Investigation into the machining characteristics of AISI 1045 steel and Inconel 718 for an ellipsoidal shape using laser-assisted contouring and ramping machining

Abstract

Laser assisted machining (LAM) is a thermally assisted machining (TAM) method that softens difficult-to-cut materials by laser preheating. Laser assisted turning (LAT) is easy to keep the shape of the laser heat source to be circle because the laser heat source is irradiated to the workpiece surface at a fixed position. So, commercial LAT devices have been developed in some countries. However, it is difficult to apply laser assisted milling (LAMill) to three-dimensionally shaped workpieces, because it is not easy to control laser preheating according to the change of workpiece shape. In this study, LAMill was newly applied to two materials having an ellipsoidal shape as a curved 3D example. Effective depth of cut and the optimum preheating temperature were obtained by a transient thermal analysis. Contouring and ramping machining were employed in the experiments. Machining characteristics were investigated by analyzing the cutting force, surface roughness and tool condition, and it has been found that they are enhanced by LAMill. The research results can be used further to processing of other difficult-to-cut materials.