How Do You Determine Which Type of Cutting Technology Will Be Best For Your Parts?

With so many types of technologies available at our PA laser cutting shop, you might find it confusing to know which will best serve your specific purposes. By consulting with trusted cutting experts, like our team of designers and technicians, you’ll know your parts will be cut using the most effective and efficient equipment for the job. Of course, it also helps to have a personal understanding of what’s involved in choosing the right cutting approach.

Here are five important considerations when deciding which cutting technology will work best for your parts:

1. What type of material needs to be cut?
At BenCo, we can cut steel, aluminum, granite, plastic, a wide variety of other metals, and certain organic materials. Laser cutting and plasma cutting work great for metals, while water jet machines can precisely cut other materials like rubber and granite.

2. Will your parts be cut from a flat sheet or other type of stock?
When your parts need to be cut from tube, channel, or square stock, our 3D tube lasers accommodate the added complexity with ease. In fact, our tube laser cutting equipment features a 3D cutting head that can articulate complex geometries that are impossible to replicate by hand.

3. How thick is the material that will be cut?
While lasers will cut up to a maximum thickness of 1″ hot rolled steel, .75″ stainless, and .5″ aluminum, our water jet equipment can stack cut up to 8” thickness and our plasma machine can cut flat sheet up to 2” and cut materials up to 7.87” thickness when doing oxy fuel cutting.

4. What kind of edge detail is needed?
Certain machines heat the metal, which can compromise edges. You don’t have to worry about that with our water jet machines, however. Because it doesn’t adversely raise the temperature of the material, it can make super-fine, precise cuts. However, it is important to note that the finer you need the edge detail, the slower the cutting process will be.

5. How much time do you have?
Our laser cutting machines work very quickly, so you can cut large volumes of parts in a short turn-around time. And our plasma cutting machine has a built-in CNC tooling station to automatically drill, tap, and countersink in the same step. This saves time and results in a highly efficient production process. And because we have additional fabrication and finishing processes on site at our Honey Brook, PA manufacturing campus, we can provide one-stop convenience and speed when you need parts fast.

Still have more questions about the varied cutting technologies we have to ensure your parts and products are manufactured accurately, cost-effectively, and on time? Contact us to learn more about our state-of-the art equipment—and ask about the design, fabrication, assembly, and other services we provide to give you a one-stop, reliable stop for all your manufacturing needs.