TANAKA fiber lasers: thickness by laser power
These are TANAKA's published maximums. Start at the top row and stop at the first row that covers your thickest regular plate.
Swipe to see more →
| Model | Laser power | Max straight cut, mild steel | Max bevel | Published cutting speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FMZIII (gantry, bevel) | 40 kW | 63.5 mm (2.5 in) | 45° V-bevel: 50 mm (1.97 in) | 25 mm (0.98 in) at 4,700 mm/min (185 ipm); 32 mm (1.26 in) at 2,800 mm/min (110 ipm), MIX gas |
| FMZIII (gantry, bevel) | 20 kW | 40 mm (1.57 in) | 45° V-bevel: 28 mm (1.10 in); 30°: 32 mm (1.26 in) | 16 mm (0.63 in) at 4,500 mm/min (177 ipm) |
| FMRIII (gantry) | 20 kW | 40 mm (1.57 in) | No bevel | Ask us for test data on your material |
| FMRIII (gantry) | 12 kW | 30 mm (1.18 in) | No bevel | Ask us for test data on your material |
| FMRII (gantry) | 20 kW | 40 mm (1.57 in) | No bevel | Published as 2 to 4 times faster than CO2 laser cutting |
| FMRII (gantry) | 12 kW | 30 mm (1.18 in) | No bevel | Published as 2 to 4 times faster than CO2 laser cutting |
| FMRII (gantry) | 6 kW | 20 mm (0.79 in) | No bevel | Published as 2 to 4 times faster than CO2 laser cutting |
| Tabletop (Sonic, Jet) | 12 / 6 / 3 kW | About 30 mm (1.2 in) / 25 mm (1.0 in) / 18 mm (0.7 in), mill-scale steel with oxygen | No bevel | Rapid feed 240 m/min (9,449 ipm), XY interlocked |
All gantry models: cutting width 2,600 to 5,600 mm (8.5 to 18.3 ft). Cutting length is unlimited because the machine runs on rails. Tabletop models: cutting width 1,500 to 2,500 mm (5 to 8 ft), length 3,000 to 6,000 mm (10 to 20 ft).
Cutting data from TANAKA test results. Actual results depend on material grade and condition.
Compare all gantry models on the fiber laser cutting machines page.
How much laser power for which plate thickness
This guide is for the fabricator, steel service center or OEM plant engineer shortlisting a fiber laser for thick plate. It covers how much power you need, the gap between maximum and production thickness, when plasma or oxy-fuel is still the better call, why plate size points to a gantry, bevel and weld prep, and automation and service.
Match the laser power to your thickest and most common plate. Those are two different numbers, and both matter. On TANAKA's gantry lasers, the published straight-cut maximums in mild steel step up with power:
- 6 kW: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- 12 kW: 30 mm (1.18 in)
- 20 kW: 40 mm (1.57 in)
- 40 kW: 63.5 mm (2.5 in), on the FMZIII
The jump from 20 kW to 40 kW is the largest step in the range. It adds 23.5 mm (about 0.93 in) of straight-cut reach, and it moves the 45° bevel limit from 28 mm (1.10 in) to 50 mm (1.97 in), about 1.8x.
Most of your plate is 20 mm (0.79 in) or under. A 6 kW or 12 kW machine reaches it. The question is speed and throughput, not reach, so look at cycle time on your common thickness.
Your routine plate runs from 20 to 40 mm (0.79 to 1.57 in). This is 20 kW territory. A 20 kW FMRII, FMRIII or FMZIII reaches 40 mm straight. Choose the FMZIII if you also need bevels.
You cut 40 mm (1.57 in) and up on a regular basis. No 20 kW machine in TANAKA's range reaches past 40 mm. The FMZIII 40 kW is the TANAKA laser for this band, with a published straight-cut limit of 63.5 mm (2.5 in).
Your heavy plate is under 40 mm, but you want more speed on it. Power buys speed as well as reach. TANAKA publishes the 40 kW FMZIII cutting 25 mm (0.98 in) plate at 4,700 mm/min (185 ipm), against the 20 kW FMZIII cutting 16 mm (0.63 in) at 4,500 mm/min (177 ipm). That is a faster feed on plate more than half again as thick.
Stainless steel and aluminum are cut with nitrogen. TANAKA publishes that stainless and aluminum reach the same maximums as mild steel when cut with nitrogen at 1 MPa or more, which is 30 mm (1.18 in) at 12 kW and 40 mm (1.57 in) at 20 kW.
If you are not sure which band you sit in, send TANAKA a drawing or a part. The recommendation comes back with a test cut.
Maximum thickness is not production thickness
A maximum thickness tells you the thickest plate a machine can cut. It does not tell you the thickest plate it cuts economically, all shift, at the edge quality your customer accepts. Buyers who compare machines on the headline number alone tend to find this out after installation. Three things sit between a maximum and a production number.
Speed falls as thickness rises. Every published cut speed on this page is quoted at a stated thickness. At the top of a machine's range the feed rate is lower, and cost per part rises with it. Ask for the cut speed at your own thickest plate.
Edge quality changes near the limit. Edge roughness, squareness and dross all get harder to hold as plate gets thicker. Judge the edge on a test cut at your thickest plate, not on a brochure photo.
Material grade and condition move the number. TANAKA's cutting data carries its own caveat: actual results depend on material grade and condition. Mill scale, rust, flatness and alloy all affect what a given power will cut cleanly on a given day.
A useful rule when you read any specification sheet, including this one: size the machine so your routine plate sits comfortably inside the range, and treat the maximum as headroom for the occasional heavy job.
Buyers shortlisting thick-plate lasers commonly compare 24 to 30 kW machines rated to about 50 mm (1.97 in). That is a reasonable class to compare against. The questions to ask every supplier, TANAKA included, are the same: what is the cut speed on my routine thickness, what does the edge look like at my thickest plate, and will you cut my part to prove it.
When plasma or oxy-fuel still makes sense
Plasma and oxy-fuel cut thick plate every day, and in some shops they are the right answer. Be honest about that before you buy a laser.
Plate past the laser's reach. The FMZIII 40 kW's published straight-cut limit is 63.5 mm (2.5 in). Plate thicker than that is still a job for plasma, oxy-fuel or another process.
Cost of entry. A plasma or oxy-fuel table costs less to buy than a high-power fiber laser, and many shops already own one that is paid for. A second machine is a new line on the balance sheet, and the laser has to earn it.
Low volume of very thick plate. If heavy plate is an occasional job and edge quality is not critical, a slower thermal process with a lower machine cost can be the better economic fit.
Rough plate and mixed conditions. Laser cutting is sensitive to material grade and condition. Plasma and oxy-fuel are more forgiving on rust, heavy scale and pitted plate.
Pipe and structural profile. Tube, pipe and profile cutting is a different machine. TANAKA America represents Maruhide CNC plasma pipe and profile cutters for that work. TANAKA's fiber lasers are for plate.
Where the laser earns its place is the plate in between: thick enough that cut speed and edge quality cost money, but inside the laser's range.
Why a gantry for large, thick plate
On a gantry laser, a bridge travels on rails over a large fixed table. The heavy plate stays put while the cutting head moves. A full sheet of heavy plate is hard to move, and on a gantry you do not have to move it while it is being cut.
- Width. TANAKA's gantry lasers cut widths from 2,600 to 5,600 mm (8.5 to 18.3 ft).
- Length. Cutting length is unlimited because the machine runs on rails. Need more length? Add rail.
- Rigidity over long cuts. The FMRII, FMRIII and FMZIII are built on a gantry structure designed for stability and precision over long cuts.
TANAKA built the first gantry laser cutting machine in 1989, and it has built gantry machines since. If your parts are long structural members, bridge components, ship panels or large frames, the gantry is the format to shortlist.
If your work is thin sheet and small parts in volume instead, a tabletop machine with a pallet changer is the better fit, and TANAKA builds those too: the Sonic and Jet, at 3, 6 or 12 kW.
Bevel cutting and weld prep
If the plate you cut is going to be welded, the edge matters as much as the profile. A laser that cuts only square edges sends every beveled part to a second operation: a plasma bevel, a beam saw, a hand torch or a grinder.
The FMZIII is TANAKA's bevel fiber laser. It cuts vertical and angled edges on the same table in one setup:
- 20 kW: 45° V-bevel up to 28 mm (1.10 in); 30° bevel up to 32 mm (1.26 in)
- 40 kW: 45° V-bevel up to 50 mm (1.97 in)
If beveling is a big part of your work, read Laser vs plasma for bevel cutting on thick plate. It covers the bevel range in detail and where plasma still wins on bevels.
2 inch (50 mm) plate, 45° bevel, cut on the FMZIII at 40 kW.
Automation for thick-plate production
Heavy plate is slow and risky to handle by hand. Automation earns its place on a thick-plate laser sooner than many buyers expect, because every crane lift and every manual unload is time the laser is not cutting.
TANAKA offers automated material handling for its fiber lasers: automatic loading and unloading, picking and sorting, storage systems and unmanned operation. TANAKA America can also support custom automation from its partners. The aim is to save floor space and manpower and to make handling heavy plate safer.
On the cutting head, options include an automatic nozzle changer and cleaner and automatic nozzle centering, which reduce manual intervention between jobs.
Service and support in North America
A thick-plate laser is a production machine. When it is down, the parts queue behind it. Before you buy any laser, ask who installs it, who trains your operators, where the parts come from and who answers the phone. For TANAKA, the answers are published:
- Sales and support: TANAKA America, Glendale Heights, Illinois, sells and supports its lasers across the US, Canada and Mexico.
- Installation and training: TANAKA engineers and service partner Reger Laser. Training covers machine setup and operation, safety procedures, programming, and maintenance and troubleshooting.
- Service: TANAKA engineers and Reger Laser, by phone and in person at your plant, during and after the warranty period, with preventive maintenance programs from Reger Laser.
- Parts: original TANAKA spare parts through Reger Laser, the authorized TANAKA laser parts distributor. See parts and service.
Reger Laser has 25 years of experience servicing and supporting TANAKA laser equipment in North America.
How to choose: a five-step check on your own plate
Write down two thicknesses
Your thickest regular plate and your most common plate, with grade. The first sets the power. The second sets the economics.
Find your row in the capacity table
Choose the lowest power whose straight-cut maximum sits comfortably above your thickest regular plate, not right at it.
Decide on bevels
If parts go to welding with a beveled edge, compare the FMZIII bevel limits against your thickest bevel. If your bevels run past 28 mm (1.10 in) at 45°, that points to 40 kW.
Measure your plate handling
Note sheet size, weight and how many sheets a shift. That tells you the table width and whether automation pays.
Send TANAKA a part
Send a drawing or a sample part and TANAKA will cut it on a fiber laser, so you can judge the edge and the fit for your shop. Judge the edge with a weld, not a photo.
Thick plate fiber laser FAQs
The best machine is the one whose power fits your thickest regular plate with room to spare, with a cut speed and edge quality you have seen on your own parts. In TANAKA's range, the FMZIII 40 kW is the thick-plate machine: it cuts mild steel straight up to 63.5 mm (2.5 in) and 45° V-bevels up to 50 mm (1.97 in). For plate up to 40 mm (1.57 in), a 20 kW gantry laser covers the straight cut. Confirm any choice with a test cut on your plate.
The TANAKA FMZIII 40 kW cuts mild steel straight up to 63.5 mm (2.5 in), bevels at 45° up to 50 mm (1.97 in), and cuts 25 mm (0.98 in) plate at 4,700 mm/min (185 ipm). Results depend on material grade and condition.
Match power to your thickest and most common plate. TANAKA's published straight-cut maximums in mild steel are 20 mm (0.79 in) at 6 kW, 30 mm (1.18 in) at 12 kW, 40 mm (1.57 in) at 20 kW and 63.5 mm (2.5 in) at 40 kW on the FMZIII. Size the machine so your routine plate sits well inside the range.
Not always. A maximum is the thickest plate the machine will cut. Production thickness is the plate it cuts at a speed and edge quality that make money. Speed falls and edge quality gets harder to hold near the limit, so treat the maximum as headroom and ask for cut speeds and a test cut at your routine thickness.
TANAKA does, and it built the first gantry laser cutting machine in 1989. TANAKA America sells three gantry fiber lasers: the FMRII (6, 12 or 20 kW), the FMRIII (12 or 20 kW) and the FMZIII bevel laser (20 or 40 kW). All three cut widths from 2,600 to 5,600 mm (8.5 to 18.3 ft), and cutting length extends by adding rail.
Yes. The TANAKA FMZIII cuts 45° V-bevels up to 28 mm (1.10 in) at 20 kW and up to 50 mm (1.97 in) at 40 kW, plus 30° bevels up to 32 mm (1.26 in) at 20 kW. It cuts the straight and beveled edges on the same table in one setup.
When the plate is thicker than the laser's reach (63.5 mm, or 2.5 in, on the FMZIII 40 kW), when heavy plate is occasional and a lower machine cost matters more than speed or edge quality, or when the plate is rusty, heavily scaled or mixed. Plasma is also the tool for pipe and structural profile.
TANAKA America, based in Glendale Heights, Illinois, has 35 years in North America and sells and supports its lasers across the US, Canada and Mexico. Installation, training, service and parts come from TANAKA engineers and service partner Reger Laser, which has 25 years of experience supporting TANAKA laser equipment in North America.
About TANAKA America
TANAKA introduced the world's first gantry laser cutting machine in 1989, on a history of more than 100 years in thermal cutting. TANAKA America has 35 years in North America. It sells and supports gantry fiber lasers for medium to thick steel plate, tabletop fiber lasers for thin parts in volume, and CNC plasma pipe and profile cutters, for fabricators, steel service centers and OEMs across the US, Canada and Mexico.
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
You Can Count on TANAKA America
We support manufacturers across North America with proven equipment and responsive service. If you're considering TANAKA, we'd be happy to talk through it.
Fill out the form and someone from the TANAKA America team will get back to you.