Effects of Beam Power and Power Density Distribution on Process and Quality Issues during Fiber Laser Cutting of Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

Sheet metal fabricating industry implemented fiber laser cutting promptly due to being a more cost-efficient alternative to CO2 laser beam cutting regarding investment as well as operation. Continuous technology improvements regarding available power levels as well as versatility in beam shaping provide further options for improved performance. However, with a lack of understanding of the underlying fundamentals, parameter optimization mainly takes place by trial and error. The multi-dimensional parameter space often impedes to find the real optimum and the associated rules. Process diagnostics and quality analyses combined with the simulation tool CALCut yield a deeper insight into the effects of beam properties on process and quality issues. Thereby, processing rules and their range of validity can be identified. Using the example of stainless steel cutting with beam powers between 5 and 10 kW and different power density distributions reveals how the cutting front and cut result can be deliberately affected.