ENSC 489

Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing

Laser Manufacturing

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Laser forming
Applications in micromachining, and
correcting bend angles
Heat from laser used to bend material

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3D printing
Laser used to sinter or melt powder together
Selective Laser Sintering

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Laser welding
Laser melts material to make a welded joint

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Laser machining

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How it works

Laser beam using mirrors brought to a lens

Focused at lens
Melts, burns or vaporizes the work
Vaporizes for non-metals
Melts and blow compressed gas for metals
("gas assist")

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Types of lasers
CO2

Wavelength: 10.6 m
Quick set up for each new piece
Not as fast as a YAG
Works well on wood, acrylic, plastic, and many other materials

YAG

Wavelength: 1.06 m
Faster than a CO2 laser system
Setup time for artwork can be very lengthy
Does not work well on organic materials (wood, acrylic, etc.)
Expensive to purchase and costly to maintain

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Suitable materials
Non-metals

Wood
Paper
Plastic
Fabrics
Wax

Metals
Steel
Aluminum
Titanium
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Robot mounted

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Drilling
Laser
Suitable for non-conducing
materials (unlike EDM)
High aspect ratio
High drilling rate
Small diameter
No tool wear

Conventional
Slow process (up to 60
seconds/hole)
Hard to drill at high angles

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Laser drilling applications

Inkjet print heads

Aerospace/aircraft

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Types
Single pulse
Narrow, thin holes

Trepanning
Wider (3-10 mm) holes
Overlap around a circle

Percussion
Short pulses (fs to s range), with longer delays
(ms) on same spot. Good for thicker plates
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Material removal
Evaporative: clean edges
Melting
Dross and irregular
Lower energy consumption

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Quality

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Laser cutting
2D machining process
Gas assist
Chemical reaction with material
Helps eject melted material

Non-contact
No need for clamping

Narrow kerf (0.1 mm)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFNnRrQd4XA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k20Zp5aPjY
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Overview
Beam of laser light generates heat
Smoother edges and smaller heat-affected
region than other thermal processes
Generally only cost effective for materials < 13
mm

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Mechanisms
Evaporative laser cutting
Fusion cutting
Reactive fusion cutting

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Evaporative laser cutting

Material is vaporized
by the laser
Inert assist gas
Good for materials
with low
vaporization heat,
low conductivity
Cloth, wood, paper
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Fusion cutting
Laser melts material
Gas assist (inert) expels melted material
Argon or nitrogen
Coaxial with the laser beam

Suitable for materials with high conductivity,

non-ferrous
Titanium
Aluminum
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Reactive fusion cutting

Exothermic reaction with gas
assist creates additional
energy
Molten metal removed by
reactive gas jet
Oxygen

Suitable for high conductivity,

reactive metals
Steel
Titanium

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Parameter control
Power
Increasing power increases kerf and roughness

Cutting speed
Higher cutting speeds generally require higher
power

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Metals
Ferrous metals
CO2 laser (cheaper than YAG)
Oxygen assist

Non-ferrous metals
Typically high reflectivity (lower energy
absorption)
YAG more suitable

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Polymers
Thermoplastics
Melt shearing
Vaporization
Typically high cut quality, especially vs. mechanical
cuts

Thermosets
Chemical degradation
Formation of carbon

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