Abstract
Industrial lasers exhibit high potential for material, geometric, process, and volume flexibility; however, in practice, laser processing is still limited to repetitive high-rate operations due to the trial-and-error calibrations involved in obtaining an acceptable operating condition when changes in workpiece thickness, material, geometry, dimensional accuracy, and surface/bulk quality are imposed. As an alternative to manual calibration, a predictive planning scheme is presented for straight and curved-path kerf geometry based on an analytical energy-balance solution, given constraints for material removal rate, taper angles, kerf width, and kerf centerline offset. Three-dimensional heat conduction, phase change, and reflected beam energy are considered for a piecewise planar cutting front. By using analytical models, real-time accurate estimates of the cutting front geometry can be developed with minimal computational burden. Sequential optimization and constraint relaxation schemes are presented for determining laser power, cutting velocity, and laser path compensation. Case studies of combined straight and curved-feature laser cutting of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and aluminum oxide (Al203) are presented to show the effects of predictive planning on beam path and operating parameters.
Published Version
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