Fibre Laser  v Plasma

Before the arrival of multi-kilowatt Fiber Lasers, Fibre Laser metal cutting was general focused on
the cutting of metal sheets principally 2.00 mm,  plus steel plates below 10mm.

In the range of 30-50mm thick plates, Plasma cutting had a clear advantage,  i.e., speed, 
Fibre laser cutting was not considered possible at 30-50mm plate thickness.

With arrival of multi-kilowatt lasers, currently available up to 60kW,  High Power Fibre Laser cutting has expanded into medium and thick plate cutting,  therefore the Plasma metal cutting market is slowly being replaced by Fibre Laser Cutting Machines.

Steel sheets, plates are generally categorized as :
thin plates upto  4mm, medium plates 4-20m, thick plates 20-60mm, extra thick plates greater than 60mm

1.Advantages of Fiber Lasers: 
High accuracy, narrow Kerf, minimal heat-affected zone, dross-free cut edges,  fast cutting speed, 
Some Fibre Laser cutting machines can reach cutting speeds of 10 metres per min, with a  positioning accuracy of 0.05mm and a re-positioning accuracy of 0.02mm, 
The heat-affected area of the cut, the HAZ zone, is small.
Little thermal deformation of the cut piece.

2. Advantages of a Plasma cutting machine:
Wide cutting range, Plasma cutting can all metal plates.
Fast speed and high efficiency, Plasma cutting is fast and efficient.
Better precision and quality than NC Oxyfuel cutting, 
In terms of cost, plasma cutting is much more economical than laser cutting.

3. Plasma cutting disadvantages are generally considered to be:
A 0.5°-1.5° degree angle at the vertical cut edge, i.e., the the 'Kerf' does not have absolute Vertical cut sides
Hardening of the 'Kerf' edges
Produces 'Kerf' edge slag, that requires an additional removal process i.e., slag removal by grinding

Plasma equipment manufacturers are developing more refined Plasma Arc generating equipment,
to address issues such as 'rough cut' surfaces, poor 'Kerf' Vertical perpendicularity.
Plasma Arc equipment manufacturers have reduced the nozzle aperture size, to give a very highly 
compressed cutting arc, that significantly increases current density, achieving higher cutting precision
 and surface finish. 

However the fact remains that Plasma cutting of thin plate ( 2.00 mm thickness) cannot compete with
Fibre Laser Metal Cutting.  In conclusion, in terms of material cutting, Fiber Laser cutting has a wider range of choices than Plasma cutting, For cutting thin sheets (2.0 mm), Fibre Laser cutting has a clear advantage.