Cutting and Gouging

Job knowledge 53:

Job knowledge for welders
Laser cutting: process variants
Laser cutting offers a high precision,
CNC controlled method of cutting
plastic, metallic and thin ceramic
components. It is a mechanised,
thermal, non-contact process capable
of cutting most materials with a high
degree of precision and accuracy.
There are two commonly used types
of industrial cutting laser, CO
2
and
Nd:YAG. These differ in that the
wavelength of infrared light
produced is 10.6m for CO
2
lasers
and 1.06m for Nd:YAG lasers. Both
these types of lasers produce the
cut by focusing a beam of monochromatic light to a very small spot size by lenses
and mirrors giving power densities in the up to 10
5
W/mm
2
. This power density is
sufficient to melt locally or even vaporise most materials. Once a through
thickness zone of molten or vaporised material is generated (a keyhole), a jet of
assist gas, delivered co-axially through the cutting nozzle, is used to eject this
material from the kerf. (Fig 1).

Fig.1. Laser cutting head
The characteristics of the laser cutting process relate to the fact that the beam
can be focused to a spot of less than 0.5mm diameter to achieve these very high
power densities. The resulting cut edge is very square and the process is capable
of cutting at very high speeds. The combination of an intensely concentrated heat
source moving at high speeds also results in very little heat being transmitted to
the surrounding material and, therefore, very little thermal distortion of parts.
The difference in wavelength between the two types of lasers is significant in that
the shorter wavelength of the Nd:YAG laser enables the light to be transmitted to

the workpiece by fibre optics allowing three dimensional cutting or trimming of
parts.
Light from CO
2
lasers on the other hand are transmitted to the workpiece by
mirrors or transmissive optics. Although three dimensional cutting systems are
available for CO
2
lasers they are relatively cumbersome compared to fibre
delivered Nd:YAG lasers and CO
2
lasers are more commonly used for two
dimensional flat bed cutting.
Assist gases
The types of assist gases used to eject the material from the kerf can be classified as
either reactive or inert. The CO
2
gas used in CO
2
lasers is not the assist gas, but
one of the gases excited to produce the laser light in the lasing cavity, usually quite
a distance from the cutting process head. The most commonly used reactive assist
gases are oxygen or air. Oxygen is used primarily for cutting low alloy steels and
readily reacts with iron at high temperatures producing additional heat energy which
enables thicker parts to be cut or greater speeds to be achieved. This gas is
delivered at relatively low pressures and flow rates and the process is referred to as
'low pressure oxygen cutting'.
Inert assist gases commonly used are either nitrogen or argon. These provide no
thermal assistance to the cutting process and are used simply to blow the molten
material out of the kerf. They are used at pressures of around 10 bar and the
process is referred to as 'high pressure inert gas cutting'. Inert gases can be used
for alloys which readily oxidise in the presence of oxygen such as stainless steel,
aluminium or titanium to give a very bright and clean cut edge. Occasionally, inert
gases are recommended for cutting low alloy steels where the edges are to be
subsequently laser welded. This reduces the formation of an oxidised layer on the
face of the cut edge and will reduce porosity in the resulting weld.
Cut quality
The precision or dimensional accuracy of a cut is important as it helps to ensure
correct part tolerances and fit-up, thus eliminating rework or secondary processing
operations further down the production line. The main criteria used to assess the
quality of a cut, together with typical values for lasers areas follows.
Kerf
Defined as the width of the cut at its widest point in millimetres, the kerf gives an
indication of the minimum internal radius or feature that can be cut. Laser cuts
possess a narrow to very narrow kerf width (0.5-1.0mm) for CO
2
and Nd:YAG lasers
respectively.
Cut edge roughness, Rz,mm
Cut edge roughness is used to define the cosmetic appearance of a cut and can give
an indication of whether subsequent machining operations are necessary. It is
determined by an Rz value in microns (also known as the ISO 10 point height
parameter). This is a measure of the surface roughness transverse to the cut edge

produced by traversing at 2/3 depth with a stylus and taking an average value. Both
CO
2
and Nd:YAG processes produce cuts with a low edge roughness (<50m).
Cut edge squareness, U
Edge squareness is of interest because it gives an indication of the fit-up between
two components and whether any post cutting machining operations will be
necessary. It is defined in terms of the Perpendicularity and Angularity tolerance, U
(mm). This is a measure, in millimetres, of how much the cut edge deviates from a
perfect square edge. CO
2
and Nd:YAG lasers are capable of producing cuts with
good edge squareness (<0.5mm). This is highlighted in Fig. 2.

Fig.2. Relative edge squareness
of laser and competing
processes for carbon steels
Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) width
HAZ width is defined as the width of a detectable microstructural change measured
perpendicular to the cut edge face. This is only applicable to alloys that are
hardenable or heat treatable. The width of the HAZ is of interest because, due to the
potential degradation of properties and this material may have to be removed before
final assembly of the product. The concentrated heat source produced by both CO
2

and Nd:YAG lasers produces a very narrow HAZ (<0.5mm).
Dross
Dross describes the resolidified material that adheres to the bottom edge of a cut
produced by a thermal process. Levels of dross are quantified subjectively, with none,
light, medium and heavy being the terms used most commonly. For laser cutting,
dross is light provided the cutting parameters are optimised.



Economics of laser cutting processes
Whilst most suited for precision cutting of thin sheet in the 1-15mm thickness range,
both CO
2
and Nd:YAG laser cutting systems require high capital investment. The
cost of purchasing laser equipment can range from 50k-250k depending on the
output power requirements of the system. Precision work handling equipment is
required if a laser is to be used to its full potential, in terms of cutting speed and
quality. When combined with a chiller unit, this can add a further 100k to the cost
of implementing a laser system.
As a result, laser cutting systems typically are used where high cut quality
requirements make their application essential, or where the initial investment is
offset by the high production rates that can be reached as a result of their high
cutting speeds on thin sheet materials as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig.3. Cutting Speeds of laser and
competing processes for carbon
steels
For low production volumes, sub-contracting work to laser job shops can offer an
attractive alternative to such an investment.
This article was prepared by David Howse and Andrew Woloszyn











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