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 15 mm mild steel with oxygen assist gas and
10 mm stainless steel with nitrogen assist gas using a multi-mode 5 kW
fibre laser and a 4 kW 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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 651-661 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture |
| Volume | 225 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |