If you focus solely on high wattage and purchase an ultra-powerful machine with poor motion dynamics, your power will likely not see its full potential. For this reason, dynamics are a critical factor to take into account.
We can all agree that the faster you cut, the better. So power does have an important role, but when it comes to fiber laser machines, you have to consider the speed and, more importantly, the acceleration. As a short recap on mechanics, speed is the distance covered in a unit of time, while acceleration is the rate of change of that speed.
Speed
Regarding speed, there are two key rates to consider: positioning and cutting speed. Positioning speed will apply to all your cutting jobs, regardless of thickness. Machines with high positioning speeds (above 300m/min) tend to have high cutting speeds (above 100m/min). But speed alone won't do the job. That's when acceleration comes into play.
Acceleration
Acceleration is measured in Gs, where G is equivalent to the acceleration of gravity (9.81 m/sec2). Not to get into complex formulas, all you need to know is the more Gs, the better. If we double the acceleration, we're technically reducing the time it takes to reach a programmed speed to half. The rate at which the machine can decelerate into and accelerate out of corners or arcs has a higher impact on cycle time than power and speed. The shorter the cycle, the more parts produced per hour and the more profit.
In other words, if a machine can't accelerate at a fast enough rate, all the power in the world will not make a difference in productivity, so this is a parameter you don't want to overlook.
Eagle has become a reference in high-power laser cutters but also in peak-performing motion dynamics. Top-of-the-line Eagle iNspire machines deliver up to 6G acceleration -the highest in the industry- a cutting speed of up to 150 m/min, and a 340 m/min positioning speed, maintaining complete accuracy even at 40kW.
In all our machines, power and speed work hand-in-hand to deliver the fastest cutting and the most productive work cycles. However, it's worth noting that, aside from power and motion dynamics, there is a third aspect equally relevant to enhancing productivity, especially for mass demand manufacturers; automation.
Suppose a machine is capable of incredible speeds but has a slow material exchange process or is unable to line up programs to produce 24/7, even unattended. In that case, production won't achieve the peak pace it's capable of.
We invite you to read more on the key role of automation here.