Laser power requirement for cutting thick-section steel and effects of processing parameters on mild steel cut quality
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Date
2011
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Journal of Engineering Manufacture
Abstract
The high-power fibre laser presents a possibility for the application of solid-state
lasers in thick-section metal cutting, a field which has been dominated by high-power CO2
lasers. The current paper presents the lumped-parameter formulation of the laser power
requirement as a function of cutting speed for oxygen-assisted laser cutting of mild steel and
nitrogen-assisted laser cutting of stainless steel. The calculated laser power requirement is
compared with the incident laser power used in the cutting of 15mm mild steel with oxygen
assist gas and 10mm stainless steel with nitrogen assist gas using a multi-mode 5kW fibre laser
and a 4kW CO2 laser. The incident laser power required for cutting at a given cutting speed is
found to be lower for fibre laser cutting than for the CO2 laser cutting, indicating a higher
absorption of the fibre laser beam. The effects of process parameters on the cut kerf quality in
mild steel laser cutting with oxygen assist gas using the high-power fibre laser are presented.
The critical process parameters affecting the quality of the cutting process and the resulting cut
kerf are the cutting speed, oxygen pressure, and nozzle diameter.
Description
Keywords
Laser cutting, Thick section, Mild steel, Stainless steel, Fibre laser, CO2 laser
Citation
Wandera, C., Kujanpää, V., & Salminen, A. (2011). Laser power requirement for cutting thick-section steel and effects of processing parameters on mild steel cut quality. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 225(5), 651-661. DOI: 10.1177/09544054JEM1971