Empirical modelling of laser texturing of 304L stainless steel

The automotive industry needs for tools with textured metallic surfaces increased progressively during the last years. In response to these needs, the texturing process has evolved in view to build specific surface aspect: materials as wood, leather, fabric and so on. The replacement of classical technologies by laser technology allows a big machining flexibility, the absence of mechanical contact with the tool, the decrease of the effluents volume and a big machining precision including also the complex forms, as it is the case of injection moulds. This paper reports the experimental study of the laser texturing of 304L stainless steel. The operating factors influence on the laser texturing process was studied by the response surface methodology (RSM). Empirical models have been established. They allow a correlation between process control factors and the objective functions (roughness, removal rate,…). The developed models show that the laser pulse energy is the most important machining factor followed by pulse frequency. These models can be used for the factors process values selection in order to get the desired values of the objectives functions.