Effects of the laser cutting parameters on the micro-hardness and on the heat affected zone of the mi-hardened steel

Abstract

High power CO2 laser cutting of 6 mm thick C45 steel sheets is investigated with the aim of evaluating the effect of the various laser cutting parameters such as laser power and cutting speed, on the laser cutting quality. In this study, cutting quality was evaluated by measuring the thickness of the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), the microhardness beneath the cut surface (HV) and the cut section roughness. A simple and practical model was proposed to predict the thickness of the HAZ and the microhardness as a function of two, namely parameters; laser power and cutting speed. The adequacy of the proposed models was tested by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Experimental data were compared with modelling data to verify the capability of the proposed model. The results indicate that laser power and cutting speed are determinant cutting-parameters on the HAZ thickness and microhardness beneath the cut section.