Assist gases for laser cutting of steels

Laser cutting is now well established as the principal industrial application of high power CO₂ lasers, cutting a wide range of engineering materials. The coaxial assist gas jet is a fundamental part of the laser cutting process. The process assist gas has generally been regarded as a commodity item with little realisation of its impact on the cutting process. Experimental results have shown that the purity of the assist gas can significantly affect cutting productivity and even cut quality.

The vast majority of laser cutting applications are in cutting steel, both C-Mn and stainless steel. This paper highlights the importance of the choice of assist gas and its purity on the cutting of these materials.