gases used in cnc coping

The cutting head for the Ocean Liberator CNC Beam Coping Machine is a simple and inexpensive oxy-fuel head, and utilizes oxygen and any fuel of your choice, including propane, acetylene, propylene, or natural gas.

Why use Oxy Fuel and not plasma?

Plasma heads are very popular for cutting steel, due to the high quality of the cuts. However, due to the size of the plasma cutting head it is not possible to get the head close enough to the flange, and many styles of copes typically required in beams are just not possible.

Another drawback is that when cutting thicker areas of a part, even on light wide flange beams, for instance the radius at the intersection of the web and the flange, it is typical for the flame to throw back, and this can and cause damage to the plasma head.

Because the Ocean Liberator CNC Beam Coping Machine utilizes oxy-fuel, thickness of material is totally irrelevant and any material up to 6" can be coped.

Are lasers suitable for steel beam coping?

Current day lasers require laser-quality steel to function properly.

Structural steel profiles typically compromise scrap and any available metal and are therefore not suitable for laser cutting. It is possible in the future lasers will become more forgiving in material they can cut and they will probably come down in price making them a viable solution, but this is still many years away.