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Harris and Brandt

Materials Forum (2001) 25, 88-115

Laser Cutting of Thick Steel Plate

J. Harris and IVI. Brandt

Cooperative Research Centre for Intelligent Manufacturing

Systems and Technologies

Industrial Laser Applications Laboratory

IRIS, Swinburne University of Technology
PO Box 218 Hawthorn, Melbourne
VIC 3122 Australia

ABs-rRACT

Of the many machining processes used in manufacturing to cut metals

and non-metals, laser cutting offers unique advantages in terms of cut
quality, speed, absence of tool wear and minimal or no clamping of parts.
In industry, the lasers used for cutting are CO 2 (carbon dioxide) and
Nd:YAG (Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) lasers each with
their own characteristic output properties such as wavelength, power)
mode of operation and beam quality. These properties, together with the
optical and thermophysical properties of workpiece material and
workpiece handling system, control and determine the cutting
performance of any material. Presented in this paper are laser, materials
and system properties, and parameters influencing the cutting of metals
in particular. The operation of the CO 2 and Nd:YAG lasers and their
dominant features is also discussed. The cutting mechanism is described
in terms of the energy balance within the workpiece. This is then used to
show the difficulties with cutting thick (>10mm) steel plate with a laser,
leading into a number of novel laser methods explored for the cutting of
thick plates. Finally, recent work supported by the CRC for Intelligent
Manufacturing Systems and Technologies (CRCIMST) on laser cutting
with a "spinning laser beam" is presented and its potential for cutting thick
steel plate discussed.

© Institute of Materials Engineering Australasia, Ltd (2001)

88
 Harris and Brandt
1. INTRODUCTION
Many methods are available to cut materials
and metals in particular. Among these are
the high energy processes of laser, electron
beam, plasma, water jet and oxy-fuel. Oxy-
fuel or flame cutting, is still largely used for
cutting very thick workpieces of metals,
typically 100 mm to 500 mm thick (Rickfalt
1995). The edges of the cut are oxidised
and the kerf produced is large. The heating
fuel is usually propane, natural gas, a
hydrocarbon mixture or acetylene, and is
delivered through a concentric nozzle with
the oxygen nozzle, so that the oxygen jet is
surrounded by the fuel gas.
The development of plasma tools began in
1941 in the US aircraft industry for welding
applications. This process uses an electric
arc between an electrode and the metal, and
a gas shielding around the arc, blown
through the electrode. An innovation by
scientists at Union Carbide's welding
laboratory in the early 1950s reduced the
gas nozzle opening. The result was that the
electric arc and the gas were constricted to a
small volume in space and the gas velocity
increased dramatically, together with the arc
temperature and voltage. A cutting tool was
thus obtained and a new technology
developed that has been continuously
improved over the years. Plasma jets can cut
through thick materials, but not as thick as
those cut with the oxygen flame. They
possess very high temperatures and thus can
be used to cut materials with very high
melting points that cannot be cut with other
techniques.
Unlike the two cutting technologies
mentioned above, abrasive water jet cutting
does not melt the material. The operating
principle is the acceleration of abrasive
particles by mixing them in a stream of
water. Passing through a nozzle, a highly
focused jet of water is obtained that can cut
89
through almost any material by erosion. The
kerf is rather large ('"'"' 1 mm) and the cutting
speeds are modest compared to the thermal
cutting methods.
The use of the laser as a tool for materials
processing began as early as 1963 and is
still developing. The first experiments in
laser cutting with a gas assist nozzle were
made in May 1967 (Hilton 1997) at the
Welding Institute in Cambridge, UK, using
a 300W CO 2 laser and oxygen assist gas. A
2.5 mm thick plate was cut with remarkable
accuracy. The idea of using the laser as a
cutting tool for metals belongs to Peter
Houldcroft who was then the deputy
scientific director at The Welding Institute.
He thought of it when confronted with
cutting trials using a plasma torch for body
panel trimming at the British Motor
Company in 1965. The plasma cutting was
not accurate enough and produced burning
of the edges.
With the first industrial laser cutting system
supplied in 1970, the progress of the new
technology has been fast. In the last three
years some 18,000 lasers for metal sheet
cutting have been installed world-wide and
this number is increasing yearly by some
6000 units (Belfore 2001). The value of
these laser cutting systems in 2001 is
estimated at about US$1.0 billion. This high
level of adoption of lasers for cutting is
associated with a number of advantages the
technology offers compared with the
competitive cutting technologies described
above (Steen 1998). These include:
• The non-contact nature of the machining
process requiring light or no clamping of
the workpiece. This absence of cutting
forces also allows precise cutting of light
or flimsy materials.
• The absence of cutting tool wear and
tool chatter as a result of no contact.
 Harris and Brandt
• Machining operations are not governed
by workpiece hardness, with lasers able
to cut many hard materials.
• Minimal noise pollution as the laser
cutting process is quieter than the
competitive processes of water jet and
plasma.
• The narrow kerf width, typically 0.1 to
1.0 mm, requires little or no radial
compensation for beam diameter.
Furthermore, the possibility of nesting of
components in production allows
minimal wastage of raw material.
• The clean nature of the cut allows, in
most cases, no subsequent cut face
processing. Molten or oxidised material
is removed by assist gas during the
cutting process or falls away during the
separation of the part at the completion
of the cut.
• Given that the laser cutting mechanism
is fast and the area heated is small, there
is a minimal heat affected zone and
consequently minimal heat distortion.
The disadvantages of laser cutting compared
to other cutting technologies are:
• The process effectiveness reduces as the
workpiece thickness increases.
Commercially, workpiece thicknesses
greater than about 15 mm are generally
not cut with a laser.
• Laser cutting produces a tapered kerf
shape. This is a result of the divergence
of the laser beam and is more
pronounced in thicker materials. The
taper can be reduced by positioning the
focus below the surface of the
\vorkpiece.
• The heat affected zone can be a problem
in some applications because of the
changed microstructure.
90
Given the long time that commercial laser
cutting technology has been available to
industry and the significant advancements
achieved in that time, laser cutting is now
considered a mature technology.
Consequently, cutting technology and
knowledge of the cutting mechanism for
thin and medium thickness «10mm) steels
have remained basically unchanged during
the last ten years and are considered well
understood. There is, however, significant
demand by industry to increase cut
thickness and the quality of cut at those
thicknesses. This paper discusses issues
associated with the laser cutting of thick
(> 1Omm) steel plate and methods currently
being examined to cut it. Presented in
Section 2 are general aspects of laser cutting
and in Section 3 a brief description is given
of the laser systems used for cutting.
Section 4 summarises the chemistry of laser
cutting and Sections 5 and 6 address the
issues of, and novel laser technologies for
the cutting of thick plate.
2. GENERAL ASPECTS OF LASER
CUTTING
The process of laser cutting may be
considered as a sequence of the following
mechanisms:
• absorption of laser radiation by material;
• heating and melting of the material, and
• removal of the molten material by the
coaxial assist gas jet. If the assist gas is
oxygen the exothetmic chemical
interaction with the molten metal will
accelerate the cutting process.
The key features of laser cutting are
illustrated in Figure 1. In laser cutting, the
workpiece is placed on a CNC table and
moved at a predetermined speed and path
designed on a CAD system and converted to
machine code instructions. The laser beam
 Harris and Brandt

is typically focused to a diameter of 0.1 to • means of producing movement of

0.3 mm on the workpiece surface (or just workpiece relative to cutting nozzle,
below it) with a lens or a lens system held in generally CNC controlled.
a specially designed nozzle. The most
popular focal length range is 100mm to
(a)
150mm giving a good balance between spot
size and depth of field. Incident laser power
Cutting direction
densities are of the order of 106 W/cm2.
Once the laser beam has penetrated through
the material, an erosion front is established
in the cutting direction. The erosion front is .....--_ Assist gas
covered by a layer of molten material which
is continually removed by the assist gas at
the lo\ver surface of the cut and created by
the absorption of energy from the laser
Cutting nozzle
beam (Schuocker 1993). The assist gas, gas Narrow kerf

pressure, nozzle shape and position above

workpiece are all critical process parameters
and affect strongly the removal of material
from the kerf (Powell 1993). Nozzle
diameters vary from 0.8 mm to 3 mm
depending on the material being cut and the
nozzle position above the workpiece, which
influences gas pressure in the kerf. This
position is carefully chosen because of the
strong variation of the melt removal rate (b)
with the complex pressure patterns
produced in the kerf due to the supersonic
speed of the assist gas (Fieret 1987; Na
1989).

3. LASER SYSTEMS USED FOR

COMMERCIAL CUTTING

A typical laser system used for cutting

consists of:

• the laser beam source along with its

utilities and control unit,
• a beam guidance arrangement from the
laser beam source to the focusing optics,
• the focusing optics with cutting nozzle
Figure 1. Illustrated in (a) is laser cutting
and process gas supply system,
arrangement and key cutting features and in (b)
• the workpiece and its support plus fume CO 2 Jaser cutting a component (courtesy Rofin
extractors for vapors, and Sinar) ,

91
 Harris and Brandt
Table 1. Principal characteristics of C02 and Nd: Y AG cutting lasers.
Active Wavelength Laser power
Medium
CO2 10.6 Jlm ~ 4kW (pulsed or
molecule CW)
1.06Jlm
Ndion ~ 2 kW (pulsed or
CW)
The lasers used for cutting include CW CO2
lasers, pulsed Nd:YAG lasers and more
recently CW Nd: YAG lasers. Typical
characteristics of these two lasers are shown
in Table 1. The CO2 laser is by far the
most widely used laser for cutting because
of its high power, beam quality and
reliability. Typically, for cutting
applications the CO2 lasers range in power
up to 4.0kW. For the cutting of relatively
small, detailed and delicate parts a pulsed
Nd:YAG laser is normally used (van Dijk
1993). At power levels up to 500W this type
of laser yields very low thermal input into
the material and produces kerf widths of 0.1
mm to 0.2 mm compared to the 0.2 mm to
1.0 mm kerf widths produced with a CO2
laser. Some typical cutting parameters for
the two types of lasers are illustrated in
Figures 2 and 3.
3.1 The C02 Laser
The CO2 laser is a gas laser, whose active
medium is a mixture of about 5% carbon
dioxide, 10% nitrogen and the balance
helium. There are several different designs
of CO 2 lasers depending on the method of
exciting and cooling the gas mixture in the
resonant cavity, however, the principle of
the lasing action is the same for all CO2
lasers (Laos 1983). The active laser species
is the carbon dioxide molecule. The
nitrogen acts as a catalyst, transferring
92
Beam delivery and Electrical efficiency
focussing
Mirrors and lenses 10-15%
Mirrors~optical fibres 4% (lamp pumped)
and lenses
10% (diode pumped)
energy to the CO2 molecule and enabling it
to remain in the upper laser leveL The
helium cools the gas mixture through
collisions and transfer of stored energy from
the CO2 molecule. The CO2 laser produces
output at a wavelength of 10.6 flm (invisible
part of the spectrum) at power levels from
tenths of a watt to forty five kilowatts
(Convergent) at an electrical efficiency of
about 10%. For conventional cutting
applications lasers with powers up to 4kW
are used. Higher power lasers normally have
inferior beam quality which adversely
affects the cutting process.
The output power and beam quality of a
CO2 laser are primarily determined by the
method of gas flow. The flow method
determines how quickly the carbon dioxide
can be removed from the optical cavity so
that new ground state carbon dioxide can be
introduced for excitation and stimulation.
The CO 2 lasers used for cutting can be
classified as axial flow and no flow devices.
In slow flo\v axial lasers the gas moves
slowly in the direction of the laser beam
through a glass tube (typically 10 to 14 mm
in diameter) which is surrounded by
another, co-axial water or oil-cooled tube.
The length of the laser tube is typically 1 m
and it produces about 50 to 70 W of laser
power. The advantages of this type of
design include very good beam quality for
focusing, high peak power when pulsed and
 Harris and Brandt

(a) (b)
14~--------------------------~ 7

13

12 • -·-700W 6 • -'-1700W
-.-1200W

\.,\
11
-·-1200W
-e-1700W
5

9 :" ':' . '-: • ': -:. '":' - • 3" \

\

8
'" • \,
"~~
"0
~ 7 Q)
Q) Q)
g. 6 0..
rJJ 3 --~-~
.....
Ol 0>
E 5
c:
E:;) :'-.. .
() 4
:;)
() 2 . ; '-...:
3

o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ O~~L-~~~~~~~-L~~

o 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1314 1516 o 2 3 4 5 6
Material thickness (mm) Miterialthickness (nm)

Figure 2. Representative cutting speed as a function of material thickness for C02 laser cutting of (a)
mild steel with oxygen and (b) stainless steel with nitrogen assist gas.

(a) (b)
7 3.0 , . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -.....

A - . - 500 W, pulsed, 0.6 mm fibre

6 - . - 500 W pulsed -1..- 1000 W, pulsed, 0.6 mm fibre

\\~.- 1000 W pulsed

2.5 -a- 500 W, pulsed, 0.4 rom fibre

5 ..
'2 "2 2.0

:€ "E
.s 4 1
'"0
""0 Q) 1.6
Q)
Q.) Q)
0.. a.
rJJ 3 tJi
0) 0)
c

..
c
1.0
E::J 1E
()
2
t.)
-:"'" ".--- ~

':~.
0.5
1-

o~~~--~~~~~~--~~~ 0.0
0 234567 B 9
o 1 234 5
Material thickness (mm) Material thickness (mm)

Figure 3. Representative cutting speed as a function of material thickness for Nd:YAG laser cutting of
(a) mild steel with oxygen and (b) stainless steel with nitrogen assist gas and optical fibres.

93
 Harris and Brandt
reduced system complexity and
maintenance costs. The main disadvantage
is the laser size and the maximum output
power. Lasers employing this approach are
large because of the necessarily long laser
tubes. The maximum power generated is
about 2kW from some 20 laser tubes placed
in series. This number of laser tubes can
present a challenge in keeping the optics
aligned.
CroQl1d potenllil
Guhdd
Figure 4. lllustrated is a schematic of a RF
excited fast axial·flow C02 laser (courtesy
Rofin Sinar).
Rear mIrror
Figure 5. The basic design of a diffusion
cooled C02 laser (courtesy Rofin Sinar).
In fast axial flow lasers (see Figure 4), as
the name suggests, high powers are
achieved by transporting the gas very
quickly through the laser tube using Roots
or a centrifugal compressor thus reducing
the time it spends in the heated volume.
The gas travels at close to the speed of
sound, and before it is recirculated through
94
the tube it is cooled with a heat exchanger.
Laser tube length is considerably reduced
compared to slow flow tubes resulting in a
more compact device. The advantages of
fast axial flow lasers include, in addition to
the compact size, high output power and an
output which can be electronically pulsed.
The main disadvantage is that the Roots or
centrifugal compressor needed to circulate
the gas is complex and costly to maintain.
In no-flow or diffusion cooled lasers the gas
mix in the optical cavity is cooled by
conduction to the walls of the optical cavity.
Shown in Figure 5 is a schematic of a
diffusion cooled laser. The design involves
two flat copper plates placed close together
that act as both the RF electrodes and a heat
sink. Since the gas transport system is not
required the unit size is very compact.
These devices are now available in the
power range from 1 kW to 3.5 kW with
very good beam quality for cutting
applications.
3.2 The Nd: YAG Laser
The Nd:YAG laser is a solid state laser,
usually in the shape of a rod, operating at
1.06 J!ffi (Koechner 1988). The active
species are neodymium ions present in
small concentrations in the YAG crystal.
Both continuous wave and pulsed laser
outputs can be obtained at an overall
efficiency in the 3 to 5% range. The laser is
used in industry because of its efficiency,
output power and reliability compared to
other solid state lasers. The crystal is grown
using the Czocbralski crystal growing
technique (Dawes 1995) which involves
slowly raising a seed Nd:YAG crystal from
the molten crystal constituents to extract a
Nd:YAG boule. A single boule typically
yields several laser rods. The concentration
of Nd ions in the boule is carefully
controlled and is not greater than about
1.10/0. Increasing the Nd doping further in
 Harris and Brandt
order to increase the laser po\ver produces
unacceptable strain in the crystal and leads
to a dramatic reduction in laser power.
Figure 6. Schematic of a Nd:YAG laser
(courtesy Rofin Sinar).
Laser rods are typically 6 mm in diameter
and 100 mm in length with the largest
commercial size rods being 10 mm in
diameter and 200 mm in length. As a
consequence of the crystal's small size
Nd:YAG lasers tend to be much more
compact than CO2 lasers. Illustrated in
Figure 6 are the main components of a
single-rod Nd:YAG laser.
Laser action is achieved by optically
exciting the crystal by lamps placed in close
proximity to it. The lamps have an emission
spectrum which overlaps the absorption
bands of the Nd: YAG crystal at 700 nm and
800 nm. In order to couple the maximum
amount of lamp light into the rod and
extract the maximum laser power from it,
the rod and the lamp are enclosed in
specially designed and manufactured
cavities. The two most common pump
cavity configurations are elliptical and close
coupled. In the case of elliptical cross-
sections the rod and the lamp are placed
along the nvo foci, and in the case of close-
coupled cavities the rod and the lamp are
95
placed close together at the axis. The inside
surface of the cavity is normally coated with
gold in order to maximise the coupling of
lamp light into the rod. Some laser
manufacturers also manufacture ceramic
cavities which produce more uniform
pumping of the rod but at the expense of
lower efficiency (some 5% lower) compared
to that of the gold-coated cavities.
For continuous operation, krypton arc lamps
are most widely used while for pulsed
operation high pressure xenon and krypton
flashlamps are used. Lamp lifetime
dominates the service requirement of
modern Nd:YAG lasers. For arc lamps the
lifetime ranges between 400 and 1000
hours while for pulsed lasers it is about 20
to 30 million pulses depending on operating
conditions.
Figure 7. Rofin Sinar 2.5 kW Nd:YAG laser
with four pump chambers.
As only a fraction of the emitted spectrum is
absorbed by the laser crystal the rest of the
emitted light is dissipated as heat in the
cavity and has to be removed for efficient
laser operation. This is usually achieved by
flowing deionised water around the rod and
lamp in a closed loop cooling system. The
loop is coupled to a heat exchanger for
efficient heat removal.
 Harris and Brandt
To increase the laser power above 500 to
600 W typically obtained from a single rod,
requires an increase in the laser volume.
However, increasing the rod volume has
fundamental limitations. Heat generated
within the rod causes large thermal
gradients which lead to variations in the
refractive index, lowering beam quality, as
well as large mechanical stresses, which can
cause rod fracture. To obtain higher laser
powers involves using multiple laser rods
(see Figure 7). The rods are ananged in
senes and located either within the
resonator or some are placed outside the
resonator to act as amplifiers. These
configurations are discussed and described
in more detail by Emmelmann (1995).
There are now several systems on the
market all giving in excess of 2 kW of laser
power with the highest power commercial
device producing 6 k W from 8 cavities
(Trumpf).
Figure 8. 2D CO 2 laser cutting system
manufactured by Laser Lab.
While lamps have been an integral part of
the Nd:YAG laser technology to date and
will remain so for the foreseeable future
because of their relatively low cost, another
technology is now emerging for high power
laser applications both as a pumping source
for Nd:YAG lasers and as a laser source in
its own right (Bachmann 1998; Emmelmann
96
1999). This technology is the high power
laser diode and its main advantage lies in
having a very narrow spectral output
compared with that of the lamp. The diode
output is matched to the absorption bands of
the Nd: YAG laser rod thus increasing
considerably the efficiency of the laser
system. Diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers
have much better beam quality because of
lower induced thermal stresses, are more
compact, require smaller chillers and have
much longer lifetimes compared to that of
the lamp pumped systems. Rofin-Sinar and
Trumpf are now offering commercial 6 kW
diode-pumped Nd: YAG lasers with
guaranteed 15,000 h diode operation.
3.3 Bealn DelivelY and Focusing
To guide a CO2 laser beam to the
workpiece, mirrors with precise mechanical
guides are used to direct the beam along
lightweight, rigid, protective tubes to the
optical components near the work surface.
Different mirror arrangements are used for
2D and 3D motion. To focus a CO2 laser
beam both reflective and transmissive optics
are used. Focusing minors tend to be made
from copper as it is highly reflective at the
laser wavelength and can withstand high
energy densities without damage. Copper
mirrors are usually cooled with water to
minimize thermal distortion.
Transmission lenses can be made from
gallium arsenide, potassium chloride or zinc
selenide. Today, the most common material
is zinc selenide. Typically, reflective optics
are used with powers in excess of 4kW in
order to minimise losses and imaging
problems associated with the thermal
distortion of the zinc selenide lenses.
In the case of Nd: YAG lasers, mirrors and
lenses made from borosilicate crown glass,
designated BK7, are used to guide the beam.
This material is relatively cheap and has
 Harris and Brandt

excellent thetmal and optical properties. while giving good positioning accuracy and
The components are coated to minimize repeatability.
reflection losses. The Nd:YAG laser beam,
in addition to being able to be directed by
mirrors, can also be directed to the
workpiece through an optical fibre
(diameters typically 0.3 - 1 mm). The laser
may be easily switched between optic fibres
to share one laser between several
workstations or to share between
workstations concurrently. Fibres for
Nd:YAG transmission are typically of step
index design, meaning a high refractive
index core surrounded by a cladding of low
refractive index materiaL The change of
refractive index ensures total internal (and
highly efficient) reflection. The optic fiber
allows flexible and indeed remote operation
by robots with losses of 8% with no end
coatings and as little as 2% occurring in the
fibres with quartz windows (Rofin 2000).
Fibres as long as 100 m can be used
effectively (Ishide 1990). Fibres are Figure 9. 3D C02 laser cutting system.
surrounded by a metallic sheath to provide
mechanical protection and typically contain
continuity detection in the case of accidental An example of a 2D system is shown in
bum through, whereupon the laser is Figure 8 where a 2 axis hybrid system using
automatically turned off. a CO2 laser and flying optics can achieve
speeds exceeding 5Om/min and
3.4 Motion Systems accelerations exceeding Ims·2 with an
accuracy of ±0.01 mm. This approach
The focused laser beam is positioned on the offers great flexibility in processing large
workpiece either by moving the optics and sheets and allows complex shapes with
so the beam itself (flying optics, optical intricate detail to be cut. The main
fibres, or galvo optics) or by movement of drawback of these systems is the changing
the workpiece or a combination of both. focal spot position as it traverses the
One-dimensional systems process only in working area. Even though this change is
one direction and are typic ally used in the slight it is sufficient to affect the spot
manufacture of pipe, strip or section. Minor diameter on the workpiece and hence
process adjustments occur through process efficiency.
additional linear positioning axis. Two-
dimensional systems are used for the Three-dimensional systems use 5 or 6 axis
processing of flat surfaces. By moving the gantries or robot systems. For gantry
beam and beam guiding components less systems, positioning is performed using
inertia needs to be overcome than by three linear axes (i.e. X,Y,Z); beam
moving the workpiece. This allows high guidance can be by flexible arm or optical
speeds and high acceleration to be achieved fibre. Often the optics are moved in 2 axes

97
 Harris and Brandt
with the third performed by movement of
the workpiece. The laser optics are also
equipped with two rotational axes to ensure
the working surface is perpendicular to the
beam path. Figure 9 shows a 3D cutting
system with a 5 axis CNC hybrid system
using a CO 2 laser with mirror beam
guidance. Such systems can achieve speeds
exceeding 15m/min and accelerations
exceeding Ims·2 with an accuracy of ±O.Ol
mm.
Figure 10. Robotic Nd:YAG laser cutting at
Volvo (courtesy Rofin Sinar).
Robot systems are more effective for the
processing of 3D components· (e.g. in the
automotive industry) and are now becoming
increasingly common because of the ease of
manipulating the processing head. Robot
solutions are typically less accurate than
gantry systems but are considerably cheaper
to implement. Figure 10 shows a robot
cutting system using a 6 axis robot and
Nd:YAG laser coupled to the robot using
optical fibre.
4. THE LASER CUTTING
MECHANISM
The three dominant ways to cut materials
commercially are (Steen 1998):
• Sublimation cutting where the focussed
laser beam evaporates the material and
the co-axial assist gas removes the
98
vapour or the material vapour pressure
itself shears and ejects molten materiaL
This technique generates narrow kerfs
and high quality surfaces for thin
sections.
• Fusion cutting where the incident laser
beam melts the workpiece and high-
pressure inert gas blows the molten
material out of the kerf. This method
gives increased cutting rate over
sublimation cutting but includes the
formation of striations on the cut surface
and the adherence of dross to the lower
cut edge. The use of inert gas (typically
at pressures between 1 and 2 MPa)
allows the generation of non-oxidized
cut surfaces.
• Reactive fusion cutting where a reactive
gas such as oxygen is used in
conjunction with the laser heating of
material. The resultant exothennic
reaction aids the cutting process and
high cutting rates can be achieved.
Figure 11. Laser cut edge produced in mild
steel in the presence of oxygen assist gas. Note
the oxide layer.
4.1 Reactive Fusion Cutting ofMild Steel
Reactive fusion cutting is normally used
when cutting mild steel. The interaction
between molten iron and oxygen produces
 Harris and Brandt
an additional source of heat due to the
exothennic nature of their interaction. The
exothermic reaction typically provides 40%
(Ivarson 1991) of the overall heat input to
the cut. This is done by the conversion of
approximately 50% of Fe removed to FeO
and small amounts ofFe203.
The exothennic reaction between oxygen
and iron is represented by:
Fe+~02--+ FeO
MI = -257.58 kJ/mol (at2000K)
2Fe + 3/2 O2 --+ Fe203
AH = -826.72 kJ/mo! (at 2000K)
The process involves melting the material in
the upper section of the workpiece by the
focused beam from the laser. This molten
material transfers its heat to lower areas~
which in tum also melt. All the molten
material is free to react with oxygen present
as the assist gas creating further heat by the
exotheffi1ic reactions shown above. Molten
material is removed through the bottom of
the cut by the shear with the assist gas. As
there is continuous interaction between the
energy provided by the focused beam and
the workpiece during cutting, a dynamic
steady state condition is established. The
parameters that influence the cutting process
include laser power (continuous or pulsed),
focus position, surface condition of
material, assist gas pressure and cutting
speed. The interaction between each of
these variables is not completely understood
and the influence of lesser factors (eg beam
mode, material temperature (Powel1 1993),
nozzle clearance (O'Niell 1992») has also
been shown to be significant. An example
of a reactive fusion cut surface is shown in
Figure 11.
The cutting mechanism is shown to be
periodic in nature and can be described by a
99
series of steps shown in Figure 12 (Powell
1993). The cutting mechanism involves the
following steps:
(i) The laser beam and co-axial oxygen
move to the edge of the steel sheet and
the area of beam illumination on the
plate increases and temperature rises to
a point where initially ignition and
subsequently melting will occur.
(ii) The melt front once established moves
away from the center of the illuminated
area until reaching the outer regions of
illuminated area.
(iii) Having left the energetic area at the site
of illumination, the melt front cools and
extinguishes.
(iv) The laser then initiates ignition and
melting in the next area and the process
repeats itself.
butrJing extinction reinitiation striation genuation
Figure 12. The periodic nature of the reactive
fusion cutting of steels.
This model clearly explains the regularly
spaced striations left on the cut edges. In the
top section, the cut striations are more
regular, however, in the lower half of the
cut random ripples are created by the flow
of the molten material out of the cut zone.
This random pattern increases with
increasing material thickness reflecting the
greater disturbance of the liquid metal
through the cut zone. The final cut surface is
therefore the result of predominantly
thermodynamic interactions near the top of
the cut and fluid dynamic interactions
towards the base (powell 1986).
 Harris and Brandt

4.2 The Effect of Oxygen Purity

The purity of the oxygen assist gas is a

critical aspect of the reactive fusion process.
The relationship between oxygen purity and
-Omm
cutting speed is shown in Figure 13. 0.11& • ••• 3mm
Studies by Ivarson (1993) show that a build
,
,. I
--- 6mm
up of impurity gas at the gas-molten metal 0.84 , : ;.. " ,
,
h,",,,"'''''''' ._.................' - - IOmm
-.-20mm
interface during cutting is the main factor
responsible for the observed reduction in 0.8
J 1.5 1 2.5 J
cutting speed. It can be seen from Figure 13
Nuult' dtamfttr (mm)
that a 2% reduction in oxygen purity results
in a 50% reduction in cutting speed,
demonstrating the sensitivity of the process Figure 14. Theoretical nonnalised oxygen
to oxygen purity. concentration at the cut front as a function of
nozzle diameter \vith cut front location depth as
a parameter (O'Nie1l1992).
The build up of impurity gases
(pre40minantly nitrogen) at the cutting face
is a consequence of the turbulent mixing of Given that a critical oxygen purity threshold
the oxygen jet with the surrounding is approximately 98% (Figure 13), then a
atmosphere (O'Niell 1992). This process is Imm nozzle is effective to a steel thickness
called entrainment. This effect increases of 6nun, 1.5mm nozzle to a thickness of
with increasing distance downstream of the 10mm and 2.5mm nozzle to a thickness of
nozzle exit. A 2D numerical model and at least 20 mm. Further, the use of lower
subsequent experimental studies found that pressure assist gas such as that described in
changing oxygen concentrations occur at Powell (1987) presents a less turbulent or
different distances along the cut front when possibly laminar jet with lower
using various nozzle diameters as illustrated consequential entrainment. As a result, the
in Figure 14. effect of entrainment of ambient gases on
reducing the oxygen purity is a serious
inhibitor of cut efficiency when cutting
thick steel plate.

4.3 Laser Cutting ofStainless Steels

Reactive fusion cutting of stainless steels is

similar to that of mild steel, however, in
- -1 - - -- addition to the oxidation of Fe, oxidation of
I
Cr in particular plays a part (Ivarson
1991,1993). The oxidation of these two
elements contributes some 40% of the
90
overall energy input to the cut zone.
Oxygen purity {%}
Approximately 30% of removed Fe in
stainless steel is oxidized to Fe203 and 30%
Figure 13. Cutting speed as a function of of Cr to Cr203 with negligible formation of
oxygen purity (Ivarson 1993). NiO. The reactions involved are given as:

100
 Harris and Brandt
2Fe + 3/2 O2--''''' Fe203
Llli =·826.72 kJ/mol (at 2000K)
2Cr + 3/2 O2 --..... Cr203
Llli - 1163.67 kllmol (at 2000K)
Ni +1/2 O2 --..... NiO
Llli = • 248.23 kJ/mol (at 2000K)
The presence of Cr also hinders the cutting
process. The formation of Cr203 on the
surface of the melt makes further oxidation
difficult because of the inability of oxygen
to diffuse through it (Powell 1993).
Furthermore, the increased surface tension
of the Cr203 when compared to mild steel
inhibits melt removal and is frequently the
cause of significant dross on the lower
edges of the kerf. During the resolidification
of the outer surface of the kerf a chromium
rich oxide layer (5-10 ~m thick) and a
deeper chromium depleted layer (50-150
~m) is fonned. This oxide layer and
decreased chromium layer at a laser cut
edge can lead to corrosion or wear issues.
While higher material removal rates are
achieved through reactive fusion cutting due
to the exothennic reactions, the fusion
cutting process produces a better cut surface
quality and dimensional accuracy of the
kerf. In addition, the surface can be welded
because of the absence of an oxide layer. In
fusion cutting of stainless steels, high
pressure nitrogen is used to eject the molten
material through the kerf. The nitrogen
pressures usually range from 1 to 2 MPa.
The reduction in cut energy (due to the
absence of reactive fusion) and increased
heat losses due to forced convection of the
high pressure nitrogen gas yield cutting
speeds 25% lower than those of reactive
fusion under similar cutting conditions.
Illustrated in Figure 15 is the cut surface of
101
stainless steel fusion cut with high pressure
nitrogen.
Figure 15. Laser cut surface produced in
stainless steel in the presence of nitrogen assist
gas.
5. THE CUTTING OF TIDCK STEEL
PLATE
The laser cutting of steel sheet and steel
plate up to 15mm in thickness is now a ,veIl
established machining process (Heidenreich
1996; O'Niell 1995). The ability to CNC a
laser, its cutting accuracy, clean cut edges
and low heat input mean that if thicker steel
plate could be reliably cut, the laser would
become a serious competitor to plasma and
oxy-fuel cutting technologies. This is
evidenced in industries such as ship
building where a laser was used to cut
precisely machined ship steel up to 16mm
thick to DIN 2310 Grade II quality
(Heidenreich 1996). The successful use of
laser cutting allowed considerable savings
in time, as less post processing of the parts
was required. With careful control of system
parameters it is possible to cut mild steels to
40 mm but with a significant decline in cut
quality and reproducibility (O'Nie1l1992).
When cutting thick steels with a fixed laser
power it has been observed that, in order to
achieve a given quality of surface finish, the
width of the kerf remains approximately
 Harris and Brandt

constant, however, the cutting speed does MPa of N2 . When using oxygen assist gas
not reduce proportionately to the thickness however, increasing the oxygen pressure
(Powell 1987). Figure 16 shows the cutting with increasing material thickness results in
speed as a function of material thickness for too much oxygen being present within the
two different qualities of cut (maximum kerf, which leads to excessive burning of
cutting speed is often achieved at the the steel due to the exothennic nature of the
expense of cut quality). It can be observed reaction. Consequently, to counter this
from the graph that a reduction in cut effect, oxygen pressure is reduced with
efficiency occurs with increasing material increasing material thickness. For example}
thickness. 8mm mild steel can be cut at a speed of
1800 mmlmin using an oxygen pressure of
0.2 MPa but when cutting 20 mm thick plate
80 at 1000 mmlrnin the oxygen pressure is
~'
- . - Highest speed
0' 70
- . - Optimal speed
reduced to 0.08 MPa (Powell 1987).
E 60 However, the lower the oxygen pressure,
.§.
-g 50
.\\ the more difficult it becomes to shear the
.~ ~\~
Gl
g. 40 molten material from the kerf thus limiting
en .. •
E
::s
30 the cut thickness.
o 20
10
.
. :
.
~,
;~.
... Close control of oxygen pressure is essential
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ to prevent uncontrollable burning of the
o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
steel away from the heated area. Studies
Cut thickness (mm)
(Gabzdyl 1992) indicate that when cutting
Figure 16. Influence of material thickness on mild steel an increase of only 5 kPa in
cutting speed using a 2.5 kW CO2 laser (Po\vell oxygen pressure from the optimal pressure
1987). can result in excessive bUlning and excess
dross formation at the base of the cut.
Similarly, work by Heidenreich (1996)
This reduction in efficiency as the material using PrandtI boundary flow theory on thick
becomes thicker is attributed to a reduction ship steel plate demonstrated that by careful
in the effectiveness of the assist gas as a selection of oxygen assist gas pressure
melt remover and the loss of heat at the excessive burning could be controlled. Here
bottom of the cut due to conduction. a kerf width of more than 0.5 mm was
Further, as the material thickness increases produced and oxygen pressure of 0.12 MPa
the gas stream travelling downwards was used when cutting 12mrn thick steel.
experiences greater "fanning out" as a result However, solutions for satisfactory cutting
of the greater reflection off the inclined conditions using parameters of power,
cutting front thus progressively reducing the cutting velocity and oxygen assist gas
melt shearing capability of the assist gas pressure show that these three parameters
(Powell 1987). must have certain values and cannot be
varied independently (e.g. cut speed cannot
When cutting thick steels by fusion, the be altered without altering beam power and
assist gas pressure must be increased to oxygen pressure). Further to this,
allow the ejection of molten materiaL A Heidenreich (1996) also shows that changes
typical reported gas pressure (Beyer 1990) in oxygen pressure of less than 0.02 MPa
for fusion cutting of 15mm thick stainless are sufficient to change the cutting process
steels with a 5 kW CO2 laser source is 2 from metal burning to dross adherence.

102
 Harris and Brandl
In order to increase the thickness of the
material that can be cut, one approach is to
increase laser power and hence use the
power of the laser to overcome control
difficulties of the reactive fusion process.
While there are a number of advantages to
this approach there are also significant
challenges. At higher laser powers (3.5 kW
and higher) the beam quality beCOlnes
poorer, lifetime of optical components is
reduced due to thennal loading, equipment
and running costs are high and cutting
precision deteriorates. In view of these
disadvantages, a number of alternative
approaches are being investigated for
cutting thick (> 10mm) steel plate.
6. INNOVATIVE PROCESSES TO
CUT THICK STEEL PLATE
The following describes several of the
innovative methods to further increase the
depth of laser cut while still maintaining
acceptable cut quality. Many of the
processes described use novel laser
techniques to overcome the limitations of
thick steel cutting already discussed.
6.1 Laser Flame Cutting
Thennal flame cutting is an effective cutting
process capable of cutting very thick steels
(Heidem'eich 1993). Its main drawback,
however, is that it is a slow process ("'" 400
mmlmin for 19 mm thick mild steel (Powell
1993). Lasers on the other hand cut at high
speed depending on the material thickness.
By combining the two techniques the
advantages of each can be exploited.
In the augmented laser oxy-acetylene
technique the material is heated by an oxy-
acetylene flame that is inclined at an angle
of 85° to the metal sheet with the laser beam
heating a small workpiece area in front of
the oxy-acetylene cutting nozzle. The laser
heating creates a larger molten zone, which
103
in tum leads to less disturbance of the gas
stream penetrating the cut. Material removal
occurs as a result of melt shear by the gas
stream from the oxy-acetylene cutter. An
additional gas nozzle is also used and
directed into the kerf to further assist in the
removal of molten metal and prevention of
dross adherence or sealing of the kerf at
high cutting speeds. The resultant quality of
cut is DIN 2310 grade II with a kerf width
of 2.5mm and a HAZ comparable to that of
an oxy-acetylene cut. The cutting speed is
greater than that for conventional flame or
laser cutting alone. Experiments conducted
on 20 rom and 30 mm thick mild steel plates
demonstrated that they could be cut at 1200
mmlmin and 900 mm/min respectively
using a 2 kW CO2 laser, a 150 mm focal
length lens and the focus positioned 2.5 rom
ahead of the cutting front (Heidenreich
1993).
Though successfully used to cut thick mild
steel, the method has issues of the
directionality of laser/nozzle assembly that
may be overcome by CNC control of an
additional axis. The process also involves
high capital outlay, high gas consumption
and lacks a niche application.
6.2 Cutting with Dual Focus Lenses
The most effective energy source shape for
cutting is a line source (O'Neill 1999),
because it can distribute the energy
uniformly throughout the depth of the cut.
During reactive fusion cutting of steel, the
exothennic interaction of the melt with the
narrow oxygen jet as it travels down the
kerf does assist in the creation of an ideal
line energy source. For mild steels greater
than 10 rom in thickness the focal point is
typically positioned at the top surface of the
workpiece to allow a significant intensity of
light on this surface to initiate the cutting
process and to achieve process stability with
acceptable cut quality. For fusion cutting of
 Harris and Brandt
stainless steels, however, this focus is
typically positioned well into the kerf. This
allows maximum energy intensity to occur
at the central zone of the cut where the
molten material must accumulate enough
heat energy to conductively melt material
below it (powell 2000).
With increase in material thickness it
becomes increasingly difficulty to cut as it
is not possible to maintain adequate energy
intensity at all positions through the depth
of the kerf. To help counter this problem,
higher laser powers and longer focal length
lenses are used. This gives a longer depth of
focus, however, this means an increase in
spot size and commensurate decrease in
power density within the spot. Further,
higher powers degrade beam quality,
leading to beams not suitable for cutting
(Nielsen 1997).
A new lens developed for CO2 lasers has
t\vo focal spots, one situated above the
other. This produces focused energy deep
within the cut but still allows high energy
density at the top of the cut in order to
sustain the cutting process (Powell 2000).
Previously, these types of optics were based
on multi-beam principles (i.e. combination
of two laser beams). The new method uses
an inner and outer annulus within a single
lens, each with a different focal length. The
inner annulus being flatter compared to the
outer annulus has a longer focal length to
focus the beam deeper \vithin the cut as
shown in Figure 17. The area of lens
dedicated to each focus governs the
proportion of power distribution of the laser
beam. The first focussed beam is maintained
at the upper surface of the metal to create
suitable ignition conditions while the second
focused beam, near the lower surface,
creates a lower viscosity melt resulting in a
cleaner kerf throughout the thickness of the
material.
104
mner
outer
dual focus lens
upper focus
lower focus
Figure 17. Schematic of dual focus meniscus
lens. For illustration purposes the laser beam is
divided into an inner section (clear) and an
outer section (shaded).
The dual focus method shows improved
cutting of thicker material (30 mm 40 mm
compared to 15mm - 20mm carbon steel for
a 3 kW CO2 laser) improved piercing with
little surface eruption (Neilsen 1997;
O'Neill 1999), improved quality of cuts
(dross free edges) and improved cutting
speeds. When cutting stainless steel of 12
mm thickness dual focus lenses produce a
30% narrower kerf with more perpendicular
edges and less dross while cutting 23 %
faster than single focus lenses (Powell
2000). The use of dual focus lenses
demonstrates a more efficient method of
cutting thick steels with more energy
entering the cut, producing higher cut
temperatures and consequently giving lower
viscosity melts. This results in the removal
of less material and reduction in dross and
dross attachment. The disadvantage of the
technique is the high cost of dual focus
lenses. Also, they are designed for a
particular material thickness making them
less flexible when compared to conventional
lenses.
 Harris and Brandt

6.3 CO2 Beam Sawing with Adaptive Optics
This technique involves the oscillation of
the focus position, by several millimetres, in
the same direction as the material thickness
as a result of one of the reflective mirrors of
a CO2 laser being plastically deformed by a
piezo-electric actuator (Geiger 1996). An
external voltage controls the defonnation
frequency from 0 Hz to the experimental
limit of 100 Hz. This method has been
shown to cut mild steel up to 16 mm
thickness without a decrease in cut quaHty
using a 2.2 kW CO2 laser.
Using a focal length of 160 mm the initial
focus position was Imm above the surface
of the workpiece. The maximum focus
travel distance was 4.5 mm after which the
beam intensity at the top of the cut was
reduced sufficiently to allow fonnation of
excessive dross. Results show that
striations in the top section of the cut reflect
the frequency of the oscillating beam as is
shown in Figure 18.

h! -meosur 119
.) mOl rJi~l()if
the tou sid~:

5 mrn

OXj'gen ossisled loser beam sawing 25H1 leser beam sowing tomb
Il)~erbeam Gutting

Figure 18. Cut surfaces at various frequencies (Geiger 1996).

laser beam cuU!n

Rz -measuring
~ 3mm below
the top side
~ 1.0 mm
~~~115mm
cutting gas: 01 pressure: 1.1*105 Po
focol shift: 4-.5 mm velocity: 0.7 m/min

Figure 19. Cut surface profile showing reduced amplitude of striations with increasing sawing
frequency (Geiger 1996).

105
 Harris and Brandt

Rectangularity of the cut edges is also

Cl'ntral ox,gcn input
affected with improvement reported in
Central nOlzle samples cut at frequencies greater than 75
Hz. No mention is made by Geiger (1996)
of dross removal issues except a comment
that another gas nozzle system is required to
optimize the dross problem.
{h~'fD burrrr th)gtfl buffer
in,.ot ltll.'U
6.4 Laser Cutting using a Co-axial Nozzle

The flow of assist gas through the laser

nozzle comprises an inner stream in which
the pressure and velocity remains constant,
Ring nOlzle
(llatr
' " Burrer jet and an outer boundary where momentum}
Mainjct material and heat diffusion take place.
Narrow nozzles are shown to induce more
(a)
mass transfer with the surrounding
environment within a small distance of the
c 1.00
~ nozzle exit (O'Niell 1992, 1995). Transfer
g 0.96 is more pronounced with turbulent flow, jets
cG)
(.)
c typically becoming turbulent several nozzle
0 0.92
(.)
cG)
diameters downstream. As the nozzle
C')
0.88 - - Buffer - theoreIicaI diameter is increased the effects of the
~ - . - Buffer - experirnerla
0
"0 J. No buffer - theoretk::aI
momentum transfer are shifted further into
G) 0.84
.!:'l -e- No buffer - experirnerla the materiaL Typically, turbulence cannot
'iii
§ 0.80 be avoided unless low Reynolds numbers
0
z are used. The most important issue for
0 5 10 15 20 25 reactive fusion laser cutting is the reduction
rxstance dO'Nn cut front (rrni
of oxygen concentration through the
entrainment of surrounding environmental
(b)
gases such as nitrogen. As discussed in
Figure 20. Illustrated in (a) is layout of buffer Section 4.2, small losses in oxygen
nozzle and (b) theoretical and experimental concentration have been found to
oxygen concentrations down the cut face for a significantly reduce cutting speed.
1.5 rom diameter nozzle (O'Neill 1995).
To combat the effects of entrainment of
ambient gases 0 'Niell (1992, 1995)
Significantly, the roughness of the cut suggested the use of a co-axial nozzle. A co-
surfaces is shown to be improved over those axial nozzle illustrated in Figure 20
of conventional cutting at frequencies comprises two concentric nozzles. The
exceeding 25 Hz, with maximum larger diameter, inner, nozzle can be used to
improvement occurring at 100 Hz as can be maintain oxygen concentration further into
seen in Figures 18 and 19. At the maximum the cut. As previously discussed, larger
frequency of 100 Hz, upper striations reflect diameter nozzles ensure larger flows of
the oscillation of the focal position but oxygen resulting in a reduction and shifting
lower area striations are more random of entrainment to larger distances from the
reflecting the liquid flow from the kerf. nozzle. The second, sacrificial, "entrainment

106
 Harris and Brandt
buffer " is created using an outer annulus to
allow a turbulent mixing zone. This allows
the primary cutting jet to experience less
mixing with the atmosphere (i.e. the
entrainment process still occurs but in the
outer jet). A combined theoretical and
experimental oxygen concentration with and
without buffer is shown in Figure 20(b).
Results of cutting 10 mm, 16 mm and 20
lnln grade 43A mild steel plate with and
without the buffer jet demonstrate
significant improvement in cut quality for a
given cut speed when the buffer jet is used.
There is little change in cut quality for the
10 nun plate because at a depth of 10 nun
there is only a 1% reduction in oxygen
concentration for a single nozzle. There is,
however, a significant improvement in cut
quality for the 16 and 20 mm thick plate
using a central pressure of 0.05 MPa and an
outer flow greater than 30 Vmin.
Processing with the co-axial nozzle has
allowed the cutting of thick steel plate
producing clean cut edges and effective
removal of dross as a result of increased
exothermic energy at the base of the cut.
.-----
Cutting
depth,
Oct-
Dri Iling
depth,
Dd~_""""""-'--L---.t'!'!!'
Figure 21. Schematic of dual-beam laser cutting (Malian 1993).
The device shows promise for commercial
exploitation because of the ease of
integration with standard cutting head
designs. The main drawback of the device
is the increase in oxygen consumption rate.
6.5 Dual-bealn CO 2 Laser Cutting of Thick
Metallic Materials
When focusing laser light onto a workpiece
there may be coupling problems if plasma is
formed at the surface. By using two laser
beams separated by a small distance there
can be improvement in coupling efficiency
due to minimization of the laser plasma
interactions. There is also an advantage due
to the increased absorption associated with
the molten surface (Molian 1993). The dual
beam approach was adopted by Molian and
used in laser cutting experiments. The
process involves beams from two CO2
lasers of po\ver 1.5 kW each delivered
through a single beam duct. Both focused
beams were 0.1 mm in diameter, with foci
positioned 6 mm apart and set 1/3 of the
material thickness below the top surface.
Nozzle diameter was 10 mm with oxygen
pressure set at 137 kPa (Malian 1993).
G\.\on
\lOt;>°f\l
Cuttinq direction, speed V
Erosion front
thi(kne~S,
De
t
Molten melt/slog
107
 Harris and Brandt

The first beam partially penetrates the and analytically demonstrated that the
moving workpiece and fonns a blind maximum cutting speed increases as beams
cylindrical keyhole. The second laser are separated in the direction of the cutting
impinges on the molten region created by velocity, the optimum depth could be gained
the first beam and further heats it, by combining the two beams into one
vaporizing some material and superheating single, more powerful beam. Technical
the remainder. The oxygen assist gas aids difficulties were reported however in
the cutting process with its exothermic achieving a stable beam coincidence within
reaction and in the ejection of molten one spot diameter (0.1 mm). Evidence of cut
droplets. A schematic of the technique is quality was not presented, the paper instead
given in Figure 21. being significant in the development of and
verification of heat flow models through
experimentation.
40
35
•
Again, this approach demonstrates an ability
~ 30 to increase the thickness of steel plate that
S 25 can be cut but its major disadvantage is that
'tI
III
III
Co
1/1
20 it has directional dependence thus making it
m
c 15 difficult to use for profile cutting.
E:;:,
10
0
5

0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Thickness (mm)

Figure 22. Effect of single (1.\) and dual (0)

1.5kW C02 laser beams on cutting speed and
material thickness. Focal length of lenses was
127 mm and oxygen assist gas pressure was 413
kPa.

The workpiece preheating improves the

'deep penetration effect' mainly due to the
improvement in absorption and
modification of conduction characteristics.
This method was tested by cutting mild steel
(ATST 1018) and superalloy (Hastalloy C)
plates. For a fixed laser power,
improvement in cutting speed and cut depth
was observed for the dual beam
configuration when compared to single
beam as shown in Figure 22.
A mathematical heat flow model for the
dual beam cutting process was developed by
Molian and shown to fit well with
experimental data. It was experimentally
Figure 23. Schematic of Lasox cutting process
(O'NieU1998).
6.6 Laser Assisted Oxygen Cutting - Lasox
As discussed in Section 4.1, during the
conventional reactive fusion cutting of mild
steels, approximately 40% of energy is
provided by the exothennic reaction and in
excess of 97% of combustion products is
FeD (the remainder being Fe2D3 and Fe2D4
(Ivarson 1993). Assuming that FeD is the
only reaction product produced and with AH
257.58 kJ/mol then if complete

108
 Harris and Brandt

cOlnbustion of the iron takes place, the
power generated in such a process is given
in Table 2. Hence, large power is available
to the cutting process. However, to generate
this power there must be sufficient oxygen
delivered to the kerf. It is well documented
that during the cutting of thick steel
sections, side burning becomes an issue. To
minimize this effect oxygen pressure 1S
reduced to less that 100 kPa.
In the Lasox process (see Figure 23) a laser
beam is employed to assist the oxygen
cutting process. The laser is used to preheat
the material while the cutting is performed
and controlled by the oxygen assist gas
delivered co-axially with the beam.
The Lasox method employs a nozzle
assembly and a short focal length lens
where the focal length is within the
nozzle/lens housing. This results in a highly
divergent laser beam exiting the nozzle with
a co-axial oxygen gas stream. The nozzle
diameter is such that the laser interaction
area is greater than the gas jet interaction
area but the laser interaction still generates
temperatures well above the critical 900°C
(O'Niell 1998) required for initiation of the
exothermic reaction.

Table 2. Calculated exothermic power generated in thick section laser cutting (O'Niell 1998).

Cut Depth Kerf Width Cutting Speed Exothermic Power

(rom) (mm) (mmfmin) (kW)

20 1.5 700 12.5

30 2 500 18.5

40 2.5 400 23.6

50 3 300 21.52

Table 3.. Plate thickness and corresponding cutting speeds (O'Niell1998).

Plate Thickness (nun) Optimum Speed Speed Range

(mmfmin) (mmlmin)

20 300 200 500

30 230 200 350

50 175 150 - 220

109
 Harris and Brandt

The laser/oxygen jet interaction ensures that
a reaction can be initiated across the whole
of the oxygen jet, maximizing reaction yield
and ensuring that the Lasox condition is
met. Heating of the workpiece occurs at the
surface and the ensuing exothermic reaction
occurs through the depth of the cut. If the
above laser/gas condition is not met, a poor
quality cut is generated as a result of
uncontrolled metal burning. It is essential
to realize that the laser is depositing very
little energy into the depth of the cut and
that oxygen is the facilitator of melt
production. Results of cutting trials using a
2 kW CO2 laser and 20 mm, 30 mm and 50
nun mild steel plate (O'Niell 1998) sho\v
that the cutting action is driven almost
exclusively by the oxygen jet reaction and
that the laser contributes little to the overall
energy of the process. lliustrated in Table 3
are the cutting speeds obtained.
It was observed that as the cut speed
increases above optimum) dross levels
increase dramatically. Under optimum
cutting conditions the cut taper was shown
to be less than 1 degree with the top edge
square as compared to conventional oxy-
flame cutting which produces a round edge.
The HAZ was of similar thickness to flame
cutting in the body of the workpiece but
without any increase near the top surface as
produced by flame impingement in flame
cutting. Widening of the HAZ occurs at the
base of the cut if optimum conditions are
not sustained due to a reduction of melt
flow velocity. Also, piercing is found to be
possible along with trepanning though some
amount of taper is expected. The cutting of
profiles was shown to be feasible as
illustrated in Figure 24.
Consequently~ Lasox is a relatively simple
process that shows promise for cutting of
thick section steel plate using a controlled
ignition process and only moderate laser
power. It may also be feasible to retrofit
this system to existing lasers making its
implementation attractive.
Figure 24. Lasox profile cuts in 40 mm thick
EN9 steel (O'Neill 1998).
6.7 Thick Plate Cutting with a Spinning
Laser Beam
Another approach that has shown potential
for cutting thick section steels involves
spinning the laser beam while performing a
conventional laser reactive fusion cut. The
feasibility of this approach was
demonstrated by Arai (1997) who used a 1.8
kW CO2 laser to cut mild steel and stainless
steel plate up to 25 mm thick while
maintaining high cut quality. It was also
demonstrated that there was minimal HAZ
and distortion. To produce the desired
effect, a window is placed in the beam path
at an angle to the beam axis as can be seen
in Figure 25. This produces a lateral shift of
focal position. Rotating the window causes
the laser beam to form a spiral path as it is
moved across the workpiece.
While Arai demonstrated that relatively lo\v
power lasers can be used to cut thick steel
plate with acceptable quality, little
infotmation was presented as to the
mechanisms responsible for the increase in
thickness. In order to understand the

110
 Harris and Brandt
processes occuning during spinning beam
laser cutting, a project was initiated to
determine the key process controlling
factors and determine the maximum
material thickness that can be cut with a
fixed laser power. The project is part of a
larger project involving the cutting of thick
steel plate with laser beams supported by
the Co-operative Research Center for
Intelligent Manufacturing Systems and
Technologies (CRCIMST).
Lens
Figure 25. Spinning beam apparatus (Arai
1997).
A spinning beam apparatus \vas designed
and constructed as shown in Figure 26.
This was attached to a fibre-optic delivered
2.5 kW Nd:YAG laser. This allowed a
maximum offset ( eccentricity) of beam of
450 Jlm at a maximum spin speed of 3000
RPM. In preliminary trials, the apparatus
demonstrated the spiral cut path as shown in
Figure 27. Here a 200W Nd:YAG beam
was used to mark the surface of a mild steel
plate from left to right in (a) conventional
mode and (b) spinning beam mode.
In cutting trials involving the device and
mild steel plate thicknesses of 10 mm, 12
mm) 15 mm and 20 mm, it was
demonstrated that the spinning beam results
111
in an increase in maximum cut depth from
12 to 15 mm when compared to
conventional cutting. This is illustrated in
Figure 28 where a comparison between
conventional cutting and spinning beam
cutting of the various plate thicknesses is
shown. Attempts at cutting the 20 mm thick
plate were pal1ially successful. While the
cut depth was increased, excessive dross
accumulated at the base of the kerf and
there was excessive burning of the sides.
From the figure it can be observed that a
continuity of the conventional cutting
characteristics extends into the spinning
beam area. That is, as cutting progresses
into those thicknesses cut by the spinning
beam, the one characteristic curve can
describe both processes for a given laser
power.
Figure 26. Spinning beam apparatus cutting 12
mm thick mild steel plate.
The figure also demonstrates that although
there is improvement in cut depth with the
spinning beam, there is only modest
 Harris and Brandt

400um 920um

L
r t
(a) (b)

Figure 27. Beam marking at 200W representing (a) a conventional cut and (b) spinning beam cut at
440 RPM} 220 ~m offset and 150 mmlmin cutting speed.

improvement in cut speed. When cutting experiences an increase in effective cut

the 12 mm mild steel plate at 1488 watts speed and the other a corresponding
incident on the workpiece and a cutting decrease.
speed of 700 mmlmin an average kerf width
of 1.2 mm was produced for conventional
2400
cutting and 2.4 rom for a 450 Jlm offset 2200 -·-1339W
beam at 2000 RPM. Hence, during the 2000 .. -.t.-1637W
C -y-1769W
cutting process similar process limitations to :§ 1800
-'-1339W SpIn
cut speed are being imposed even though E 1600 -+-1637W Spin
.§. 1400 -_.- 1769 W Spin
cutting with the spinning beam produces a -l(-

far larger kerf resulting in a larger volume

"
~
~
Q.
1200
(J)
1000
of material being removed and a larger 11
0 800
amount of oxygen entering the cut. 600
400
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Current research into the possible causes of Plate Thickness (mm)
limitations to cut speed for any given power
indicate that the two main contenders are (i) Figure 28. Dependence of cut speed on plate
limitations to the amount of energy thickness for different incident Jaser powers.
available per mole of material removed, and
(ii) amount of oxygen available per mole of
material removed. Distinct thresholds Illustrated in Figure 30 are cut surface
appear to exist for both parameters for profiles obtained using a spin speed of 2000
successful cuts to be perfonned. RPM and conventional cutting conditions
(no spin). It is noted that the spinning beam
The spinning of the beam also affects the uses larger nozzle diameters consequently
shape of the kerf as seen in Figure 29. The when the spinning beam is stationary it does
spinning beam kerf is non-symmetric and not imitate the conventional cut.
results from the difference between the Furthermore, the offset of the beam when
rotational velocity of the beam and the stationary approximates a poor nozzlelbeam
translational velocity of the workpiece. alignment which is a crucial cut quality
Consequently, one side of the kerf parameter.

112
 Harris and Brandt
2000 RPM
Stationary (no spin)
Figure 30. Changes in cut surface characteristic
using spin speed of 2000 RPM and stationary
beam for 12mm thick mild steel plate. Laser
power 2000W; cut speed 600 mm/min and
oxygen assist pressure 40kPa.
From the research conducted to date, the
spinning beam cutting approach is showing
itself to be significant in increasing the
depth of cut that can be achieved, but not
significant in improving the cut speed. In an
113
Figure 29. Kerf shape for (a) spinning and (b)
conventional laser cut in 12mm mild steel plate.
age of ever increasing energy consciousness
this method of cutting thick steel plate may
prove an advantage in the next generation of
more efficient laser cutting machines.
Further work is being carried out to
understand the mechanisms responsible for
the observed increase in cut thickness.
7. SUMMARY
Today, the laser cutting of 2D and 3D steel
components is a well established and
flexible non-contact machining process
producing narrow kerfs and minimal heat
affected zones. Currently, commercial lasers
cut steel plate up to 15mm thick with
relative ease. There is, however, industry
interest to increase this thickness which
would allow lasers to be a significant
competitor to plasma and oxy-fuel
technology in thick plate cutting.
The cutting of steel plate using lasers is
achieved by the continuous interaction of
the energy supplied by the focussed beam,
the feeding of the workpiece and assist gas.
Using the reactive fusion technique oxygen
provides momentum transfer for shearing of
the melt as well as for the exothermic
reaction with the molten steel. There are
 Harris and Brandt
limitations inherent with the reactive fusion
cutting of thick steel plate. These limitations
are primarily attributed to a reduction in
shear forces produced by the assist gas as
the cut depth increases and a need to reduce
oxygen assist gas pressure to control
burning. These two complementary factors
appear to limit the thickness of material that
may be cut. To overcome these factors a
number of innovative cutting techniques
described above are being investigated. The
spinning beam method shows potential for
cutting thick steel plate, demonstrating
significant increase in cutting depth when
compared to conventional cutting at the
same laser power. Further work is being
undertaken to fully understand the
mechanisms responsible for this increase in
cut thickness.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank CRCIMST for
funding the spinning beam project. The
CRCIMST was established under and is
supported in part by the Australian
Government's Cooperative Research
Centres Scheme.
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