Long before the popularity of laser cutting, plasma cutting is the most mature process in the field of metal processing. It uses the heat of high temperature plasma arc to partially melt the metal at the workpiece incision, and uses the momentum of high speed plasma to eliminate the molten metal to form the incision, and its processing quality and cost are relatively considerable. At this time, plasma cutting is still widely used in the field of thin plate with its advantages of fast cutting speed and smooth end face.
However, with the rise of laser, laser cutting began to form a certain degree of impact on plasma cutting. In the field of thin plate cutting, kilowatt-class fiber lasers have absolute advantages over plasma cutting quality and efficiency, and significant advantages such as high precision, small slit, small heat-affected zone, no edge burrs and fast cutting speed make them the first choice in this field. In contrast, the disadvantages of plasma cutting have been highlighted.