Influence of the Dross Formation of the Laser-Cut Edge on the Fatigue Strength of AISI 304

Abstract

Laser cutting is a thermal cutting process based on material melting that results in characteristic features of the cut edge. The dross in particular is a crucial quality-determining feature which occurs especially when processing higher sheet thicknesses. The influence of the dross geometry on the fatigue behavior of AISI 304 was investigated in this work. Using iterative experimental design, samples with different dross geometries were produced by varying laser cutting parameters. Four characteristic dross geometries were identified and used to classify manufacturing parameters: dross-free, small droplets, large droplets and very coarse dross. Fatigue tests were performed up to 107 load cycles and revealed a dependence of the fatigue behavior on the dross geometries due to their different notch effects. It was found that the dross dominated the fatigue strength only above a certain dross height. At low dross heights, the surface relief of the cut edge dominated fatigue strength. The different cut edge properties (surface relief and dross) depend on the process parameters during laser cutting. Gas pressure and feed rate in particular showed a significant influence. The findings of this work provide information about the fatigue behavior’s dependence on dross geometry, which can be transferred to higher sheet thicknesses or complex sample geometries.