Cutting Methods Comparison

Oxy Fuel Cutting

• Basic manual equipment is low cost, very portable and versatile
• An economical method of plate edge preparation for bevel and groove welding on medium and low carbon steels
• Can be used to easily cut rusty and scaled plate
• Ideal for thick (>12”) and thin (1/16”) material
• Only moderate skill is required to produce successful results
• Suitable for manual and mechanized cutting
• May be utilized with a variety of cutting fuels including:
  • Propylene
  • Acetylene
  • Propane
  • Methylacetylene
  • Polypropediene (Mapp)
  • Natural Gas
  • FG2

Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC)

• High quality cutting of both ferrous and non-ferrous materials, particularly useful for cutting aluminum and stainless steel
• Equipment is available for cutting a wide range of material thicknesses
• Ideal for cutting materials up to 2” in thickness
• Precision plasma can produce laser-like quality cuts in some applications with significantly lower equipment costs

Laser Beam Cutting

• Narrow kerf width, minimal heat affected zone, little or no distortion
• Highly reproducible results
• High cutting speeds with excellent cut quality
• Easily automated and flexible
• Can be used to cut materials that are not electrically conductive
• Ideal for cutting aluminum, copper, stainless and mild steel

Selection Chart

Consult Linde's Selection Chart below to determine the recommended cutting process that better suits your needs.

E = Excellent | VG = Very Good | G = Good | F = Fair | P = Poor | N/R = Not Recommended | N/A = Not Applicable