flame cutting
Flame cutting known as oxy-fuel cutting, is a thermal cutting process that uses a combination of fuel gas (such as acetylene, propane, or natural gas) and pure oxygen to cut metals. The heated metal reaches ignition temperature using the fuel gas flame, and then a high-pressure stream of oxygen is directed at the hot area, causing a chemical oxidation reaction with the metal and blowing away the molten material, effectively cutting it while leaving a clean cut.
Key Features:
- High-Temperature Process: The stream of pure oxygen at high pressure is first to react with the heated metal, providing a combustion reaction to create hotter burning materials. Burn rates are much higher; thus, you can provide a very fast system to cut your material.
- Handles Thick Sections: Flame cutting can provide the industry with the ability to cut thick carbon steel sections that may not be achieved by plasma or laser cutting processes.
- Portable and Low Cost: The flame cutting process has relative simple equipment and is very suitable for on-site cutting construction, demolition or repair work processes.
Flame cutting is widely practiced in heavy industries such as shipbuilding, construction and steel fabrication, when cutting thick steel plates and structural components. Although there may now be alternative processes available with modern technologies, flame cutting still is a process that can deliver reliable and robust high volume cuts and with limited set up. Unlike these other cutting processes, flame cutting ensures it can be conducted in a field operation because of its portability and low operating costs.