Modern manufacturing processes or equipment - Laser Cutting Research Paper

Modern manufacturing processes or equipment - Laser Cutting - Research Paper Example The molten material is removed from the cutting front through a pressurized gas jet (Dahotre and Harimkar, 2008). The pressurized assist gas also facilitates material removal through chemical reaction such as by oxidizing the material. The process of material cutting proceeds through the cutting front movement across the plane of the material. The motion of either the work piece and/or focused beam relative to each other executes the process. It is important to note that laser cutting is a repeatable, reliable, and high-speed technique that can be applied to materials of various thicknesses and types to generate very clean-cuts with narrow widths. The process is specifically suited as a semi or fully automated cutting process for high production volumes. Initially, the industrial application of laser cutting involved the cutting of slots in die boards using a 200W laser. Today, laser machines are able to cut a wide variety of metallic materials including superalloys, brass, aluminum, steels, and copper, and nonmetallic materials such as quartz, rubber, cloth, wood, plastic, and ceramic (Dahotre and Harimkar, 2008). Borade (2012) states that the laser cutting process entails laser beam emission when stimulated by a lasing material (radio frequency or a gas). The stimulation is effected when the lasing material is exposed to electrical charges an enclosure. Once the stimulation of laser material occurs, the beam is reflected and bounced off from a partial mirror. The beam is permitted to gather sufficient energy and strength before being released as a jet of monochromatic consistent light. The light further goes through the lens, and is focused to form an intense beam that is less than 0.0125 of an inch in diameter. The width of the beam can be adjusted based on the material to be cut. The width can be as small as 0.004 inches. The surface material’s point of