Combustion-assisted laser cutting of a difficult-to-machine superalloy

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of Laser Applications; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2351/1.4745292· OSTI ID:7183537

Molian, P A ^[1]; Baldwin, M ^[2]

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1. Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, Ames, IA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
2. Iowa Laser Technolgy, Inc., Cedar Falls, IA (United States)

In laser cutting, the largest single application of lasers in manufacturing, the assist gas plays an important role in affecting the cutting performance. The assist gas is usually oxygen or an inert gas. In this paper acetylene and oxygen was employed to create combustion reactions during CO[sub 2] laser cutting that enabled an improvement in the cutting speed, and cut quality of a difficult-to-machine superalloy. A comparison with laser cutting of a plain carbon steel under identical conditions was also made to determine the usefulness of combustion energy. Results indicate that both cutting speed and quality are enhanced by the reduction in the viscosity of slag formed during cutting (which assisted in ejection of the slag through the bottom of the kerf) due to the heat released by the acetylene burning inside the kerf. Correlations of experimental data with a theoretical model provided the influence of combustion power and gas-flow power on the cutting phenomena.

• OSTI ID: 7183537
• Journal Information: Journal of Laser Applications; (United States), Vol. 4:1; ISSN 1042-346X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
LASER BEAM MACHINING
CARBON DIOXIDE LASERS
CARBON STEELS
COMBUSTION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GAS FLOW
LASER-RADIATION HEATING
MANUFACTURING
OXYGEN
ALLOYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DATA
ELEMENTS
FLUID FLOW
GAS LASERS
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEATING
INFORMATION
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
LASERS
MACHINING
MATERIALS
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDATION
PLASMA HEATING
STEELS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
360101* - Metals & Alloys- Preparation & Fabrication
426002 - Engineering- Lasers & Masers- (1990-)