Investigation of the Effect of Oxygen Content in the Auxiliary Process Gas on the Quality and Speed of Laser Cutting of Steel Sheets

Abstract

An experimental study of the effect of the content of the oxygen in the auxiliary process gas on the laser cutting speed and the quality of the cut-off zone surface was made. For the research, the auxiliary technological gases of the brand LAZAL, produced by Air Liquide (99.95% oxygen content) and Energo grade (99.7% oxygen content), were used. For the experiments, a low-carbon steel with a thickness of 8 mm and 3 mm was used. The main objective of the study was to increase the productivity of laser equipment by increasing the cutting speed. It is established that the use of oxygen in laser cutting as an auxiliary gas makes it possible to increase the cutting speed, to decrease the power of the laser installation, or to increase the thickness of the cut metal at the same power.