Comparison of cutting technologies

Which cutting technology is best suited to the application you have in mind? Astratec gives an overview of the most frequently used cutting forms.

Features per technique

Oxy-fuel cutting

The heat is generated by a flame of oxygen and a fuel gas, such as acetylene or propane.

This is the oldest method around, which can only be used to cut 5 mm to 300 mm steel, i.e. it is not suited for cutting stainless steel components.
Still a good choice for cut thicknesses over 40 millimetres.

Plasma cutting

The heat is generated by a gas in plasma condition, similar to a lightning strike.

Is used for cutting of metal of 0.5 to 150 millimetres.
All electrically conductive materials can be cut.
Thanks to the high cutting speed the productivity of the machine is very high.

Water jet cutting

The material is being cut by the thin water jet.

Can be used for all materials.
The angle of inclination is smaller than in case of plasma cutting but larger than in case of laser cutting.
It is a very slow process and therefore only economically interesting after laser cutting and plasma cutting.
Disadvantage for rusting metals is that the material must be dried before it can be stacked.