Laser-assisted milling of advanced materials

Abstract

Advanced high-strength materials offer a huge application potential within highly stressed components in various industrial areas. But their machinability is still limited when applying established and conventionally available technologies. Aiming at the reduction of process forces, increased material removal rates and longer tool service life without application of cooling lubricants the Fraunhofer IPT has developed a novel process concept for laser-assisted milling with local laser-induced material plastification before cutting. The following paper comprises the novel process approach, fundamental process investigations, the design of a spindle-tool system with integrated beam guidance, laser control and first investigations with the new system

Modeling and optimization of laser cutting operations

“…Similar work is reported for Al-Alloy sheets [10]. Brecher et al [2] developed a novel process concept for Laser Assisted Milling (LAM) with local laser induced material plastification before cutting. Results are presented for Nickle based alloy Inconel 718 using TiAlN coated cemented carbide cutting tool.…”

“…Applications of laser sheet cutting include aerospace, automobile, shipbuilding, electronic and nuclear industries. The intense laser light is capable to melt almost all materials [2]. Laser cutting is a thermal energy based non-contact process, therefore does not require special fixtures and jigs to hold the work piece.…”

“…Nd:YAG laser is an optically pumped solid state laser, working at a wavelength of 1.06 lm. CO 2 laser is an electrically pumped gas laser that radiates at wavelength of 10.6 lm [2,4]. CO 2 laser is used in fine cutting of sheet metals at high speeds as it has high average beam power, better efficiency and good beam quality.…”

Heat-Assisted Machining

“…Investigations on the temperature-dependent material behavior revealed a significant loss of material strength above a certain temperature level for high-strength metal alloys (Figure 1). The application of intense laser radiation as a thermal tool was found to be one of the suitable heating methods in hot machining (11,12). Induction heating is another low-cost and clean method that is very suitable for milling operations (13) and arc heating in the case of turning (14).…”

Computational Study of Ultrasonically-Assisted Turning of Ti Alloys

“…However, the main obstacle in the application of these alloys in modern industries is that structures and components in Ti alloys are graded as hard-to-cut materials, particularly in turning [1]. Conventional turnning (CT) of Ti alloys produces high temperature and cutting forces which are the main reason for excessive wear of the cutting edge, pre-mature tool failure and lack of dimensional accuracy.…”