Design, fabrication and testing of an off-axial gas jet nozzle for enhanced laser cutting Available to Purchase

Cutting is the single largest application of lasers in manufacturing. Laser cutting of metals, composites, polymers and ceramics is finding increasing use in industrial applications but a need exists to improve the cutting speed and to extend the cutting thickness without deteriorating the quality of cut. A new off-axial, gas-jet is developed that has the potential to extend the laser’s effectiveness by improving the rate at which parts can be machined, producing high quality surfaces, enhancing the cutting thickness and adding to the range of materials that can be machined. The principle of the off-axial, gas-jet is to provide “straight, non-turbulent flow” to the cutting erosion front causing further oxidation reactions and imparting momentum transfer to the molten slag and dross and thereby improving the cutting speed and the quality of cut. The design features of the off-axial nozzle including the shape, size, gas impinging angle with respect to the erosion front, gas pressure and velocity at the exit of nozzle, and the distance between the nozzle and the laser beam are described. Successful test results of the off-axial nozzle to the laser cutting of stainless steels in the laboratory have been presented.