CO Laser Cutting 2 John Powell CO Laser Cutting 2 With 103 Figures Springer-Verlag London Berlin Heidelberg New York Paris Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona Budapest Dr John Powell, DSc, DIC, CEng, CPhys Technical Director, Laser Expertise Limited, Unit H, Acorn Park Industrial Estate, Harrimans Lane, Nottingham NG72TR, UK Visiting Professor, Dept. of Materials Processing, Lulea University of Technology, S-951 87 Lulea, Sweden Academician, Engineering Academy of St. Petersburg, Russia Cover illustration: Ch. 5, Fig. 7b. Nozzle with a movable lens. ISBN-13: 978-1-4471-3386-5 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4471-3384-1 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4471-3384-1 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Powell, John CO Laser Cutting 2 I. Title 671.53028 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Powell, John, 1955- CO laser cutting/John Powell. 2 p. cm. Includes index. (Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York: acid-free paper). - (Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg: acid-free paper): $85.00 (approx.) 1. Laser beam cutting. 2. Carbon dioxide lasers - Industrial applications. I. Title. TJ1191.P68 1993 92-36190 671.5'3 - dc20 CIP Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 1993 The publisher and the author make no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Typeset by Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong 69/3830-543210 Printed on acid-free paper Contents Foreword .......................................... xi Introductiou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Acknowledgements .................................. xv Notes on the Units Used .............................. xvii 1. The Basic Principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 The Cutting Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1.1 Cutting Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1.2 How Materials Respond to Laser Light . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1.3 How CO Lasers Work. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . .. . 7 2 1.3.1 The Storage and Release of Energy from a CO Molecule .......................... 8 2 1.3.2 Lasing................................. 9 1.3.3 The Role of Nitrogen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1.3.4 The Role of Helium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1.3.5 Gas Mixture Cooling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 1.3.6 Gas Recirculation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 1.3.7 A Summary of the Basic Energy Exchanges in a CO Laser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 2 1.4 Laser Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1.4.1 Mode Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1.4.2 A Quick Guide to TEM Nomenclature. . . . . 18 1.4.3 The Effect of Laser Design on Mode and the Implications for Materials Processing. . . . . . . 18 2. Laser Cutting Steels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.1 Mild steels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.1.1 Introduction............................ 23 2.1.2 The Cutting Mechanism for Mild Steels. . . . . 24 2.1.3 Cutting Speeds and Cut Quality. . . . . . . . . . . 26 2.1.4 Cut Initiation and Termination. . . . . . . . . . . . 31 2.1.5 Techniques to Avoid Unwanted Material Burning................................ 35 2.1.6 The Effect of Sheet Surface Finish on the Cutting Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 vi Contents 2.1.7 The Importance of Axial Symmetry of the Energy Input to the Cutting Zone ......... 44 2.1.8 Pulsed Laser Cutting of Mild Steels. . . . . . . . 50 2.2 Alloy Steels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 2.2.1 Introduction............................ 56 2.2.2 Stainless Steels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 2.2.3 Low Alloy Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 2.2.4 Silicon Iron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 2.2.5 Free Cutting Steels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 2.2.6 Carbon Steels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 3. Cutting Non-ferrous Metals ..................... 71 3.1 Introduction.................................. 71 3.2 Titanium Alloys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . 74 3.2.1 Laser-Oxidation Cutting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 3.2.2 Laser-Inert Gas Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 3.3 Aluminium Alloys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 3.3.1 Introduction............................ 82 3.3.2 The Effect of Surface Condition on Cutting (Anodising etc.). . . . .. . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . 84 3.3.3 Pulsed Laser Cutting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 3.3.4 Piercing a High Reflectivity Metal. . . . . . . .. 86 3.4 Nickel Alloys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . ... 87 3.5 Copper Alloys ................................ 88 3.6 General Comments... ......................... 89 4. Cutting Non-metals ............................ 91 4.1 Introduction.................................. 91 4.1.1 Melt Shearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 4.1.2 Vaporisation............................ 91 4.1.3 Chemical Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 4.2 Polymers..................................... 93 4.2.1 Cutting by Melt Shearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 93 4.2.2 Cutting by Vaporisation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 4.2.3 Cutting by Chemical Degradation ......... 98 4.2.4 Cutting Speeds for Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 4.2.5 Cut Speed Forecasting for Polymers Using a Standard Processing Curve ............... 104 4.3 Wood Based Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 4.4 Ceramics and Glasses. . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 111 4.4.1 Ceramics............................... 111 4.4.2 Glasses................................ 113 4.5 Composites and Miscellaneous Materials. . . . . . . . . . 114 4.5.1 Composite Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . 114 4.5.2 Miscellaneous Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 5. Setting Up for Cutting. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 117 5.1 Introduction.................................. 117 5.2 Beam Alignment....... . ...... ................ 117 Contents vii 5.2.1 Introduction............................ 117 5.2.2 Taking a Beam Print. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 5.2.3 Alignment by the Beam Print Method...... 120 5.2.4 Alignment by use of a ReNe Laser... ..... 125 5.3 Finding the Focus Position. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. 128 5.3.1 Introduction............................ 128 5.3.2 The Blue Flash Test ..................... 129 5.3.3 The Drilling Test. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 130 5.4 Nozzles and Nozzle Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 131 5.4.1 General Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 5.4.2 Practical Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 5.4.3 Nozzle Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 134 5.4.4 The Gas Dynamics of Nozzles. .. . . . . . . . .. . 138 5.5 Jigging....................................... 144 5.5.1 Methods of Supporting the Workpiece. . . . . 144 5.5.2 Laser Cut Supports. . . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. .. . . . 145 5.5.3 Chutes................................. 146 5.5.4 Overlay Jigging for Flimsy Materials. . . . . . . 146 5.5.5 Clamps and Vices ....................... 146 5.6 Tuning the Laser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 5.6.1 Fine Tuning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 5.6.2 Mode Prints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 5.6.3 Use of a Laser Beam Analyser. . . . . . . . . . . . 150 5.6.4 Laser Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 150 6. Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 6.1 Introduction and Checklist. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 6.2 Notes on Checklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 6.2.1 Nozzle Contamination .................. 153 6.2.2 Laser Power Level and Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 6.2.3 Cutting Speed ......................... 155 6.2.4 Cutting Gas Type, Pressure and/or Flow Rate.................................. 155 6.2.5 Nozzle-Material Standoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 6.2.6 Nozzle Type, Condition and Alignment ... 156 6.2.7 Material Specification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 6.2.8 Lens Type, Condition and Alignment ..... 160 6.2.9 Laser Mode Quality............... ..... 162 6.2.10 External Mirror Condition and Alignment 163 7. Safety GuideUnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 7.1 Introduction.................................. 165 7.2 Beam Exposure.... .. ... . . ... .. ...... . ........ 166 7.2.1 Skin Damage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 7.2.2 Eye Safety ............................. 167 7.3 Fumes....................................... 168 7.3.1 Metals................................. 168 7.3.2 Non-metals............................. 170 7.4 Electrocution................................. 171 7.5 Fires......................................... 172 viii Contents 8. Alternative Cutting Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 8.1 Nd: Y AG Laser Cutting ........................ 173 8.1.1 The Principle of Operation of Nd: YAG Lasers. . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . 175 8.2 Plasma Arc Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 8.3 Abrasive Water Jet Cutting ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 8.3.1 Abrasive-Free Fluid Jets ................. 184 8.4 Oxygen-Flame Cutting........................ 184 8.5 A Summary of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Process Compared with CO Laser Cutting. . . 186 2 9. The Physics and Design of CO2"L asers ............ 189 9.1 Introduction.................................. 189 9.2 The Physics of CO Lasers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 2 9.2.1 The CO Energy Spectrum............... 190 2 9.2.2 Interactions in a Pure CO Laser. . . . . . . . . . 191 2 9.2.3 The Role of Nitrogen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 9.2.4 The Role of Helium ..................... 194 9.2.5 The Energy Cycle of Mixed Gas CO 2 Lasers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. 195 9.2.6 Population Inversion.. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 9.2.7 Laser Modes and TEM Nomenclature...... 197 9.3 Aspects of the Design of CO Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 2 9.3.1 Introduction............................ 200 9.3.2 Methods of Exciting the Lasing Gas Mixture. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 9.3.3 Methods of Cooling the Lasing Gas Mixture. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . 201 9.3.4 Designs of Optical Cavity. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . 202 10. Some Aspects of the Physics and Chemistry of Laser Cutting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . 205 10.1 Introduction.................................. 205 10.2 The Energy Balance in the Cut Zone and Its Relationship to the Efficiency of the Process. . . . . . . 206 10.2.1 The Effect of Decreasing the Material Thickness on Cutting Speeds. . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 10.2.2 The Limits on Material Thickness ........ 209 10.2.3 The Implications of the Energy Balance Argument to Changes in Laser Power. . . . . 210 10.3 The Role of Oxidation when Cutting Steels ....... 211 10.3.1 Mild Steel. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 211 10.3.2 Stainless Steel ......................... 213 10.4 Conductive Losses Experienced when Cutting Steels........................................ 215 10.5 Notes on Reflected, Transmitted, Radiated and Convective Losses from the Cut Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 10.5.1 Reflected and Transmitted Losses. . . . . . . . 218 10.5.2 Radiation and Convective Losses. . . . . . . . . 222 Contents ix 10.6 Notes on the Focusing Characteristics of CO 2 Lasers....................................... 225 10.6.1 Theoretical Focused Spot Size and Depth of Focus .............................. 225 10.6.2 The Discrepancy Between Theory and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 10.6.3 Concluding Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 11. Bibliography and Further Reading. . . .. . . . . . . . ... 231 11.1 Conference Proceedings and Journals ............ 231 11.1.1 Conference Proceedings... . . .. . . . . .. . ... 231 11.1.2 Journals............................... 232 11.2 Books........................................ 233 11.3 Specific Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 11.3.1 General Reviews of Laser Processing and Cutting ............................... 234 11.3.2 Cutting Metals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 11.3.3 Cutting Non-metals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 11.3.4 Theoretical Analyses of the Cutting Process ............................... 236 11.3.5 CO Lasers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 2 11.3.6 Nozzle Design and Gas Dynamics........ 237 11.3.7 Laser Beam Analysis. . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . 237 11.3.8 Alternative Cutting Methods.. . ... .. . . . . . 237 11.4 Miscellaneous References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Subject Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Foreword The laser has given manufacturing industry a new tool. When the laser beam is focused it can generate one of the world's most intense energy sources, more intense than flames and arcs, though similar to an electron beam. In fact the intensity is such that it can vaporise most known materials. The laser material processing industry has been growing swiftly as the quality, speed and new manufacturing possibilities become better understood. In the fore of these new technologies is the process of laser cutting. Laser cutting leads because it is a direct process substitu tion and the laser can usually do the job with greater flexibility, speed and quality than its competitors. However, to achieve these high speeds with high quality con siderable know how and experience is required. This information is usually carefully guarded by the businesses concerned and has to be gained by hard experience and technical understanding. Yet in this book John Powell explains in lucid and almost non technical language many of these process wrinkles concerning alignment, cornering, pulsing, water jets, material properties, cutting speeds as well as tricks with surface coating and much much more. It is a book which managers and technicians in laser job shops and laser processing facilities would be foolish not to read. John Powell has been working with lasers since the 1970s. He is one of the most experienced specialists in the subject of laser cutting today. He was awarded one of the early doctorates in the subject of laser material processing while working with me at Imperial College. He is now the Technical Director of one of the more successful laser job shops in the UK. Perhaps reading the book will tell the reader why his business is successful. He is also a visiting Professor to the University of Lulea in Sweden, an Academician of the Engineering Academy of St. Petersburg and a well known character at many laser conferences. Certainly the book helps the whole subject to take a step forward and not become constipated in secrecy. There is much more to learn about laser material processing for it is the application of a new energy source with the new horizons that must open for us. This book is a step on this long and exciting journey that has just xii Foreword begun. But apart from all that this book is a pleasure to read - so learn, enjoy and relax in John Powell's down to earth style! W.M. Steen James Bibby Professor of Engineering Manufacture, Mechanical Engineering Department, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX