Laser cutting of 2024-T3 aeronautic aluminium alloy

Since the beginning of the aeronautic industry aluminum alloys have played a crucial role in its development. Nowadays different aluminum alloy families are the base material of many pieces of aerospace vehicles. In this work, a novel approach of processing aluminium alloys is explored. Our efforts are aimed to cut 2024-T3 plates by a CO₂ laser. To accomplish this objective we used a novel laser cutting head assisted by a gas jet working in supersonic regime. This supersonic nozzle and the intrinsic geometry of the cutting head allow carrying out the processing of these alloys more efficiently than conventional cutting heads. The microstructural characterization, grain morphology, kerfs’ dimensions and surface finish of the cuts have been analyzed. The cut edges are free of heat affected zone, dross and cracks. These successful results confirm laser cutting processing assisted by a supersonic assisting gas jet as a hopeful technique in the aerospace field.