Experimental investigation of edge effect and longitudinal distortion in laser bending process

Abstract

Edge effect and longitudinal distortion are two phenomena which can limit laser bending (LB) precise applications. In this study, the effect of process parameters including beam diameter, laser power and scan speed, sheet thickness, number of radiation passes and scan path position on the edge effect (RBAV) and the longitudinal distortion (CDLD) were experimentally studied. A statistical plan was used to collect experiment data and afterward, empirical models were developed based on the response surface methodology (RSM). Results indicate that the following parameters in order of significance, directly affect the edge effect: pass number parameters, sheet thickness, scan speed and laser power. Among, the pass number has an improving decreasing effect, in a way that as it increases, the edge effect decreases notably. It is also proven that as the beam diameter decreases, both responses decrease as well. Increase in sheet thickness, scan speed and pass number also leads to decrease of longitudinal distortion. In what follows, a simultaneous optimization on RBAV and CDLD is conducted according to composite desirability and optimal parametric conditions are presented to minimize them. Subsequently, a good agreement was observed between the results predicted by RSM models and the experimental observations.