Study on the Role of Supersonic Nozzle in Fiber Laser Cutting of Stainless Steel

Abstract

Striation-free laser cutting, especially for thick section steel, is hard to obtain due to several factors. The inside shape of the gas nozzle is considered to be one of the most vital factors in striation-free fiber laser cutting. 0.8 mm normal nozzle and a supersonic nozzle are used to cut 0.8 mm AISI316L stainless steel (022Cr17Ni12Mo2) separately. The orthogonal experiment takes nozzle standoff distance, cutting speed, Laser power and gas pressure as its impacting factors. The same orthogonal table is adopted in different condition, using normal nozzle and using supersonic nozzle. In the mean time, Ar gas is used as assisted cutting gas in the experiment. The data from this experiment show that supersonic nozzle seems to be a strong helper for fiber laser cutting. Feed rate’s effect seems stable and inconspicuous under the condition of using supersonic nozzle.