In laser cutting, quality is perceived as a combination of geometry of the cut face, its roughness and the existence of dross. Several parameters such as the caustic of the laser beam or properties of the gas jet influence this quality [1], [2]. Major impact however has the focal position of the laser beam. An in-situ determination of the focal position can be established by measuring the width of the kerf and translating it to the focal position. In this paper, results from kerf width measurements in CO2 laser cutting are compared to those from one micron fiber laser cutting. The experiments are based on cutting stainless steel with a thickness of 4 mm using nitrogen for melt ejection.

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© 2014 Laser Institute of America.
2014
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