CNC Cutting Solutions for Duct and Pipe Fabrication
"Duct and pipe cutting" covers a wider range of jobs than the phrase suggests: from thin galvanized HVAC duct to heavy-wall structural pipe for oil and gas or offshore work. The right CNC machine depends on which end of that range your shop works in.
Choose by the job
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| Your work | Suggested machine |
|---|---|
| Flat duct parts, flanges and fittings from galvanized sheet | Plasma table, such as the P1325 |
| Thin-wall round, square and rectangular tube | Fiber tube laser (see laser-solution.com) |
| Pipe and beam profiles, Ø100–600 mm | 8-axis pipe and beam plasma machine |
| Pipe ends, saddles and bevels, 2–24 in | 5-axis pipe cutting and beveling machine |
| Heavy-wall pipe, Ø600–2000 mm, up to 10 t | Large pipe profile cutting machine |
HVAC duct work
Most duct parts start as flat galvanized sheet: flanges, transitions, elbows and fittings are cut flat and then formed. A P1325 plasma table takes 4 × 8 ft sheet and cuts these parts from 0.5 mm, with nesting software to keep scrap down.
Thin-wall tube
For light-gauge round, square, rectangular and special-shaped tube in furniture, HVAC and general fabrication, a fiber tube laser is usually the better fit: tight tolerances and clean edges without the dross plasma leaves on thin walls. PCL Group covers tube lasers on laser-solution.com.
Heavy-wall structural pipe
As wall thickness and diameter grow, the priority moves from edge finish to weld preparation: bevel angles and intersection curves that fit up without grinding. The 5-axis pipe beveling machine keeps a constant bevel angle round curved intersection joints, with bevels from 0 to ±45°, on 2–24 in pipe.
Large-diameter pipe
For pipe from Ø600 to Ø2000 mm and up to 10 t, the large pipe profile cutting machine carries the pipe on three synchronized chucks with hydraulic follow-up supports and cuts profiles, holes and bevels with 200–400 A plasma. On these sizes plasma costs far less than an equivalent laser and handles the wall thickness easily.
Pipe and beam profiles together
Structural shops that cut pipe and H-beams in the same week can use the 8-axis all-in-one machine, which cuts Ø100–600 mm pipe plus H-beam, I-beam, channel and angle, programmed from Tekla DSTV files.
One machine or two?
Shops with a truly mixed range of diameters and wall thicknesses are often better served by two machines sized for their work than by one machine stretched across its full range. A tube laser pushed to its maximum diameter, or a plasma machine pushed to its thinnest practical wall, both do worse than a machine sized for that job.
Ask an engineer
Send your pipe diameters, wall thicknesses and joint drawings, and we will tell you which machine, or which pair of machines, fits your work.