Processing
Shearing vs. Saw Cutting vs. Flame Cutting
By Shamrock Steel Sales Team · Reviewed by Shamrock Steel processing staff · Published · Last reviewed
Shearing makes fast, straight cuts in plate and sheet up to the shear’s thickness limit. Saw cutting handles structural shapes, tube, pipe, and bar — including miters — with square, accurate ends. Flame cutting profiles thick plate into shapes no shear can touch. The right process depends on material, thickness, and the cut itself.
Shearing: speed on flat material
A shear slices flat stock like a giant paper cutter — no heat, no chips, fast cycle times. It is the economical choice for rectangular blanks, strips, and cut-to-size plate and sheet. Limits: straight cuts only, thickness bounded by machine capacity, and a slight edge roll inherent to the process.
Saw cutting: accuracy on shapes
Band saws cut beams, channels, angle, tube, pipe, and bar with square, clean ends and tight length tolerance. Miter capability adds angled cuts for frames. Sawing is slower per cut than shearing but handles the three-dimensional shapes a shear never could.
Flame cutting: thickness and profiles
Oxy-fuel cutting severs thick carbon plate and follows curved or complex paths — rings, gussets, custom profiles. Edges show a heat-affected zone and typical flame-cut finish, which downstream machining or welding procedures should account for.
Let the part pick the process
Send the drawing, not the process. A good processing team routes each part to the method that meets its tolerance and finish requirements at the lowest cost — and will tell you when a requirement is driving price unnecessarily.