m





  






 ‡

  





 


‡Laserbeam machining process uses highly coherent light

source.

‡Thisbeam can be focused by means of a lens on a very

small spot in the work piece.

‡The high power radiation of laser gives rise to high

temperature on a small area of work piece. This initiates
the cutting process in the work material.

‡The equipment consists of ruby crystal placed inside a

flash lamp. The flash lamp is used to produce high
intensity light rays.

The ruby crystal is thus simulated and this produces
highly spatial laser beam. When the rays hit the work
surface it causes partial or complete vaporization of
surface material.
ï





—on-reflective workpiece surfaces are
preferable

Sharp corners are difficult to produce; deep

cuts produce tapers

Consider the effects of high temperature on

the workpiece material

Laser Beam Machining (LBM) is thermal
processes considering the mechanisms of
material removal.

Laser Beam Machining or more broadly laser

material processing deals with machining and
material processing like heat treatment, alloying,
cladding, sheet metal bending.

Laser stands for light amplification by stimulated

emission of radiation.

As laser interacts with the material, the energy of

the photon is absorbed by the work material
leading to rapid substantial rise in local
temperature. This in turn results in melting and
vaporisation of the work material and finally
material removal.
‡Similarly as can be seen in Fig. 9.6.1, laser beams can
be focused over a spot size of 10 ± 100 ȝm with a
power density as high as 1 MW/mm2.
‡Electrical discharge typically provides even higher
power density with smaller spot size.
‡EBM and LBM are typically used with higher power
density to machine materials. The mechanism of
material removal is primarily by melting and rapid
vaporisation due to intense heating by the electrons
and laser beam respectively.

Laser can be used in wide range of manufacturing
applications
Material removal ± drilling, cutting and tre-panning
Welding
Cladding
Alloying

Drilling micro-sized holes using laser in difficult to

machine materials is the most dominant application in
industry.

In laser drilling the laser beam is focused over the

desired spot size. For thin sheets pulse laser can be
used. For thicker ones continuous laser may be used.
à








 
V Typical application

żMaterial removal-Cutting
żWelding
żCladding
żSoldering
 
 


vaporization

melt and blow

melt blow and burn

thermal stress cracking

scribing

cold cutting

burning stabilized laser cutting

 


LBW is a versatile process, capable of

welding carbon steels, HSLA
steels, stainless steel, aluminum,
and titanium

The weld quality is high.

 


A method of depositing material by which a powdered or

wire feedstock material is melted and consolidated by use
of a laser in order to coat part of a substrate or fabricate a
near-net shape part.

It is often used to improve mechanical

properties or increase corrosion
resistance, repair worn out parts, and
fabricate metal matrix composites.

The powder used in laser cladding is

normally of a metallic nature, and is
injected into the system by either coaxial
or lateral nozzles.
   


A technique where a laser is used to melt and solder an

electrical connection joint. Diode laser systems based on
semiconductor junctions are used for this purpose.

The beam is delivered via an optical fiber to the

workpiece,
with fiber Since the beam out of the end of the fiber
diverges rapidly, lenses are
used to create a suitable spot
size on the workpiece at a
suitable working distance. A
wire feeder is used to supply
solder.
  
w

  





]Easier workholding
]Reduced contamination of workpiece
]Reduced chance of warping the material that
is being cut
]High precision (more precise and using less
energy when cutting sheet metal compared to
plasma machining)

 





' Consume electricity (eg. A typical 1500-watt
CO2 laser will have a running cost in the region of
£10 - £20 per hour.)
' High initial capital cost
' High maintenance cost
' High purity gas (for the laser generating chamber)
' Limited thickness of sheet metal can cut out
compared to plasma machining
' Presence of Heat Affected Zone ± specially in gas
assist CO2 laser cutting
' Thermal process ± not suitable for heat sensitive
materials like aluminium glass fibre laminate
w  
 
 
ÿPress tools (working on the shearing principle) are a
very quick and efficient way to produce components from
sheet or strip stock in large quantities, they are however
time consuming to set up and expensive to tool.

ÿMachining and forming process, such as combining of

laser cutting and punching of sheet metal

ÿeg. turret punch presses have been equipped with an

integrated laser head; the machine can punch or laser cut,
but it cannot do both simultaneously
] —ew laser cutters have positioning accuracy of
10 micrometers and repeatability of 5
micrometers.

] This process is capable of holding quite close

tolerances, often to within 0.001 inch (0.025
mm) Part geometry and the mechanical
soundness of the machine have much to do
with tolerance capabilities. The typical surface
finish resulting from laser beam cutting may
range from 125 to 250 micro-inches (0.003
mm to 0.006 mm)
] Surface roughness is an effective parameter
representing the quality of machined surface.

] surface roughness value reduces on

increasing cutting speed and frequency, and
decreasing the laser power and gas pressure

] surface roughness value was found to be

reduced on increasing pressure in case of
nitrogen and argon but air gives poor surface
beyond 6 bar pressure. Also, surface finish
was better at higher speeds.
] The surface roughness is minimum and
laser power has a small effect on
surface roughness but no effect on
striation frequency

] Micromachining of 0.5 mm thick —dFeB

ceramic (magnetic material) using
pulsed —d:YAG laser gives better
surface finish in water as compared to
air



Depend on number of parts manufactured on

that machine

One laser produced and used in different

machine, can reduce investment costs of laser

Reduce time of production of laser, hence

reduce steps to setting up machine

By increasing the technological compactness,

different machining process can be done in
one machine

Since the machining procedure is done

continuously, the total time to produce is
reduced, less time for more production




Time for laser use is less than cutting

times

Laser is shared on different machine,

production rate increase

Time-sharing will lead to reducing cost

If we adjust intensity or power of laser, it

is possible to be used based on different
technology on different machines, for
the same laser source




Hardening process was replaced by laser±

hardening.

Cost is saved due to integration of process.

Less reworking because less distortion

occurred when hardening in final
processing.

It is beneficial if the production can be

taken in integrated process as switching
half-finished product to another station for
finishing will waste time.

Perspectives of applications of micro-
machining utilizing water jet-guided laser.
- It is accurate, produce small cutting radius
- temperature-controlled which no burns on
work piece
- without producing impurities

3D LDM machining such as turning and

milling
- controlling different/ many laser in different
angles

Improving laser quality to cut difficult-to-cut

materials

Develop the models with no or very few
assumptions to get the real solution of the LBM
problems quantitatively.
- optimization of process variables.
- consider about beam spot diameter, thermal
conductivity and reflectivity of work piece
material

Hybrid or integration of LBM with other

machining methods.

Solve the weakness of laser : thermal process

- burns on material hence affect mechanical
properties.
- surface is not perfect from aspect of
roughness, parallelism and flatness due to
burining.



 COHERE—T
Laser Beam
Machining Centre
(LMC)
 i




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Extremely reliable ,
inexpensive to run ,
provide over 20,000
hours of cutting
ü
  before requiring
 service.





!"

Compared
to

require an external gas source to Flow-through

supply gas flowing through the laser
Gas Lasers
 Less charring when
faster vaporization
cutting materials such as
of materials, higher
paper, and less melting
processing speeds when cutting materials
and deeper cuts. such as polymers.
Control to harness
the power of each
pulse and maximize
material processing
efficiency

Allows a 500W model, which Pulsing gives accurate and

generates 1500W peak power, to
produce instantaneous intensities
of up to 0.3 MW/mm2 at the
material
reduces the Heat Affected
Zone due to lower thermal
conduction
essential control over how
much and how fast energy
is delivered for material
processing by using
dedicated microprocessor

Allowing smaller focus spot

Allow square-wave pulsing
sizes (highly focused spot
characteristics
(.00V diameter)


 


 


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