Industry has no standard for "laser-grade" steel-a point of contention between many a

fabricator and supplier. For years, savvy operators have known what to look for in the
material they cut: Simply put, it's clean, flat sheet.

But as lasers cut thicker plate, the story changes as quality material becomes more
important. Laser-grade material isn't the easiest to find in many areas of the country. To
identify whether material is truly "laser grade," fabricators look for the right amount of
nickel or copper, usually more than 0.3 percent, alloyed into the plate. They also look for
surface imperfections, including scratches in a plate's oxide layer, or mill-scale, that may
cause an unstable iron-oxygen reaction during the cut.

More shops are investing in a range of lower- and higherkilowatt systems to cut
everything from thin-gauge to 1-inch plate and beyond. According to Dr. Ken Woods,
laser systems engineering manager at Hanover, N.H.-based Hypertherm
(www.hypertherm.com), thick plate, half inch and up, is where the learning curve for new
operators becomes the steepest, and where material quality and laser parameters are the
most sensitive.

THE BASICS

In mild-steel applications using oxygen assist gas, a rough cut-edge implies one or a
combination of three things, says Woods: the feed rate may be too low, the oxygen
pressure too high or the focus too high or low.

The first suspect is focal position. First, ensure the correct focus lens is in place and
centered properly, using a simple tape-shot test where a piece of tape is placed over the
nozzle and the laser is pulsed. The hole should be small enough to show that the laser
focus is close to the nozzle exit.

Consider oxygen pressure next. Significantly high pressure can reduce cut quality
drastically. Yes, iron in the mild steel should react with the oxygen to help produce a
clean, efficient cut. But overdo the oxygen, and the reaction becomes overbearing and, in
essence, "brings the laser into a state between laser cutting and oxyfuel cutting," Woods
says. "I've been able to cut with a laser beam off if the oxygen pressure is high enough; of
course, it's a very slow, very poor cut."

Finally, if a laser's cut speed is too slow, the material surrounding and just in front of the
kerf becomes too hot, leading to unwanted burning, Woods says. Too fast, and the laser
either starts to close up at the bottom of the kerf region or fails to penetrate the material
entirely.

THE ABILITY TO TWEAK

True, says Woods, all laser systems do list standard cutting parameters for the machine's
entire thickness range. But in recent years, as that range spreads to thicker material, it has
become more important for operators to know the basics, read a cut's cross section and
tweak cutting parameters as necessary.

For example, in materials a half inch and up, operators will not cut all nested parts in,
say, one quadrant of a plate, but instead will mix the sequence, cutting one part in one
quadrant, then moving to a completely different area. Why? Because "cutting all parts in
one area of thick plate will build up too much heat and could reduce the cut quality of the
part," Woods explains, "as the metal burns and reacts with the oxygen."

Lasers produce cuts with a series of valleys and ridges known as striations, ideally very
fine and closely spaced. The amplitude and frequency of those striations can change if
laser-cutting parameters are inappropriate. As they become larger or deeper, with a longer
distance between peaks and valleys, cut quality plummets. So operators should adjust
focal position or oxygen pressure.

This can also be a telltale sign that the laser mode has become degraded, something that
can happen as the resonator approaches its service interval. "You'll start to see a cut
quality difference," explains Woods, "depending on which direction the machine is
cutting." The problem could be a bad alignment between the laser beam and nozzle exit,
which the tape test helps identify. But in many cases, it's the resonator itself. "As the laser
resonator approaches the service interval, the internal optics can be a little dirty," Woods
says, "which changes the power distribution in the laser beam itself."

This affects the stimulated emission (the "S" and "E" in "laser") of the beam. Dirty areas
in the resonator create "cold spots" in the beam cross section where the power
distribution is lower. The dirt can even alter the beam enough to produce higher-order
modes and can increase the focal spot diameter. To obtain better cut quality, the resonator
must serviced and cleaned.

A cut's color can also tell an experienced operator a lot. If the bottom edge is a golden, "it
means you don't have enough oxygen at the bottom region of the cut," Woods explains.
The material is not being fully oxidized, which means the operator may need to increase
oxygen pressure (though not too much, or cut quality will again degrade) or reduce
cutting speed.

Top cutting-edge roughness usually points to a problem with oxygen and laser flow;
bottom-edge discontinuities can reveal problems with metal liquid flow. But intermittent
cut quality in the middle of the cross section may show that, though cutting parameters
are optimal, the material isn't. "Intermittent cut problems closer to the middle of the cut
edge tells you they're coming from the bulk property of the steel," Woods says.

TIME FOR AN UPGRADE?

As operators push more out of the equipment, cutting thick materials that, unfortunately,
may or may not be truly "laser grade," many shops have been re-evaluating their place in
the market. Newer laser technology boasts diffusion-cooled slab resonators that eliminate
the turbines, extend maintenance cycles and perhaps give shops a competitive edge.
Shops must consider demand, competition and, of course, the skilled labor who can read
the cut and ensure quality parts.

"Laser-cutting job shops have hit a phase where everyone is trying to find a niche,"
Woods explains, "to sell an ability that no other shop can do." (See sidebar.)

It's that demand that has pushed the laser-cutting market into higher kilowatts, thicker
plates and other new laser-cutting territories. That push, Woods says, won't end anytime
soon.

Editor's Note: Artwork courtesy of Hypertherm.