International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287

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International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture

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Original Article

Empirical modeling and optimization of process parameters in

ultrasonic assisted laser micromachining of Tie6Ale4V
Hossein Abdollahi a, Saeid Shahraki a, Reza Teimouri b, *
a
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran
b
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In the present study an attempt was made to create micro holes in Tie6Ale4V titanium alloy by laser
Received 30 June 2019 machining process. In order to enhance the machinability of the in terms of material removal rate (MRR)
Received in revised form and recast layer thickness (RLT), ultrasonic vibration has been associated with the process. A compre-
19 August 2019
hensive experimental study has been carried out to understand interaction effect of ultrasonic assisted
Accepted 25 August 2019
Available online 29 August 2019
laser machining parameters viz. ultrasonic vibration amplitude, laser power, pulse frequency and gas
pressure on process quality characteristics. Analysis of variances has been carried out to find which
factors has greatest effect on performance measures. Finally an optimization approach based on response
Keywords:
Laser machining
surface method was carried out to obtain parameter setting regarding maximum MRR and minimum RLT
Miniature holes and taper. Results indicated that the vibration amplitude has greatest effect on improving the MRR and
Ultrasonic vibration RLT. Results revealed that selection of 40 mm vibration amplitude, 980 W laser power, 1200 Hz modu-
MRR lation frequency and 0.25 MPa gas pressure is an optimal parameter setting yields material removal rate
Recast layer thickness of 2 mm3/min and RLT of 439 mm. The desirability for this parameter setting is 78%.
ANOVA © 2019 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
Titanium alloys are used extensively in industries such as
aerospace, spacecraft, military, and automotive as well as
biomedical applications [1]. The reasons for various functionality of
titanium alloys are excellent mechanical and corrosion properties
as well as high strength to weight ratio. However, the machinability
of this material by traditional machining process is a very crucial
concern. Very low thermal conductivity, chemical reaction and low
elastic modulus can be encountered as main reasons for poor
machinability of this material [2]. Hence, for machining of micro
geometries in this titanium alloy, traditional machining processes
are found to be less effective in terms of dimensional accuracy and
surface integrity as well as tool life. Conventional machining of
Ti6Al4V resulted in higher tool wear as well as limited material
removal rate when compared to hybrid machining processes [3].
Hence, Unconventional machining process are functional method
for machining of this specific type of titanium alloy. In this case, Li
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: reza_teimoori@yahoo.com (R. Teimouri).
Peer review under responsibility of Editorial Board of International Journal of
Lightweight Materials and Manufacture.
et al. [4] used ultrasonic machining have been used for machining
of Ti6Al4V. Moses and Jahan [5] used micro electrical discharge
machining process for processing of Ti6Al4V. Li et al. [6] used
abrasive waterjet machining process in different operations i.e.
drilling and slotting of titanium alloy. They analyzed material
removal rate and dimensional accuracies of hole and slots crated in
Ti6Al4V. Shabgard and Alenabi [7] used hybrid machining process
namely ultrasonic assisted drilling. They revealed that tool vibra-
tion with ultrasonic frequency enhances MRR via increasing normal
discharges and decreasing arc discharges and open circuit pulses.
Also, by using ultrasonic vibrations in finishing regimes.
Laser machining is a type of unconventional machining process
which used for machining of hard and brittle materials such as
stainless steel [8], titanium alloys [9], ceramics [10] and reinforced
composites [11]. In practice, laser micro-cutting for fabrication of
biodegradable stents. In this matter, Demir and Previtali [12] per-
formed an experimental work to compare effect of laser pulsed re-
gimes i.e. continuous wave, nanosecond and femtosecond on
machining performance of magnesium alloy. In another work, they
studied effect of submersion liquid on submerged laser micro-
cutting of AZ31 Mg alloy [13]. The results showed dross-free cut-
ting is achievable by submerging the Mg alloy in 0.5 mm alcohol-

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2588-8404/© 2019 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
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280 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287
water solution. Meng et al. [14] fiber laser cutting for micro-
machining of cardiovascular stents made of stainless steel. They
showed that selection of optimal parameter causes achieving precise
micro profile. To circumvent the problem of heat affected zones in
laser machined micro sized samples, the state-of-the-art technique
is to employ ultrashort pulsed lasers including picosecond femto-
second and attosecond lasers as reported by Hartmenn et al. [15] and
Huang et al. [16]. Also, according to the research carried out by Hung
et al. [17], the use of ultrafast lasers is reported to be effective in clean
surface morphology and minimal heat affected zones such as in the
fabrication of cardiovascular stents and biliary stents.
However, in order to have desired cutting quality as well as short
processing time, it is required to use optimization techniques to
meet above-mentioned disabilities at same time. Hence, using
optimization technique based on statistical method and artificial
intelligence can be used as effective method. Rao and Yadava [18]
used Taguchi orthogonal array design to find effect of gas pressure,
pulse width, pulse frequency and cutting speed on kerf dimensional
accuracy in laser machining of Inconel 718. They associated the grey
relational analysis to with experimental data to obtain optimal
processing parameters regarding minimum dimensional shift in
both of straight and curved machined paths. Dubey and Yadava [19]
used hybrid experimental design based on Taguchi and central
composite designs aiming to find effects of gas pressure, pulse width,
pulse frequency and cutting speed on material removal rate and top
kerf width. They found that pulse width and cutting speed are the
most significant factors affecting MRR and top kerf width, respec-
tively. Kuar et al. [20] utilized response surface methodology to find
effect of lamp current, pulse frequency, air pressure and pulse width
on HAZ thickness and Taper while laser micro-drilling of zirconia
ZrO2 ceramic. Base on analysis of variance, they found that lamp
current has the greatest impact on both of HAZ thickness and Taper.
Dhupal et al. [21] applied multi-approaches method based on RSM-
ANN-GA to find optimal parameter combination of lamp current, gas
pressure, pulse width, pulse frequency and cutting speed regarding
minimum dimensional shift in micro grooving of cylindrical Al2O3
ceramic material. They found that by use of ANN-GA approach
higher dimensional accuracy is attained compared to RSM-GA.
Mathew et al. [22] performed and experimental study to analyze
effect of laser machining parameters on drilling ability of carbon
fiber reinforced plastic. Frequency of pulse, scan speed, pulse dura-
tion and beam energy were found to be effective parameters influ-
encing the heat affected zone.
During recent past, ultrasonic vibration has been proved as
effective method for improving the manufacturing processes' quality
characteristics. The method has been associated with conventional
machining [23], non-conventional machining [7], metal forming
[24], welding [25], surface treatment operations and etc [26].
Although the ultrasonic vibration has been integrated with
different manufacturing process; its application with laser micro-
machining has hardly been reported in the literatures. Charee et al.
[27] studied effect of ultrasonic vibration on underwater laser
machining of silicon. They reported that ultrasonic cavitation can
significantly remove debris from machining area that improves
ablation action of laser. This modification greatly improves
machinability of the process. Kang et al. [28] applied ultrasonic
vibration effect on surface finish of the samples machined by
nanosecond laser machining. They reported that ultrasonic action
can significantly improve the surface finish through decreasing the
adverse effect of recast layer.
Nevertheless, significant amount of work has been performed
for cutting of hard material by laser machining; micro machining of
titanium alloy i.e. Tie6Ale4V by laser assisted machining with
multiple factors has not been reported yet. In the present work, an
experimental study has been made aiming at understanding effect
of ultrasonic vibration on material removal rate and RLT. Experi-
ments are performed based on rotatable central composite design
taking into account effect of ultrasonic vibration amplitude, laser
power, gas pressure and pulse frequency. Analysis of variances is
carried out to find contribution of process factors on performance
measures. Finally, optimal parameter setting are identified by use
response surface methodology to maximize the MRR and minimize
the RLT.
2. Materials and method
2.1. Material and equipment
Experiments have been carried out on 2mm
75mm
150 mm
substrates made of Tie6Ale4V alloy. Fig. 1 represents specimens
before and after machining along with zoomed images from the
machined holes. A 1.5 kW AMADA CO2 laser machine with 1.06 mm
wavelength and continuous wave mode was utilized to pierce
workpiece. The laser beam was delivered into the cutting head by a
200 mm diameter optical fiber and it was focused by a 127 mm
focal length lens into a spot with a diameter of 1 mm. The air as
assisted gas was used coaxially to machining zone through a 2 mm
nozzle. During experiments the standoff distance was kept con-
stant on 2 mm.
In order to effectively apply ultrasonic vibration to the process,
the direction of vibration should be in line with laser beam. Since,
applying vibration to the laser head is impossible, the high-
frequency vibration has been applied to the workpiece. To do so,
an ultrasonic transducer with bending mode vibration has been
designed through 8 half rings of piezoelectric ceramics, a back-
mass, a front mass and clamping bolt. The piezoelectric rings are
connected to ultrasonic power supply which can produce a 180
phase shift to consecutively stimulate half-rings in both side of bolt.
The workpiece is attached to the ultrasonic horn to be vibrated in
bending mode directions. The exact dimensions of ultrasonic
actuator (except piezoelectric rings) have been obtained through
modal analysis in ABAQUS software. Fig. 2 presents a schematic
diagram machining setup.
2.2. Measurement
The material removal rate (MRR) and hole taper were consid-
ered as main output responses. The MRR has been calculated by
measuring workpiece mass loss divided to machining time for
cutting of entire thickness of the workpiece. The laser machine was
equipped with a photo diode system that can measure the
machining time as the lease beam passes the thickness of work-
pieces. The mass loss has been measured through a digital weight
balance with 0.001 g measuring accuracy.
The recast layer thickness of the machined samples has been
measured by use of scanning electron microscope (SEM) TESCAN by
capturing image from the top of each hole. The samples were firstly
polished with different grade of emery papers i.e. 200, 600, 1200,
and 2000. Final polishing was also carried out by diamond pol-
ishing paper with 1 mm grain size. The polished samples were
further etched by use of 2% Hydrofluoric acid (HF) etchant (as per
ASTM E407-07) then subjected to SEM observation for measure-
ment of recast layer thickens. The RLT has been calculated ac-
cording to following equation.
D2  D1
t¼ (1)
2
where D2 is the maximum diameter where the recast layer are
formed and D1 is the diameter of the hole.
 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287 281

Fig. 1. Machining samples (a) Specimens before and after machining (b) images from the holes' entrance.

power is less than 500 W, the material removal rate is very low and
comparing the result with respect to application of ultrasonic vi-
bration is not possible. However, the 500 W is a value that makes
the machining time completely comparable. On the other hand, at
power range further than 1000 W, due to excessive heat input, due
to high value of the energy density, the thickness of heat affected
zone and recast layer is very high that make the comparison
impossible. The frequency range and gas pressure have been
selected based on the results of Ghosal et al. [29]. They also used
similar range for machining of aluminum based matrix composite.

Table 1
Design of experiments and measured values of responses.
Fig. 2. A schematic illustration of experimental setup.
No A (mm) P (W) f (Hz) Q (MPa) MRR (mm3/min) RLT (mm)

1 0 500 800 0.15 0.877 447

2.3. Design of experiment 2 40 500 800 0.15 1.21 326
3 0 1000 800 0.15 1.069 603
4 40 1000 800 0.15 1.475 440
According to our laboratory experience and reviewed litera- 5 0 500 1200 0.15 1.122 523
tures; the main parameter influencing the laser machining per- 6 40 500 1200 0.15 1.548 381
formance has been identified. They are ultrasonic vibration 7 0 1000 1200 0.15 1.368 706
8 40 1000 1200 0.15 1.887 515
amplitude, laser power, pulse frequency and air pressure. The range
9 0 500 800 0.25 0.938 384
for selection of these parameters are based on our lab experience 10 40 500 800 0.25 1.294 280
and some reviewed literatures such as Gosal and Manna [29] on 11 0 1000 800 0.25 1.179 518
processing of hard material i.e. Al/Al2O3 metal matrix composite. 12 40 1000 800 0.25 1.627 378
The ultrasonic vibration amplitude range was selected between 13 0 500 1200 0.25 1.2 449
14 40 500 1200 0.25 1.656 327
0 and 40 mm. When the vibration amplitude is 0 mm, the process is
15 0 1000 1200 0.25 1.509 606
carried out without ultrasonic vibration; hence, this value makes it 16 40 1000 1200 0.25 2.082 442
possible to compare the performance measures with and without 17 0 750 1000 0.2 1.234 560
vibration. Also, it is found from the pilot experiments that when the 18 40 750 1000 0.2 1.702 408
amplitude reaches to 20 mm, comparison between two processes is 19 20 500 1000 0.2 1.443 378
20 20 1000 1000 0.2 1.709 510
possible. In other word, there is not highlight difference between 21 20 750 800 0.2 1.418 419
MRR of the samples drilled by conventional laser cutting and ul- 22 20 750 1200 0.2 1.814 490
trasonic assisted laser cutting when the amplitude is less than 23 20 750 1000 0.15 1.464 506
20 mm. As the experimental runs are designed based on central 24 20 750 1000 0.25 1.572 434
25 20 750 1000 0.2 1.616 464
composite design (CCD), the range corresponds to maximum value
26 20 750 1000 0.2 1.587 452
must be 40 mm. About the range of laser power it is decided to use 27 20 750 1000 0.2 1.633 460
values between 500 and 1000 W. As the ytterbium laser machine is 28 20 750 1000 0.2 1.6 468
used for machining of such material, the range of laser power 29 20 750 1000 0.2 1.578 459
30 20 750 1000 0.2 1.602 465
should be in a range further than 400 W [29]. However, as the laser
282 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287

Table 2
ANOVA results for MRR.

Source Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom Means of Squares F-Value Prob > F

Model 2.2 14 0.16 518 <0.0001

A 0.88 1 0.88 2912 <0.0001
P 0.38 1 0.38 1256 <0.0001
f 0.53 1 0.53 1761 <0.0001
Q 0.06 1 0.06 197 <0.0001
AP 8.79E-03 1 8.79E-03 29 <0.0001
Af 0.012 1 0.012 38 <0.0001
AQ 1.39E-03 1 1.39E-03 4.6 0.0492
Pf 5.22E-03 1 5.22E-03 17 0.0009
PQ 4.46E-03 1 4.46E-03 14 0.0016
fQ 8.27E-04 1 8.27E-04 2.7 0.1193
A2 0.046 1 0.046 150 <0.0001
P2 1.56E-03 1 1.56E-03 5.15 0.0384
f2 6.19E-04 1 6.19E-04 2.2 0.1734
Q2 0.018 1 0.018 58 <0.0001
Residual 4.54E-03 15 3.02E-4 e e
Lack-of-fit 2.58E-03 10 2.58E-4 0.66 0.7313
R2 ¼ 0.9979 R2Adjusted ¼ 0.9960 R2Predited ¼ 0.9932

Table 3
ANOVA results for HAZ thickness.

Source Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom Means of Squares F-Value Prob > F

Model 2.28
105 14 16260.5 927.5 <0.0001

A 93744.5 1 93744.5 5347.5 <0.0001
P 83096.06 1 83096.06 4740 <0.0001
f 23040.89 1 23040.89 1314 <0.0001
Q 21980.06 1 21980.06 1253 <0.0001
AP 1785.06 1 1785.06 101 <0.0001
Af 517.56 1 517.56 29 <0.0001
AQ 473.06 1 473.06 27 0.0001
Pf 473.06 1 473.06 27 0.0001
PQ 430.56 1 430.56 24.5 0.0002
fQ 126.56 1 126.56 7.22 0.0169
A2 1002.11 1 1002.11 57 <0.0001
P2 1071.2 1 1071.2 61.1 <0.0001
f2 250.53 1 250.53 14.3 0.0018
Q2 83.2 1 83.2 4.74 0.0457
Residual 262.96 15 17.5 e e
Lack-of-fit 103.63 10 10.6 0.33 0.9385
R2 ¼ 0.9988 R2Adjusted ¼ 0.9978 R2Adjusted ¼ 0.9969

Hence, in order to analyze the effect of these factors and to find
optimum parameter setting, response surface methodology has
been utilized. Number of 30 experiments has been carried based on
faced centered central composite design as shown in Table 1. The
experimental data are further used to derive response surface
model of process performance measures, analysis of variances and
optimization.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Development RSM models
Second order quadratic regression models have been developed
to correlate input output relationship between process factors and
output responses. The models include linear, interaction and
quadratic terms for both the responses. To derive such statistical
models, Design Expert statistical package has been utilized. Equa-
tions (2)e(4) represent mathematical models of MRR, RLT thickness
and taper, respectively. It should be pointed out that the developed
models in equations (2)e(4) have been reduced by elimination of
insignificant terms.

MRR ¼  0,577 þ 0,012A þ 4,48
104 P  4,61
104 f

þ 12,45Q þ 4,68
106 AP þ 6,73
106 Af  9,31

104 AQ þ 3,62
107 Pf þ 1,33
103 PQ  3,31

103 A2  3,92
107 P 2  33Q 2
(2)
Fig. 3. Perturbation plot showing effect of process factors on material removal rate.
 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287 283

In order to check the adequacy of developed model, analysis of

RLT ¼  101,7  3,65A  0,77P þ 0,67f  1122Q  2,11

103 AP  1,4
103 Af þ 5,43AQ þ 1,08
104 Pf
 0,41PQ  0,28fQ þ 0,05A2  3,25
104 P 2  2,45

104 f 2 þ 2266Q 2
(3)
where A is vibration amplitude, P is laser power, f is frequency and Q
is gas pressure.
variances with 95% confidence level has been carried out and rep-
resented in Tables 2 and 3. According to these tables, it can be inferred
that the ultrasonic vibration amplitude is the most significant factor
with great influence on material removal rate and recast layer
thickness. Also, R2 values for all the mathematical models are close to
the 100% that implies the models are significant well for prediction of
effect of process factors on laser machining performance.
According to the ANOVA results presented in Tables 2 and 3, the
Model F-value of 518.78 implies the model is significant. There is

Fig. 4. Interaction effect of process most effective factors on material removal rate (a) vibration amplitude and laser power (b) vibration amplitude and pulse frequency (c) laser
power and pulse gas pressure.
284 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287
Fig. 5. Perturbation plot showing effect of process factors on recast layer thickness.
only a 0.01% chance that a “Model F-Value” this large could occur
due to noise. Values of “Prob > F00 less than 0.0500 indicate model
terms are significant. In this case, for MRR, the terms i.e. A, P, f, Q, AP,
Af, AQ, Pf, PQ, A2, P2 and Q2 are significant. On the other hand, for
recast layet thickness, the terms i.e. A, P, f, Q, AP, Af, AQ, Pf, PQ, fQ, A2,
P2, f2 and Q2 are significant.
3.2. Parametric influence
3.2.1. Material removal rate
Fig. 3 represents a perturbation plot showing effect of laser
micro cutting parameters on material removal rate. According to
the figure, it is found that the ultrasonic vibration (curve A)
significantly improves the material removal rate. When, the vi-
bration amplitude is zero i.e. conventional cutting process, the
material removal is very low, as the ultrasonic vibration is super-
imposed to the process, the MRR is drastically increased at vibra-
tion amplitude of 20 mm and 40 mm. When the laser heat melts the
work surface, the molten material in the pool needs to be evacuated
to enhance the stability of the process. During melting of the ma-
terial by laser irradiation, once the melt pool reaches the critical
size, the destabilizing effects of the ultrasonic vibrations overcome
the surface tension and gravitational forces, breaking the melt pool
into fine droplets. This action significantly enhances the evacuation
action and improves material removal rate. In such condition, by
vibrating the work surface (at very high frequency level), expulsion
of debris from machining region is improved and causes further
MRR.
As demonstrated in Fig. 3, it is seen that the MRR increases by
increase of laser power (curve B). The laser machining is a non-
conventional machining process based on thermal energy. In-
crease of laser power, causes absorption of more thermal energy by
Fig. 6. Optical image of hole cross section for laser machining conditions (a) without ultrasonic assistance (b) with ultrasonic assistance.
workpiece that leads to melting of more material from the work
surface within given machining time. Hence, the material removal
rate increases.
According to Fig. 3, it is seen that the MRR increases by increase
of pulse frequency (curve C). By increasing the pulse frequency, the
wait time between two sequences of laser pulse is decreased. In
such condition, the non-cutting time within specified time of
machining is reduced causing further MRR.
Curve D of Fig. 3 demonstrates effect of gas pressure on MRR.
According to the figure, it is seen that increase of gas pressure up to
intermediate level causes increase MRR; however, by further in-
crease of gas pressure, the MRR slightly decreases. When the
assisted gas pressure increases, the stream of high flow air im-
proves removal of molten material from workpiece. In such con-
dition, the workpiece is prone to receive more energy from heating
source i.e. laser irradiation resulting higher MRR. Furthermore, at
very high level of gas pressure, due to its cooling action, the amount
of molten material is decreased. It means that cooling action of very
high pressure gas causes reduction of thermal energy absorbed by
workpiece and results to melting of less material within machining
time. Hence, the MRR is decreased.
Fig. 3 illustrates interaction effect of process factors on material
removal rate. In this figure the most effective parameters has been
considered for interaction effect analysis. It is seen from the figure
that in order to achieve the maximum material removal rate
maximum value of vibration amplitude, maximum value of laser
power pressure, maximum value of pulse frequency as well as in-
termediate value of gas pressure should be selected.
According to Fig. 4a, b, it is seen that great interaction exists
between vibration amplitude and laser power as well as vibration
amplitude and pulse frequency. This trend can be understood from
the ANOVA results of Table 2. As discussed, by increase of laser
power and pulse frequency, the amount of molten material is
increased due to further heat input; in such condition for expulsion
of molten material from the melt pool, further vibration amplitude
is required to provide momentum for expulsion. Hence, the high
interaction level for these settings is completely logical. On the
other hand, according to Fig. 4c and the ANOVA results of Table 2, it
is seen that the high interaction exists between the laser power and
gas pressure. As discussed, further gas pressure is required for
expulsion of high amount of molten material from the melting pool.
3.2.2. Recast layer thickness
Fig. 5 depicts a perturbation plot including effect of process
factors on the thickness of recast layer. According to the figure, it is
seen that by increase of ultrasonic vibration amplitude from zero
value to 40 mm, the thickness of recast is significantly reduced. As
the high-frequency vibration is applied with laser machining pro-
cess, the melt pool is evacuated by ultrasonic impact. In such
 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287 285

Fig. 7. Interaction effect of process most effective factors on recast layer thickness (a) vibration amplitude and laser power (b) vibration amplitude and pulse frequency (c) laser
power and pulse gas pressure.

condition, remaining of molten material in melt pool and subse- Table 4

quent resolidification is prevented. Hence, the thickness of recast Criteria utilized in the desirability based optimization process.
layer is decreased. Fig. 6 represents optical microscopy image of Factors/Responses Criterion
hole cross section for machining conditions by ultrasonic assistance
Vibration amplitude in range of 0e40 mm
and by conventional drilling. It is seen from the figure that the due Laser power In range of 500e1000 W
to better evacuation of molten material from melt pool, the size of Pulse frequency In range of 800e1200 Hz
recast layer and heat affected zone are apparently decreased. Gas pressure In range of 0.15e0.25 MPa
From the curves B and C of Fig. 5, it is seen that the recast layer Material removal rate Maximize
Recast layer thickness Minimize
thickness increases by increase of laser power and pulse frequency.
286 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287

Table 5
Results of confirmatory experiment under implementing optimal solution (A ¼ 40 mm, P ¼ 980 W, f ¼ 1200 Hz, Q ¼ 0.25 MPa).

MRR (mm3/min) RLT (mm)

Proposed method Experiment Error Proposed method Experiment Error

2.06 2.21 7.7% 439 481 9.6%

As the laser power and pulse frequency increases, further thermal

energy is absorbed by the workpiece. In such condition more ma-
terial are molten and resolidified during process. Hence, the
thickness of recast layer increases.
From the curve D of Fig. 5, it is found that the thickness of recast
layer increases by increase of gas pressure. As discussed previously,
increase of gas pressure provides appropriate force for evacuation
of molten material from melt pool. In such condition, by increase of
gas pressure less material remains in the melt pool to be resolidi-
fied. Hence, the thickness of the recast layer is decreased.
Fig. 7 represents interaction effect of process parameters on
recast layer thickness. The figure has been developed based on
most significant interaction terms according to the ANOVA results
presented in Table 3. It is seen from the figure that high interaction
exits between the laser power and power. As discussed, by increase
of laser power and pulse frequency, the amount of molten material
is increased due to further heat input; in such condition for
expulsion of molten material from the melt pool, further vibration
amplitude is required to provide momentum for expulsion and
enhancing the recast layer thickness. On the other hand, according
to Fig. 7c and the ANOVA results of Table 3, it is seen that the high
interaction exists between the laser power and gas pressure. As
discussed, further gas pressure is required for expulsion of high
amount of molten material from the melting pool. In such condition
the recast layer thickness is significantly decreased.
!1 P
Y
n = ri
D¼ dri i (6)
i¼1
where Y is the given response and Low and High are the minimum
and maximum value of the response, respectively. r is the number
of response and w is the weight factor.
Here, optimization is carried out to simultaneously maximize
the MRR and minimize the recast layer thickness. For achieving this
goal, the optimization criteria should be firstly identified. Table 4
has been constructed to emphasize the optimization criteria.
The optimization has been carried out using Deign Expert
commercial package and the optimal result with 78% desirability
value has been obtained. 40 mm vibration amplitude, 980 W laser
power, 1200 Hz modulation frequency, 0.25 MPa gas pressure were
selected as the optimal parameters that yields material removal
rate of 2.06 mm3/min and recast layer thickness of 439 mm.
The reliability of the proposed approach is proven by carrying
out the process with the optimized parameters. Table 5 compares
the experimentally measured MRR and RLT with the model pre-
dictions. It is clear from the table that the values of prediction error
for MRR and RLT are 7.7% and 9.6%, respectively. The result confirms
that the proposed approach has desired accuracy in optimization of
laser machining process.

3.3. Optimization
4. Conclusion
According to what presented in section 3.2, it is found that the
process parameter shows different behavior in variation of process In the present paper an experimental study based on response
performance measures i.e. material removal rate and recast layer surface methodology has been carried out to understand effect of
thickness. However, in order to obtain desired quality characteris- ultrasonic assisted laser micromachining process factor on material
tics for satisfying the maximum material removal rate, minimum removal rate and recast layer thickness of the micro holes fabri-
recast layer thickness, multi objective optimization has to be car- cated in Tie6Ale4V alloy. A summary of results can be described as
ried out. follows:
The desirability function approach was utilized in this study to
simultaneously optimize the MRR and recast layer thickness. By use  It is found from the results that increase of vibration amplitude,
of this approach, the multi-objective optimization problem is laser power, pulse frequency and gas causes further material
transformed into a single dimensionless optimization problem. removal rate due to increasing the thermal energy and better
Equations (4)e(6) express desirability for goals of minimum and expulsion of molten metal in machining area.
maximum along with overall objective functions, respectively [22].  Analysis of recast layer thickness showed that increase of vi-
bration amplitude and gas pressure causes less thickness due to
8
> better evacuation of molten material from the melt pool. On the
>
> Yi < Lowi
>
> 0 other hand, increase of laser power and modulation frequency
>
>
<  Y  Low w results to further recast layer thickness due to increase of
i i
di ¼ Lowi < Yi < Highi (4) thermal energy.
>
> Highi  Lowi
>
>  Optimization has been carried out for maximizing the MRR and
>
>
>
: 1 Yi > Highi minimizing the recast layer thickness. Results revealed that
selection of 40 mm vibration amplitude, 980 W laser power,
8 1200 Hz modulation frequency and 0.25 MPa gas pressure is an
>
> optimal parameter setting yields material removal rate of
>
> 1 Yi < Lowi
>
> 2 mm3/min and RLT of 439 mm. The desirability for this
>
<  Y  Low w
i i parameter setting is 78%. The obtained results were consistent
di ¼ Lowi < Yi < Highi (5)
>
> Highi  Lowi well with confirmatory experiments.
>
>  From ANOVA results, it is found that In this case, for MRR, the
>
>
>
: 0 Yi > Highi
terms i.e. A, P, f, Q, AP, Af, AQ, Pf, PQ, A2, P2 and Q2 are significant.
On the other hand, for recast layet thickness, the terms i.e. A, P, f,
Q, AP, Af, AQ, Pf, PQ, fQ, A2, P2, f2 and Q2 are significant.
 H. Abdollahi et al. / International Journal of Lightweight Materials and Manufacture 2 (2019) 279e287 287

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