New Trends in Industrial Laser Cutting Assist Gas Solutions

In the daily production of laser cutting mild steel, the choice of assist gas is rarely a simple question of "which gas to use." Pure oxygen delivers fast cutting speeds, but the cut edge often leaves slag that requires secondary finishing. Pure nitrogen produces a clean cut surface, but cutting speeds are limited, and the supply costs and logistics of liquid nitrogen remain high. Air cutting is economical, but its stability is poor, and oil and moisture contamination pose a major risk to the cutting head. For years, manufacturers have had to constantly balance speed, quality, and cost.

Today, a new approach to assist gas supply is breaking this deadlock: the combination of on-site gas generation and mixed gas cutting. This transformation goes beyond simply adjusting gas ratios—it represents a comprehensive upgrade in both supply method and process logic.

Mixed Gas Cutting: A Process Breakthrough with 4–11% Oxygen Concentration

For mild steel cutting, extensive real-world production validation has identified an optimal range for oxygen‑nitrogen mixed gas: oxygen concentration between 4% and 11%, with nitrogen making up the balance (89% to 96%). This range is not arbitrary; it is based on a precise balance of cutting mechanisms.

Oxygen acts as a combustion supporter during cutting, increasing cutting speed—especially for medium to thick carbon steel plates. Nitrogen serves as a cooling and shielding gas, suppressing excessive oxidation and reducing burr formation. When mixed in the right proportion, the blend retains oxygen's high‑speed advantage while using nitrogen to improve edge quality. It also enables stable cutting at lower pressure—which is the technical logic behind the claimed benefits: low‑pressure efficiency, a balance of speed and quality, and optimized total cost.

Compared to pure oxygen cutting, mixed gas cutting significantly reduces burrs and lowers post‑processing workload. Compared to pure nitrogen cutting, it achieves noticeably faster cutting speeds with better cost efficiency. And compared to air cutting, it offers far greater process stability and consistent edge quality. In essence, mixed gas cutting combines the strengths of three traditional assist gas methods while mitigating their respective weaknesses.

Three Trends Driving the Transformation of Assist Gas Supply

For mixed gas cutting to deliver its full value, the method of gas supply must evolve in parallel. Three major trends are currently reshaping the industrial laser assist gas landscape:

First, on‑site gas generation is replacing traditional cylinder and liquid gas delivery models. In the past, users had to regularly purchase liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen, facing not only price volatility but also hidden costs such as transportation, storage, and cylinder changes. On‑site generation moves gas production directly to the shop floor, producing gas on demand and severing dependence on external supply chains. The result is a significant reduction in long‑term gas costs.

Second, centralized, all‑in‑one gas supply is replacing decentralized, multi‑source supply. Traditional workshops often require separate equipment and pipelines for oxygen, nitrogen, and air, taking up valuable floor space and complicating management. Today, integrated "one‑machine‑multiple‑function" systems are becoming mainstream. A single main unit can meet multiple gas needs, simplifying equipment coordination and maintenance.

Third, customized gas blending is driving a process revolution. Assist gas is no longer just a consumable—it has become a process variable that can be precisely adjusted according to material thickness and quality requirements. By fine‑tuning the nitrogen‑oxygen ratio, users can flexibly adapt process parameters across different orders, truly achieving "optimizing the cut with gas."

Together, these three trends make on‑site generation combined with mixed gas cutting a powerful lever for improving competitiveness in laser processing workshops.

Raysoar's Three Product Families: Different Paths, One Goal

Based on the three major trends in industrial laser assist gas supply, Raysoar has launched three distinctly positioned product families—Fine Cutting, Bright Cutting, and Pure Air Cutting. Each family addresses different material types, production scales, and quality requirements, offering differentiated on-site gas generation and mixed gas solutions. Their paths differ, but their goal is the same: to help users achieve the optimal cost-to-performance ratio across diverse laser cutting scenarios.

Whether it is Fine Cutting for high-volume carbon steel processing, Bright Cutting for flexible mixed-material production, or Pure Air Cutting for economical air cutting applications, Raysoar remains focused on a single objective: delivering on-site gas generation that meets the diverse needs of laser cutting scenarios while achieving the best cost-to-performance ratio. Users can find the most suitable solution from the three product families based on their material mix, order volume, and quality requirements.

Fine Cutting Family: The "Smart Gas Brain" for High-Volume Carbon Steel Cutting

The Fine Cutting family is designed for users with high‑volume carbon steel processing who demand superior cut quality. The typical pain point for these customers is that large volumes of carbon steel make them highly sensitive to both edge quality and cutting speed—and no single gas can simultaneously satisfy both requirements.

The Fine Cutting family addresses this by introducing a "smart gas brain"—an intelligent control system that automatically matches gas purity to different carbon steel materials. This means that when processing carbon steel plates of varying thicknesses or grades, the system can automatically adjust the nitrogen‑oxygen mixing ratio without frequent manual intervention. This ensures consistent cut quality while reducing operational complexity.

In terms of product configurations, the Fine Cutting family offers flexible options:

1.For small processing stations that already have a stable gas supply and want to introduce mixed gas cutting with minimal investment, Raysoar offers the Mix‑Gas Generating System Spirit Series (FCS180) . This compact mixing unit allows quick deployment at a controlled cost.

2.For medium to large factories operating 24/7 continuous production that prioritize energy savings and integrated systems, the Fine Cutting Prime Series (FCP) is the ideal choice. Built around medium‑pressure dual‑tower PSA technology—the industry standard for nitrogen generation—this series comes standard with IoT‑enabled remote monitoring and SMART‑REIN intelligent control, enabling unattended operation. The typical ROI payback period compared to liquid gas systems is 12 to 18 months.

Regardless of the configuration, the core value of the Fine Cutting family lies in shifting carbon steel cutting from "experience‑based gas adjustment" to "automated on‑demand matching," significantly reducing overall gas costs while ensuring high cut quality.

Bright Cutting Family: Flexible Solution for Mixed Material Processing

The Bright Cutting family targets a different user profile: workshops that primarily process stainless steel or aluminum in batches while also handling a certain proportion of carbon steel jobs. These customers place a high premium on equipment flexibility. They need a system that can seamlessly switch between stainless steel, aluminum, and carbon steel without requiring multiple independent gas supply units for different materials.

To meet this need, the Bright Cutting family offers the BCP Series—designed for 24/7 continuous production with high flow rates and large batch cutting. This series emphasizes stability and sustained gas supply capacity, making it ideal for medium to large factories whose primary business is stainless steel or aluminum. For customers who also need to accommodate some carbon steel orders, BCP Series provides a M function as an option.

The standout feature of the Bright Cutting family is its versatility. Users do not need to allocate dedicated gas sources for different materials. A single system covers assist gas requirements for stainless steel, aluminum, and carbon steel, enabling more flexible production scheduling and higher equipment utilization.

Pure Air Family: Reliable, Economical Air Cutting

The Pure Air family occupies a different position from the previous two. It is designed for users whose cut quality requirements are economical—they do not demand ultra‑high surface finish—and who process materials including carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. These customers' primary objective is to "complete cutting at the lowest possible cost," yet they are often concerned about the oil and moisture contamination issues commonly associated with air cutting.

The Pure Air family addresses this by bringing high purity air generation to economical processing scenarios. The series covers laser cutting powers from 3kW to 60kW, compatible with mainstream laser equipment. Most importantly, depending on the cutting application, the product range offers oil content options from 0.001 to 0.03, significantly reducing the risk of oil and water contaminating the cutting head during air cutting.

For users who prioritize cost-effectiveness above all and do not have stringent requirements for cut surface quality, the Pure Air family provides a solution that balances affordability and reliability—more stable than standard air compressors, yet more economical than mixed gas systems.

From Products to Solutions: Raysoar's Customization Capability

It is worth noting that Raysoar offers more than just three separate product families. The company provides a complete solution capability that can be combined and customized according to a user's actual production conditions. Whether it is a high volume carbon steel or stainless steel processor, a small to medium workshop handling mixed materials, or a processing station focused on cost-effectiveness with modest quality requirements, users can find a suitable starting point within the Fine Cutting, Bright Cutting, and Pure Air Cutting families.

In addition, Raysoar supports localized upgrades based on existing stable gas supplies. For example, with the Mix‑Gas Generating System Spirit Series (FCS180) , users can quickly introduce mixed gas cutting capabilities without replacing their main equipment, achieving process upgrades at relatively low investment.

Conclusion: Making Mixed Gas Cutting a Practical Reality

In summary, the technical value of mixed gas cutting has been well validated—an oxygen concentration range of 4% to 11% delivers an optimal balance of speed, quality, and cost. Translating this technical value into tangible production benefits depends on choosing the right gas supply method for your specific scenario.

If you are looking for an assist gas solution that fits your production characteristics, a good starting point is to clarify your primary materials, order structure, and quality requirements. Raysoar can provide end‑to‑end support, from equipment selection to process matching, to help make mixed gas cutting a practical tool for strengthening your competitiveness.