What we Can Cut - A Guide to our Laser Cutting Process

What we Can Cut – A Guide to our Laser Cutting Process

Date

05.02.25

We are a sub-Contract laser cutting and forming specialist with the ability to cut a range of different materials, various thickness and different sizes using our fiber lasers. Whether you are an artist creating decorative pieces or after large scale repeatability jobs, this guide will hopefully help you to understand ‘what we can cut’ and how our services can help you.

Materials We Cut

Our fiber lasers can cut a variety of metals, including:

Mild Steel: Standard mild steel grades include CR4, S275 and S355. This is ideal for structural and industrial applications. After cutting, manufacturers can paint or powder-coat mild steel.
Stainless Steel: Grades such as 304 and 316 are standard. These can be used for projects requiring corrosion resistance and can be supplied in various finishes such as mirror polish and dull polish which is used for decorative parts.
Aluminum: We can cut various aluminium including 1050, 5251, 5083, 6082. Lightweight and versatile material used in many industries.
Mild steel Durbar / Alu & Stainless Chequer plate: These patterned materials, often used for flooring and stairs, are cut tread side down and the pattern thickness must be allowed for when cutting.
Copper and brass: Used for electrical components and for decorative parts.

Please contact us if you have something you need cutting that isn’t listed.

Thickness Capabilities

We can cut most materials from 0.5mm to 30mm thick, depending on the type of metal:

Mild Steel: Up to 30mm.
Stainless Steel: Up to 30mm.
Aluminum: Up to 30mm.
Brass: Up to 15mm.
Copper: Up to 12mm.

For other materials, contact us for specific limits and availability.

Our Laser Cutting Machines

We currently have 4 fiber lasers:

3kW Fiber Laser: Great for smaller-scale projects and thinner gauge materials.
10kW Fiber Laser: Connects to the tower and automation and allows it to run 24/7 unmanned, when required.
2x 12kW Fiber Lasers: Our 2 higher-powered machines cut large-scale and thicker gauge cutting.

Maximum Bed Size: Our biggest bed is 4000mm x 2000mm which is on one of our 12kW lasers. This enables us to cut larger projects and all material thicknesses at this size.

Turnaround time varies based on the project size and material, but generally we work on 2-3 days for flat parts and 5-6 days for formed parts. This is from receipt of order. There is a 24-hour premium turnaround service also available.

The Gases We Use for Cutting

The 2 main gases we use for cutting are oxygen and nitrogen. The gas blows out molten metal during the cutting process to create a cleaner cut.

We cut mild steel using both oxygen, nitrogen and also mixed gas. Using oxygen causes oxidisation on the edges, which isn’t ideal if the part is being powder-coated after cutting.
Aluminium and stainless steel are only cut using nitrogen.
We cut copper using oxygen as the assist gas. We do not use nitrogen as it can reflect the laser beam back.
Nitrogen cuts faster than oxygen and leaves a much cleaner edge.
Using nitrogen is much more cost effective for us as we have our own nitrogen generator. You can read about Nitrogen Generator Being Updated here.

Quality Assurances

We gained our first quality assurance nearly 20 years ago and now hold 3 certifications which cover Quality, Environmental, and Health & Safety. These certifications apply to our laser cutting and folding services, delivered to customer specifications, to industrial and commercial sectors within the UK.

Since 2015, Midtherm Laser Ltd has held accreditation for BSEN-1090-1 up to and including Execution Class 4. We have a proven track record of producing quality parts for various industry sectors where UKCA CE compliant products have been a must.

Certifications and Standards

We’re proud to hold the following certifications:

ISO 9001: Quality Management System.
ISO 14001: Environmental Management System.
ISO 45001: Health & Safety Management System.
BS EN 1090: (CE Marking) UKCA certification for structural steel and stainless steel up to and including Execution Class 4.

Maintaining Quality in Laser Cutting and Forming will give you more information on our quality system. You can also download our certificates.

Our aim is to cut every job without problems, but sometimes parts get rejected due to incorrect cuts or material imperfections. We will always try our best to sort problems out quickly and efficiently.

What Else Can We Cut

Perforated panels: Our lasers can cut perforated panels of various hole sizes. We have cut various patterns in the past for decorative and architectural applications. Please be aware that panels can warp slightly if there are a large number of smaller holes.
Free issue material: We can cut material supplied by the customer. The plates must be 300mm x 300mm minimum size and must be square/rectangular so the machine can detect it. Please speak to us if you have some material that needs cutting and we can advise further.
Fiber coated material: Some of our DP (Dull Polished) and MP (Mirror Polished) materials will come with a protective coating on the polished face as standard. We can cut the material with this on, up to certain thicknesses. On thicker gauge material we can etch the coating before cutting to aid the cut. We can also remove this coating, on asking, before cutting.
Reflective material: People sometimes perceived that older CO2 machines could not cut reflective material, when in fact they could. There are no issues cutting this with fiber technology.
Artistic Work: We cut a lot of unique artistic pieces both locally and UK wide. When walking the local canals and around Dudley, you can see examples of work we have been involved with. We can take sketches and ideas and turn them into full scale projects. Have a read here about the decorative projects we have been involved with.
One-off parts: One off parts can be cut. We can scan bespoke parts and reverse engineered to produce a CAD drawing. From car and motorbike replacement parts to signage, send us your drawings to see if we can help.