Steel targets with magnetic charge? Is this normal? What causes it?

[Zach S]

So, you're saying that in laser cutting, the material isn't effected that much by heat?

Which material. The steel or the suction cups?

The suction cups aren't exposed to heat. They're just used to load the next sheet. The sheet doesnt move while being cut, so it just lays on the slatbed and usually isn't clamped.

The steel gets a little warm, but not red hot like with a torch cut. Its not something you would want to pick up with your bare hands, but leather gloves are enough.

While I have never used a infrared thermometer on a fresh cut, I would say its comparable to the hood of a car on a hot sunny day.

 

[nvgeologist]

I design and sell AR500 steel targets as well, and my vendor cuts them with a laser. They're generally magnetized. When they get cut, the edge is red hot, but it's such a quick cut that there's almost no depth to that heat, you can look at it after the fact and see the color change is about 1/64" from the edge.

So any magnetization that was there before will persist, which you don't typically see with plasma or oxy cut steel.

Other than water jet, laser gives you the best cuts for steel, almost no kerf or heat affect zone. Way faster than water jet as well.