Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for oxygen cutting pieces of steel, in which a cutter member (5) is positioned above a top face of the piece to be cut, and trimmer and spray members (10, 11) are positioned beneath the piece to be cut, said members being carried by a support blade which passes through the cut slot. According to the invention, at least one pressurized fluid (22) is projected directly into the cut slot (1.3) and into the portion thereof that lies between the cutting front and the blade-shaped support of the cutter and spray members, said jet forming a barrier protecting said blade-shaped support against particle projections during forward advance of the support along the cut slot (1.3). This eliminates the risk of forward advance of the blade-shaped support in the cut slot encountering any obstacles, thereby making it possible to implement cutting speeds that are very high.

Abstract: The invention relates to apparatus for oxygen cutting pieces of steel. The cutter and trimmer members (5, 10) are positioned in such a manner that the cutting jet (6) is applied to the top face (1.1) of the piece (1) in a substantially vertical direction, while the trimming jet (12) is applied to the bottom face (1.2) of said piece in an oblique direction that remains pointed towards the outlet point (14) of the cutting jet (6), simultaneous cutting and trimming being performed by moving the cutter and trimmer members (5, 10) horizontally in synchronous manner. A sprayer member (11) is also provided for spraying fluid during the cutting process towards molten particles in order to reduce fume emissions.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for oxygen-cutting thick pieces of steel at high speed. In accordance with the invention an oxygen-cutting torch (30) held at a predetermined height above the piece (1) to be cut and a slot torch (20) comprising at least one blade nozzle (25) that travels inside the cut slot (1.3) are moved synchronously. The blade nozzle (25) emits at least one jet of heating and/or oxygen-cutting fluids through its leading edge to strike the heating edge of the slot where it combines with the jet of oxygen-cutting fluids emitted by the oxygen-cutting torch (30) to form a leading edge (1.4) of the slot having a profile in the form of a broken line.