| The biggest industrial lasers are utilized to cut | | | | laser cutting the SCS-treated sheets. The speed |
| through steel sheets of up to 0.50 inch in | | | | improvement is attributed to the smoothness, |
| fabrication businesses worldwide. Lasers are a lot | | | | cleanliness and uniformity of the surface of steel |
| more exact than oxy-fuel and even plasma | | | | that has undergone the SCS treatment. |
| cutting of stainless steel, but they are also a | | | | The speed increases don't just magically happen. |
| great deal more fragile and unforgiving of flaws in | | | | There is typically a prescribed approach to |
| the surface of steel sheet they cut. Specifically, | | | | achieving the higher speeds. Trading off laser |
| the laser's focal length becomes unstable when | | | | power with assist gas pressure with nozzle |
| there's an uneven surface topography. What | | | | diameter leads to the optimum performance point. |
| happens? The quality of the cut is decreased, as | | | | A step-by-step procedure for performing the |
| is the cutting speed in many cases. | | | | optimization procedure exists. It can be |
| A solution to this problem has arrived. It's a new | | | | downloaded from the SCS web site. |
| surface treatment for sheet steel that conditions | | | | OK, so what does this kind of laser cutting speed |
| the strip. It "brushes away" nearly all of these | | | | increase mean to a business? It allows four laser |
| pervasive surface problems. The process goes by | | | | cutting machines to suddenly accomplish the work |
| the trade name "SCS." How does it work? Inside | | | | of five. That clearly saves money - both capital |
| an SCS "machine" large rollers with an engineered | | | | cost and operating cost factors like man-hours |
| abrasive spin against the surface of the steel at | | | | and utilities. |
| speeds of 1000 revolutions per minute. This | | | | One of the companies now using SCS to turn out |
| brushes off all surface contaminants, including all | | | | laser-friendly sheet steel is The Material Works, |
| but a micro-thin layer of mill scale. Powerful jets | | | | Ltd. of Red Bud, Illinois. TMW Sales Director Chris |
| of water spray away the removed oxides and | | | | Leifer: "Fabricators demand SCS steel for many |
| other contaminants. | | | | reasons but in the end it all comes down to |
| But fabricators care less about the mechanics of | | | | saving money in their processes. They are crazy |
| the SCS process and much more about how the | | | | about how much cleaner it is than P&O. Still, the |
| resulting steel sheet lasers. Speed increases of | | | | benefit that they are most hyped up about is the |
| anywhere from 15 to 50% are common when | | | | faster laser cutting. |