DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

JOINING AND FABRICATION PROCESSES (MEM 322)

A TERM PAPER ON

LASER AND PLASMA MACHINING CUTTING AND WELDING

SUBMITTED BY: ELEGBEDE OLUWAROTIMI OYENIYI H/ME/11/0443

SUBMITTED TO: ENGR. OMOREGBE HENRY

FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, ILARO OGUN STATE

APRIL 2012

INTRODUCTION
What are lasers?
Photons are in this century. They are replacing electrons as the favourite tool in modern industry. Light is used for everything from eye surgery to telephone technology and materials processing. An important property of light is that it has no volume, photons have no charge, so when concentrated into a very small space, they do not repulse each other like negatively charged electrons do. This is an important property especially for ultra short machining. Light moves through space as a wave, but when it encounters matter it behaves like a particle of energy, a photon. Not all photons have the same amount of energy. The visible part of the spectrum contains wavelengths from 400 to 750 nm. Radiation below 400 nm includes the harmful frequencies of UV and X-rays, while above 750 nm the invisible infrared, microwave and radio frequencies are included. The energy of photons is E=h. For the visible 500 nm wavelength this is 4 1019 J or 2.5 eV per photon, which is not enough to break the chemical bonds in the material, which requires 310 eV. In the laser materials processing this can be overcome in different ways. A commonly used option is using lasers that deliver so many photons on a time that electrons are hit by several photons simultaneously. Absorption of multiphotons has the same result as single high energetic photons. In this case the photon energy, thus the wavelength, is less important because energy is transferred by multi-photons simultaneously. This is a reason that such lasers are preferable operated in the visible part of the spectrum with relatively simple optics.

ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF LASERS

Lasers can be applied to perform various engineering tasks. Some of which includes cutting, welding, cladding, alloying, boring, engraving, drilling etc. There are different types of lasers therefore the operation to be performed will determine the type of laser to be employed.

Laser Cutting
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to cut materials. It is majorly used for industrial manufacturing applications, but gradually receiving attention in schools small scale technicians etc. Usually controlled by a computer, laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser at the material to be cut. The material then melts or burns or vaporizes away or is blown away by a jet of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish. Industrial laser cutters are used to cut

flat-sheet material as well as structural and piping materials. Of all types of lasers used in cutting, the CO laser is the most suitable for cutting of metal sheets or piping materials. There are various types of cutting methods. Some of which are: Vaporization: Usually used for cutting non melting materials such as wood, carbon and thermoset plastics, the focused beam heats the surface of the material to boiling point and generates a keyhole. The keyhole leads to a sudden increase in absorptivity quickly deepening the hole. As the hole deepens and the material boils, vapour generated erodes the molten walls blowing ejecta out and further enlarging the hole. Melt and blow: This is usually used when cutting metals. The material is heated to its melting point, and then a gas jet blows away the molten metal. Flame cutting: Mostly used for cutting carbon steel in thicknesses over 1 mm. This process can be used to cut very thick steel plates with relatively little laser power.

Laser Welding
Almost all metals known to man can be laser welded. In fact, laser welding has advanced to a level of welding dissimilar materials like steel and aluminium, which is known to be impossible in conventional welding. In laser welding, for a good wettability the material should be free from oxides before welding and the speed and temperature should be balanced to reduce the intermetallic layer. The high welding speeds in laser welding, e.g. 100 mm/s and the small tolerances require a high degree of automation. In particular robots are applied more and more. Developments are ongoing on real time process sensing and control as well as on-line quality inspection. A system has been developed for measuring and controlling the welding process by sensing the plume radiation optimising the welding speed. Such a system can be fully integrated in laser-robot welding systems with the sensor measuring through the same optical fibre as used for beam delivery.

Laser Machining
Laser machining is a process in which a laser beam is moved around a workpiece by computer control. As the laser beam moves around the work, it may be programmed to etch the work surface or cut all the way through the workpiece. Usually laser machining is done to etch designs or words, symbols and or to cut pre-programmed shapes of materials from fairly thin sheets of metals. The material is removed either through ablation, melting or combination of both.

What is plasma?
Plasma - the fourth state of matter - is an ionized gas that conducts electricity. Plasma is created by adding energy to an electrically neutral gas. In this case, the gas is compressed air and the energy is electricity. A plasma arc is initiated by using a high frequency and high voltage spark to ionize the air through the torch head. The more electrical energy added, the hotter the plasma arc becomes.

ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS OF PLASMA

Plasma technology can be used for various engineering applications including welding, cutting, boring, and other various machining processes. Lets examine some of these applications.

Plasma Welding
Plasma welding or sometimes called plasma arc welding is the process of using plasma gases to join metals. In plasma welding, at least two separate gases (and possibly three) flows of gas is required. They may be the same or of different compositions. These gases are classified as; Plasma gas: This flows through the orifice and becomes ionized Shielding gas: This flows through the outer nozzle and shields the molten weld from the atmosphere. Back-purge and trailing gas: This is not required in all plasma welding applications. It is only required for certain type of materials and applications. Several welding variations can be obtained either by varying the current, plasma gas flow rate or the orifice diameter. Most commercial metals and alloys can be welded used plasma welding process.

Plasma Cutting
Plasma arc cutting was developed primarily for cutting stainless steel and aluminium. Although favourable economically, mild steel was seldom cut with this process because of three fundamental limitations: relatively poor cut quality, equipment reliability, and inability of the earlier cutting machines to handle plasma cutting speeds. As a result of these limitations, plasma cutting did not encounter rapid growth until after Water-injection Plasma Cutting was introduced in 1970. Plasma cutting involves the use of machines called plasma cutting machines. Plasma arc cutting machines control the powerful energy from the plasma arc by constricting the arc and forcing it through a concentrated area (the nozzle). By increasing air pressure and intensifying the arc with higher

amperage, the arc becomes hotter and more capable of blasting through thicker metals and blowing away the cuttings, with minimal cleanup required.

PLASMA CUTTING WITH CNC MACHINE Plasma cutting provides numerous advantages over other cutting processes. While there are many common methods of cutting metal, the plasma process offers the following advantages: Cuts any type of electrically conductive metals including aluminium, copper, brass and stainless steel Cuts faster up to 130 in. per minute on 1/4 in. Steel Does not require a pre-heat cycle which saves time and is more convenient Produces a small and more precise kerf (width of the cut)great when precision matters Has a smaller heat affected zone which prevents the area around the cut from warping and minimizes paint damage Provides gouging and piercing capabilities

Plasma Machining
Plasma machining also known as plasma arc machining (PAM) employs a high velocity jet of high temperature gas to melt and displace materials in its path. Temperatures in the plasma zone ranges from 20,000F to 50,000F (11,000C to 28,000C). The materials machined with PAM are generally those difficult to machine by any other means such as stainless steel and aluminium alloys. Iy has an accuracy of about 0.008.

REFERENCES
1. J.A. Hogan and J.B. Lewis, "Plasma Processes of Cutting and Welding". (Project Report by Bethlehem Steel Corporation in cooperation with U.S. Maritime Administration 1976). 2. www.wikipedia.com 3. www.engineershandbook.com 4. www.millerwelds.com