Product Code: ICA10_704

A Comparative Study on Fusion Cutting with Disk and CO2 Lasers
Authors:
Leonardo Daniele Scintilla, Politecnico di Bari, Department of Mechanical and Management Engineering (DIMeG); Bari Italy
Luigi Tricarico, Politecnico di Bari, Department of Mechanical and Management Engineering (DIMeG); Bari Italy
Achim Mahrle, University of Technology Dresden, Institute for Surface and Production Technology, IOF Dresden; Dresden Germany
Andreas Wetzig, Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, IWS Dresden; Dresden Germany
Thomas Himmer, Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology, IWS Dresden; Dresden Germany
Eckhard Beyer, University of Technology Dresden, Institute for Surface and Production Technology, IOF Dresden, Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology; Dresden Germany
Presented at ICALEO 2010

In recent years, several studies on laser beam fusion cutting demonstrated significant differences in the characteristics of the well-established CO2 laser cutting and cutting with solid-state disk and fibre lasers. The reasons for the observed differences in cutting efficiency and cut edge quality are still the subject of the current research and not finally clarified. In order to further the understanding of the involved phenomena, a series of cutting experiments with CO2 and disk lasers was carried out. The particular feature of the applied experimental setup was the similar geometry of both the CO2 and the disk laser beam with comparable values of the focus diameter and the Rayleigh length. In evaluation of cutting trials on cold work steel test specimens with different sheet thicknesses, the achievable maximum cutting speeds and the cut rates with the best cut edge quality were determined for both laser types. In addition, the widths of the generated cut kerf and of the heat-affected zone as well as the recast layer extension were analyzed in order to reach a better understanding of the process from thermodynamical points of view.