Oxy-fuel cutting

Oxy-fuel cutting It is used for steels that cannot be cut with oxygen alone because they do not meet the necessary cutting requirements. These include chromium-nickel steels, high-chromium alloys, non-ferrous metals, and cast iron. When cutting these steels, they form very hard oxides with a high melting point, which complicates the cutting process.

Oxy-fuel cutting This problem is successfully solved by introducing flux powder into the cutting zone along with oxygen. When burned, the flux releases significantly more heat and increases the temperature in the cutting zone. The burnt flux particles also soften the oxide slag and make it more fluid, allowing it to be easily removed from the cutting zone and improving subsequent metal cutting.

Iron powder serves as a flux, releasing a large amount of heat during combustion, approximately 1800 kcal/kg. The cutting process depends on the chemical composition and granulation of this powder. When cutting stainless steel, the oxygen content, which is present in the powder as oxides, should be no more than 6%. When cutting cast iron, flux reduces the alloy's carbon content and liquefies the slag. Flux containing iron and aluminum powder is used for this purpose. Flux is used similarly when cutting non-ferrous metals.

At oxygen-flux cutting They calculate the flux composition for cutting the required metal based on its phase diagram, obtaining a slag composition with a minimum melting point and viscosity. Cutters oxygen flux cutting They differ slightly from oxyfuel cutting torches in that the oxygen supply channels have a larger diameter. The cutting technique is the same as with oxyfuel cutting, but the heated flame power is higher at 15-20%, allowing the flux to heat evenly before ignition.

Speed oxygen flux cutting depends on the amount of flux supplied per unit of time. This type of cutting is also used for cutting concrete and reinforced concrete, but a flux with greater thermal efficiency is used than for metal. To prevent the flux from igniting during oxygen-flux cutting In a cutter, tank or hose, a powder containing less than 96% pure iron or aluminum must be used.

Oxy-fuel cutting It is widely used in metallurgy and heavy engineering for cutting blooms when they are cold, and when cutting ingots of dimensional blanks.