Oxy-fuel cutting (also known as flame cutting or autogenous cutting) is a thermal subtractive manufacturing process that relies on the chemical reaction of rapid oxidation (combustion) of iron in a
Oxy-fuel cutting (also known as flame cutting or autogenous cutting) is a thermal subtractive manufacturing process that relies on the chemical reaction of rapid oxidation (combustion) of iron in a high-purity oxygen environment at elevated temperatures. Unlike other thermal cutting processes (such as laser or plasma cutting) where the metal is simply melted and blown away, in oxy-fuel cutting, the workpiece material itself acts as an active energy source due to the exothermic oxidation reaction.
For oxy-fuel cutting to be successfully applied to any metal, four fundamental physical and chemical conditions must be satisfied:
The kinematics of CNC oxy-fuel cutting machines are governed by a Cartesian coordinate system compliant with the ISO 841 standard. The machine configurations are structurally optimized for processing large and heavy workpieces (typically mild steel plates ranging from 20 mm to over 300 mm in thickness), requiring highly rigid, high-load-bearing gantry structures.
In oxy-fuel cutting, there is no solid mechanical tooling; instead, the cutting nozzle (also referred to as the cutting tip) mounted in the torch head performs this function. The internal geometry of the nozzle determines the concentration of the preheating flame and the laminar flow profile of the high-velocity cutting oxygen jet.
Two primary burner designs are utilized in industrial environments:
| Category | Subtractive Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Library | CNC machining |
Engineer, author of The Big Book of 3D Printing and additive manufacturing expert