Effect of Pulse Length on Engraving Efficiency in Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Engraving of Stainless Steel

Abstract

Dependency of laser pulse length on the effectiveness of laser engraving 304 stainless steel with nanosecond pulses was investigated. Ytterbium fiber laser with pulse lengths from 4 to 200 ns was used at a constant average power of 20 W. Measured criteria for effective laser engraving were high material removal rate (MRR), good visual quality of the engraved surface, and low processing temperature. MRR was measured by weighing the samples prior and after the engraving process. Visual quality was evaluated from magnified images. Surface temperature of the samples was measured by two laser spot-welded K-type thermocouples near the laser-processed area. It was noticed that MRR increases significantly with longer pulse lengths, while the quality decreases and processing temperature increases. Some peculiar process behavior was noticed. With short pulses (<20 ns), the process temperature steadily increased as the engraving process continued, whereas with longer pulses the process temperature started to decrease after initially jumping to a specific level. From visually analyzing the samples, it was noticed that the melted and resolidified bottom structure had cracks and pores on the surface when 50 ns or longer pulse lengths were used.