Talk:Laser cutting
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[edit] New user
I have a few edits for this article, nothing major just a couple extensions regarding assist gases and so on. I am, however a newbie here so before I change anything, any objections or concerns from more seasoned folks? Protolam 21:22, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] heat effects
I have a dissagreement with the statement "There is also a reduced chance of warping the material that is being cut as laser systems have a small heat affected zone."
a laser effectivly cuts by superheating and therefore melting/vaporising its target, whereas more traditional cutting methods use abrasives which may cause localised heating but this is a side-effect of the cutting process rarther then beign the cutting process, as is the case with lasers. Also in mechanical cutting the cutting head conducts a significant amount of the heat generated by the cutting process. drills & saws can be designed to dissapate heat, while laser cutters clearly cant.
from my experience as an engineer i feel that perhaps the biggest dissadvantage of the laser is the heat issue and i would suggest this be a candidate for ammendment to the article.
I would welcome other peoples suggestions on this matter. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 193.63.48.253 (talk) 12:07, 10 March 2007 (UTC).
- I've never handled a warped piece from a laser cut, nor heard anyone in a laser shop whine about the laser's HAZ. Are you a manufacturing engineer with specific, hands-on experience programming or designing a process that would cause you to evaluate it in such a way? - Toastydeath 19:10, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
Hi - If we are looking at Carbon dioxide laser cutting of metals the temperatures reached by the melt are way below the boiling point - in fact boiling is a trivial contributor to the material removal process (if the laser boiled the metal the process would be very slow) - what we have got is a situation where the the laser melts the metal and we blow a high pressure gas jet (generally nitrogen) onto the melt to remove it from the cut zone. This melt removal process also transports the vast majority of the heat out of the cut zone (the laser heat stays in the ejected melt) - only a small amount of heat is conducted sideways into the workpiece - which is why, for example, you can often pick up a laser cut part directly after it has been cut. The amount of heat absorbed by the part increases if any of the following increase; 1. Material conductivity (so copper cut parts get hotter than steel ones) 2. Material thickness (the laser has to travel slower and this gives more time for heat to escape from the cut zone) 4 the amount of detail being cut (all those changes of direction slow the laser down and cutting repeatedly in the same area means the laser is in that area is exposed to the laser beam for longer). In general though, it is true that heat affected zones for laser cut parts are small (approx 25% of the material thickness) and that thermal distortion is rarely a problem. ----
