Floor Mounted Fiber Laser Cutter

With a floor-mounted fiber laser cutter, the large-format CNC system's guide rails are secured directly to the factory floor. This differs from machine beds where rails are integrated. The gantry moves along these floor rails, completely independent of the worktable where the plate is positioned.

For machines where the rails are directly attached to the bed, the bed must support both the workpiece and the rails. This works well for standard sheet sizes. However, when dealing with plates 12 meters or longer, the material's weight and the heat from cutting can cause the rails to warp. This movement results in inaccuracies, meaning that by the end of a long cut, the piece could be off by a fraction of a millimeter, which is enough to cause problems during welding.

A floor-mounted machine solves this by separating the accurate guide rails from the workpiece. The plate sits on a separate support bed, and the rails are anchored to the building's foundation. This prevents the plate's weight and cutting heat from affecting the rails, guaranteeing steady accuracy over the entire length.

Foundation is Key:

Typically, a standard 6-inch concrete floor is sufficient for industrial use, but it must be perfectly level across the machine's length (within 10mm). The concrete needs to reach a strength of 3500 psi after 28 days. Even small imperfections in the foundation's levelness can lead to considerable cutting errors on long parts.

This design features a segmented, modular bed built in sections, usually 3 or 4 meters long. The worktable is distinct from the main bed frame.

This setup offers three key benefits:

1. Thermal Stability:Each section operates independently, preventing heat from cutting operations from spreading. This ensures the machine maintains accuracy across its entire length.

2. Modular Expansion: You can begin with a shorter bed, like 12 meters, and easily add more sections as your production needs increase. The rails can be extended, allowing for cutting lengths from 12 meters all the way up to 24 meters or more. The typical width is 3.2 meters.

3. Heavy Load Capability: The worktable directly supports the plate's weight, while the rails only bear the gantry and cutting head. This means floor-mounted machines can handle plates of any weight because heavy plates are placed directly onto a stable, stationary bed.

The main beam is usually constructed from welded steel. The bed itself is milled in three passes using a large gantry and then undergoes high-temperature quenching at 600°C. Some models use a bridge-like structure to minimize thermal distortion and stress.