Over the past decade, China's laser cutting machine industry has been the fastest-growing sector among all machine tool categories, leading global industry development. With the upgrading of industrial manufacturing and the increasing demand for high-precision and high-efficiency processing, the power trend of laser cutting machines has become a focal point in the industry. Especially this year, mainstream laser cutting equipment enterprises in the market have successively launched laser cutting equipment with a power of over 100kW, which has sparked discussions among many industry practitioners about the power development trend of laser cutting equipment.

In this series, we will analyze the power trend of laser cutting machines in China in multiple installments and discuss the future market development direction. This issue starts with the analysis of the lowest power segment in the current market: the development trend of laser cutting equipment below 3kW.

I. Trends in Laser Cutting Machine Power Changes

(1) Behind the Change in High-Power Definition: Continuous Power Improvement and Price Decline

With the development of industrial manufacturing towards high-end and intelligent directions, the requirements for cutting thickness and efficiency have become increasingly higher, and the power of laser cutting machines has gradually increased. There is actually no clear definition of "high power" in the market, and each enterprise has its own standards. However, one fact is universally acknowledged: the threshold for high power is continuously rising. In the early days of laser cutting equipment development, 1kW could be called high power, but now the so-called "ultra-high power" has basically reached around 100kW, with the current mainstream market power concentrated at 12-40kW.

In recent years, driven by technological breakthroughs and market demand, the power of laser cutting machines in China has been continuously increasing. Early laser cutting machines mainly had power concentrated between 1kW and 3kW, which could meet the cutting needs of most conventional metal sheets below 3mm. During 2017-2018, 2kW was the dividing line between high power and low/medium power, and at that time, a domestic 3kW laser cutting machine cost as much as over one million RMB.

As a major component of laser cutting equipment costs, the cost of laser generators has continued to decline in recent years due to technological breakthroughs in domestic laser generators and the improvement of component localization rates. According to market research, the current procurement price of domestic 1kW-3kW laser generators is approximately 10,000-20,000 yuan.

In 2025, the lower limit of the definition of "high power" in China's laser cutting industry is 6kW, and the starting power of "ultra-high power" is 40kW. Currently, mainstream high-end models are concentrated at 12-40kW (e.g., 20kW/30kW), used for efficient processing of medium and thick plates.

· At present, the starting power of laser cutting machines from mainstream manufacturers in the market has been set at 3kW, with prices dropping to less than 200,000 yuan, while the selling prices of international brands in the global market still remain above one million yuan.

· Chinese thin-plate processing enterprises mainly purchase equipment with a power of 3kW-6kW; mainframe enterprises in steel supermarkets and construction machinery, which require high processing efficiency and deal with materials with a thickness of 3mm-40mm, mainly purchase high-power equipment with a power of 12kW-30kW.

(2) High-Power Equipment Gradually Becoming Mainstream

The advantages of high-power laser cutting machines lie in their ability to achieve efficient cutting of thicker metal plates while increasing cutting speed and improving the processing accuracy of cross-sections and drilling. For example, in high-end fields such as automotive manufacturing, construction machinery, aerospace, and shipbuilding, the demand for cutting thick plates and high-strength steel is continuously increasing, and high-power laser cutting machines can better meet the needs of these industries.

In addition, high-power equipment also performs excellently in cutting difficult-to-process materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloy, achieving smoother cutting surfaces and higher cutting quality.

The process of ultra-high power (≥40kW) replacing plasma and flame cutting continues, and the prices of ultra-high power laser cutting machines have also been decreasing. However, cutting efficiency and quality have not yet fully replaced the latter, which requires joint efforts from laser cutting machine enterprises, laser generator manufacturers, cutting head suppliers, and control system manufacturers to overcome technical challenges.

(3) Market Shrinkage of Equipment Below 3000W

With the transformation of market demand and technological upgrading, the market for laser cutting machines below 3kW is shrinking rapidly. On the one hand, low-power equipment has low efficiency in cutting thick plates and cannot meet the demand for high-efficiency production in modern industry, especially as downstream customers have become accustomed to efficient delivery rhythms;
On the other hand, high-power equipment can maintain high cutting quality when cutting thin plates, making the advantages of low-power equipment no longer obvious.
Thirdly, mainstream equipment manufacturers have basically stopped investing much energy in 3kW laser equipment. This market has become a red ocean dominated by unknown small and medium-sized equipment manufacturers. Low prices have led to cost-cutting in equipment configurations, and low long-term precision and stability have become industry problems. With the maturity of domestic laser generators, the cost of laser generators, which account for a large portion of costs, has greatly decreased. The absolute purchase cost difference between 1kW, 1.5kW, 2kW, and 3kW laser generators is not significant, but there are large differences in performance.

According to market research, the current purchase prices of mainstream domestic 1.5kW and 3kW laser generators are approximately a few ten-thousand yuan, respectively. However, due to the small price difference between complete machines equipped with 1.5kW and 3kW laser generators on the same platform, the price difference between 1.5kW and 3kW equipment for the commonly sold 3015 single-platform cutting equipment in the market is only about 10,000 yuan, accounting for approximately a 10-15% price difference. However, in terms of cutting efficiency and applicable scenarios, 3kW equipment has obvious advantages. For example, when cutting 1mm stainless steel plates under the same conditions, the processing efficiency of 3kW equipment is 70-80% higher than that of 1.5kW equipment.

Second-hand machines below 3kW are rarely sought after, which also reflects the weakening market demand for low-power equipment from the side.
Therefore, more and more Chinese enterprises are willing to spend a little more money to choose laser cutting machines with a power above 3kW to enhance their competitiveness.

II. Starting Power of Mainstream Laser Cutting Equipment Manufacturers

MFC surveyed the product manuals of more than 20 leading enterprises in the industry. Currently, the starting power of mainstream laser cutting machine brands in the Chinese market has generally increased. The starting power situations of some well-known brands are as follows:
First Category of Enterprises: Represented by Han's Laser, HG Laser, Bodor, G-WEIKE Laser, Senfeng, Jiatai, Haitian Optics, and Yawei, the starting power has been adjusted to 3kW. Han's Laser launched high-power equipment above 150kW in 2024. HG Laser: The starting power of HG Laser's laser cutting machines has also reached 3000W, with main efforts focused on 3D five-axis laser cutting machines, with power ranging from 3kW to 6kW.
Second Category of Enterprises: Including Pentium Laser, HSG Laser, Bondor Laser, Longdiao Laser, and Cheeron Laser, they still retain entry-level 1kW or 1.5kW laser cutting machines, which are basically low-margin products. Their mainstream best-selling models are above 3kW, and retaining small and medium power below 3000W is to meet the needs of a small number of old customers.
Third Category of Enterprises: Foreign-funded or joint-venture brands such as Bystronic China, Trumpf, and Amada: The starting power is 3000W. It is difficult to sell imported low-power laser cutting machines as single units in the Chinese market, and they basically enter the Chinese market through production lines; in the high-power segment, foreign enterprises were once conservative, but in the past three years, they have increased research and development of cutting machines with power above ten thousand watts.

IV. Future Market Development Directions

(1) Popularization of High-Power Equipment

In the future, high-power laser cutting machines will become the mainstream in the market. With continuous technological progress, the cost of high-power equipment continues to gradually decrease. The price of ten-thousand-watt laser cutting machines has dropped from over 2 million yuan when they were first introduced to hundreds of thousand yuan today, which has only taken about five years. At the same time, the advantages of high-power equipment in cutting thick plates, medium-thick pipes, profiles, and difficult-to-process materials will make them more widely used in high-end manufacturing fields.

(2) Intelligence and Automation

In addition to power upgrades, the intelligence and automation levels of laser cutting machines will also continue to improve. Currently, mainstream manufacturers have increased research and development in the automation functions of laser cutting machines, such as automatic loading and unloading, automatic focusing, and automatic cutting path planning, which can achieve unmanned production and improve production efficiency and processing quality. In addition, intelligent equipment will also have fault diagnosis and early warning functions, which can timely detect and solve problems in equipment operation and reduce equipment maintenance costs.

(3) Green and Energy Saving

With the enhancement of environmental awareness, green and energy saving will become an important development direction for laser cutting machines. Future laser cutting machines will pay more attention to improving energy utilization efficiency, adopting efficient cooling systems and energy-saving technologies to reduce equipment energy consumption. At the same time, equipment noise and dust emissions will also be effectively controlled to meet environmental requirements.

V. Global Market Comparison

(1) Current Status of the International Market

According to statistics from international laser authoritative institutions, in the global laser cutting machine market except China, the mainstream power range is 3kW to 6kW. The competition intensity among foreign sheet metal enterprises is lower than that in China, and the laser generators they use are mainly from IPG, Trumpf disc lasers, and other foreign brands, with high prices. Therefore, their application of high-power cutting machines is overall behind the Chinese market. In recent years, many foreign laser processing machine enterprises have also massively purchased core components from Chinese brands to cope with the fierce competition from Chinese counterparts.

(2) China's Export Market

According to 2024 data from the Chinese Customs, the exported laser cutting machines are mainly medium and low power, with the mainstream power range being 3kW to 6kW. These equipment have high cost-effectiveness in the international market and are favored by many small and medium-sized enterprises. High-power equipment (mainly concentrated above 12,000W) is gradually becoming popular in the domestic Chinese market and is currently not mainstream in the export market, but its proportion is increasing year by year.

As a major producer of laser cutting machines, China has invested heavily in the research and development and technology of high-power equipment, and its high cost-effectiveness is gradually penetrating the global market, causing a disruptive impact on foreign laser cutting equipment.

In the past three years, mainstream domestic laser manufacturers have successively participated in foreign exhibitions to seek overseas agents for export. Some manufacturers such as HG Laser, Hongshan Laser, Hymson Laser, JPT, and Bond Laser have established overseas factories to produce, reduce tariffs and transportation costs, and account for a high proportion of exports, which will accelerate the application process of high-power laser cutting machines in overseas markets.

VI. Suggestions for Potential Customers

For potential customers, choosing the right laser cutting machine is crucial. With the gradual shrinkage of the market for equipment below 30kW, customers are advised to carefully select low-power equipment. Low-power equipment has low efficiency in cutting thick plates and difficult-to-process materials, cannot meet the demand for high-efficiency production in modern industry, and is difficult to liquidate in the second-hand market once upgraded.

In contrast, although high-power laser cutting machines have relatively high prices, their advantages in cutting efficiency, cutting quality, and equipment stability will bring higher economic benefits to enterprises.

When choosing a laser cutting machine, customers should comprehensively consider their own needs and budgets. If an enterprise is mainly engaged in thick plate cutting or high-end manufacturing, it is recommended to choose high-power equipment above 6kW. Currently, 12kW and 20kW high-power laser cutting machines are the most popular.
If an enterprise mainly processes thin plates and has a not particularly large production volume, equipment with a power of 3kW to 6kW is also a good choice.

In addition, customers should also pay attention to the intelligence and automation level of the equipment, as well as its green and energy-saving performance, to ensure that the equipment has stronger competitiveness in future development.