custom parts solutions tailored to their specific needs.