Fiber laser microcutting on duplex steel: parameter optimization by TOPSIS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Duplex stainless steel (DSS) is hard to machine by conventional methods due to its high strength combined with superior plasticity. The microdomain application of laser cutting is found in sheet metal industries owing to its high accuracy and precision. The current trend in laser technology is the use of fiber laser cutting (FLC) to produce complex shapes and structures. This work highlights the microhole cutting on 0.44 mm thick DSS by a 100 µm fiber laser beam. For optimizing the fiber laser parameters, the entropy with TOPSIS approach is employed. The response surface methodology is applied to find the regression model for FLC parameters, and ANOVA checks the adequacy of the model. The parameters considered for the current research work are the power of laser, frequency of pulse, speed of scanning, and duty cycle. The output responses are surface roughness, heat affected zone, overcut, and metal removal rate. The test results showed that the power of laser is the most prevailing factor that affects the quality of microholes. From the experimentations, it is found that experimental and predicted values are reasonably close to each other. The findings from confirmation experiment validates that the optimal condition produces better surface quality as compared to the initial trails.