Why the 1 inch laser bevel limit is out of date
The old rule was simple. Plasma owned the bevel on thick plate. Laser cut the profile, then the plate went to a plasma table, a beam saw, or a hand torch for the bevel, and came back for grinding before fit-up.
The rule came with a number: laser bevel is typically limited around 1 inch plate. That number is still circulating in industry articles, and it is out of date. It described the laser power on the machines those articles were written about. It was never a ceiling built into the process, and it is not the number TANAKA publishes today.
TANAKA publishes the current figure. The FMZIII with a 40 kW oscillator cuts a 45° V-bevel up to 50 mm (1.97 in) (the 40 kW announcement). Same machine, same bevel head, 20 kW oscillator: 28 mm (1.10 in) at 45°, 32 mm (1.26 in) at 30°. Moving from 20 kW to 40 kW buys about 1.8x the bevel thickness, which is the difference between a laser whose bevel range stops a little above 1 inch and one that reaches 2 inches.
One clarification, because it matters when you read the rest of this page: TANAKA's fiber lasers are plate machines. TANAKA also builds CNC plasma pipe and profile cutters, and those are still plasma machines. Nothing here argues that plasma is finished.
2 inch (50 mm) plate, 45° bevel, cut on the FMZIII at 40 kW. This is the part the bevel envelope on this page is measured on.
Laser bevel envelope: 20 kW vs 40 kW
The difference between the 20 kW and 40 kW FMZIII is mostly the bevel envelope. Both cut plate straight and angled, on the same table, in one setup. The 40 kW bevels about 1.8x as thick, and it also lifts the straight-cut ceiling.
| Capability | 20 kW fiber laser (FMZIII) | 40 kW fiber laser (FMZIII) |
|---|---|---|
| Max 45° V-bevel thickness | 28 mm (1.10 in) | 50 mm (1.97 in) |
| Max straight cut thickness | 40 mm (1.57 in) | 63.5 mm (2.5 in) |
| Edge condition after the cut | Weld-ready off the table with minimal preparation | Weld-ready off the table, no grinding or secondary prep, on the 2 inch (50 mm) 45° part |
| Cutting speed, 32 mm (1.26 in) plate | Ask us for the test data on your material | 2,800 mm/min (110 ipm) on 32 mm plate |
In TANAKA's published comparison, plasma runs the same 32 mm plate at 1,300 mm/min (51 ipm), so the 40 kW FMZIII cuts it about 2.2x faster. For the thickness each oscillator is quoted at: 20 kW cuts 16 mm (0.63 in) at 4,500 mm/min (177 ipm), and 40 kW cuts 25 mm (0.98 in) at 4,700 mm/min (185 ipm). That is a faster feed rate on 25 mm plate than the 20 kW manages on 16 mm.
Cutting data from TANAKA test results. Actual results depend on material grade and condition.
Want the numbers on your own plate?
Contact sales 847-610-5579Where plasma still wins on thick plate
Cost of entry. This is the first objection a plasma shop raises, and it is a fair one: that table is already bought, already tooled and already paid for, and a second machine is a new line on the balance sheet. That is a real difference, and it is the reason plasma is still on the floor in most shops.
Very thick cuts with no bevel. If the work is 2 inch plate cut square and welded from both sides, or thicker plate than any laser bevel reach, plasma does the job with a simpler machine. The 40 kW laser's own straight-cut limit is 63.5 mm (2.5 in), so plate past that point is still plasma or another process. A laser bevel is a weld-prep tool, and if there is no weld prep to do, there is nothing for it to replace.
Mixed-material and mixed-condition shops. Laser cutting is sensitive to material grade and condition. That is TANAKA's own caveat, printed on the FMZIII page. Plasma is the more forgiving process on rust, mill scale and the plate that arrives on a Friday afternoon.
Consumables and simple maintenance. Plasma consumables are a known line item that a shop already budgets for and an operator already changes. A fiber laser moves that cost into optics, nozzles and a service relationship.
Pipe and profile. Plasma cuts pipe and structural profile. TANAKA builds CNC plasma pipe and profile cutters for exactly that work and sells them alongside the fiber laser cutting machines. Nobody at TANAKA is arguing you should bevel a pipe on a gantry.
1.8xthe bevel thickness
Where a bevel laser wins
When the bevel is the operation you are trying to delete. The FMZIII cuts the profile and the bevel in one setup on the same table. That removes the second machine, the second handling, the queue between them, and the grind at the end. On the 2 inch (50 mm) 45° part TANAKA publishes, the edge comes off weld-ready, and TANAKA's own description is that it "looks like plasma and welds up faster than plasma."
When part count makes the setup worth it. One beveled part is a test cut. A repeating family of beveled parts is where the removed secondary operation compounds.
When the parts are large. The FMZIII is a gantry machine: the bridge travels on rails over a fixed table, and cutting length extends by adding rail. Large, long, heavy parts stay put.
When the running cost clears the second operation. A nitrogen bevel cut on thick plate is a gas and power question as much as a speed question. Ask us for nitrogen consumption and power draw on your reference part before you compare the two processes on cost, because the cutting speed alone will not tell you which one is cheaper to run.
Do you need 40 kW, or is 20 kW enough?
Not always. That is the honest answer. Look at the bevel envelope. If your thickest 45° bevel is at or under 28 mm (1.10 in), and your straight cuts are at or under 40 mm (1.57 in), the 20 kW oscillator covers the work, and on 16 mm plate it cuts at 4,500 mm/min (177 ipm).
The 40 kW machine earns its place when the bevels land between 28 mm and 50 mm (1.10 in to 1.97 in), when straight cuts go to 63.5 mm (2.5 in), or when the extra speed on 25 mm and up is what opens up capacity. If your plate sits in that band, the 20 kW cannot do the bevel at all and the choice is 40 kW or plasma plus grinding.
How to test laser bevel on your own parts
Five steps, in order. This is the same path our applications team walks a shop through.
Pick the part family, not the part
Choose the beveled parts you run most often, and note the thickest 45° bevel in that family, the plate grade, and the annual quantity. That is the only comparison that matters.
Time the process you run today, end to end
Cut, bevel, cool, handle, grind, fit up. Include the queue time between the plasma table and the grinder, because that is where the second operation actually costs you.
Send one part and a drawing to TANAKA
TANAKA runs test cuts on customer parts and reports what the machine does on that material, at that thickness, with that bevel. Its own page makes the offer: send a part and we will tell you what 40 kW can do with it.
Judge the edge with a weld, not a photo
Check bevel angle, land, root and dross, then weld one part and cut it. The claim on the line is that a laser-beveled edge welds up faster than plasma. Test it on your joint, your wire and your welder.
Add up what the grind costs you
Take the hours from step 2 and put a year of volume behind them. Ask what that grinding step costs you per year, before and after a bevel laser.
Laser bevel cutting FAQs
Yes. A 1 inch plate is 25.4 mm, and the FMZIII cuts a 45° V-bevel up to 28 mm (1.10 in) at 20 kW and up to 50 mm (1.97 in) at 40 kW. Both oscillators cover 1 inch. The 20 kW has a little room above it; the 40 kW treats 1 inch as half its bevel range, not its limit.
Up to 50 mm (1.97 in) at 45° on the TANAKA FMZIII, which is about 1.8x the 28 mm (1.10 in) the same machine bevels at 20 kW. Straight cutting goes to 63.5 mm (2.5 in). Results depend on material grade and condition, so the figure to trust for your plate is a test cut on your plate.
Not per unit of cut, and not on every job. Laser bevel wins where it removes a second operation: no second setup for the bevel, no grinding before fit-up, no queue between machines. It loses where the plate is very thick with no bevel, where volume is too low to amortize the machine, or where the shop already has a plasma table paid for. The comparison is cost per finished, weld-ready part, not cost per cut.
On the 2 inch (50 mm) 45° part TANAKA publishes, no: it comes off the table weld-ready with no grinding or secondary prep. Whether your part needs a touch is a question for a test cut, because it depends on material grade, condition and your weld procedure. Send us a part and we will run it, then you weld it and judge the edge on your joint.
On 32 mm (1.26 in) plate, the FMZIII at 40 kW cuts at 2,800 mm/min (110 ipm) against plasma's 1,300 mm/min (51 ipm), about 2.2x the cutting speed by TANAKA's published comparison. That is cutting speed only. The bigger difference on a beveled part is usually the bevel and the grind that no longer happen, not the feed rate.
Yes. The FMZIII has a bevel head and cuts vertical and angled edges, so a part with a square edge and a 45° bevel comes off in one setup. That is the point of the machine: one table, one program, one handling.
20 kW covers it. Its limit is 28 mm (1.10 in) at 45° and 32 mm (1.26 in) at 30°, and it cuts 16 mm (0.63 in) at 4,500 mm/min (177 ipm). The 40 kW machine is the answer when your bevels run past 28 mm at 45°, your straight cuts pass 40 mm (1.57 in), or the extra speed at 25 mm and up changes your schedule. TANAKA will tell you which one fits if you send the drawing.
Usually not entirely, and TANAKA does not claim it does. The FMZIII is built to take over the thick-plate bevel and quality-cut work where edge prep and secondary operations are the cost. Plasma stays for very thick square cuts, mixed-material and field work, and pipe and profile, which TANAKA still builds plasma machines for.
Sales, Service and Test Cuts Across North America
TANAKA built the first gantry laser cutting machine in 1989, and the format is still what the company builds: a bridge on rails over a fixed table, so large plate stays put and cutting length extends with rail. TANAKA has been in North America for 35 years, on a company history that runs back 100 years globally. Machines are sold and supported across the USA, Canada and Mexico, with installation and operator training from TANAKA and service through Reger Laser, which has supported TANAKA equipment in North America for 25 years.
Installation
By TANAKA engineers and Reger Laser
Training
For your operators
Test cuts
Send a part and a drawing
Service
TANAKA engineers and Reger Laser
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