Abstract
Abstract
Monitoring of the particles formed during carbon dioxide laser cutting of thin (2 mm) mild steel plate was undertaken to investigate the effect of processing parameters and melt removal mechanisms on the cut quality. The airborne particles (< 40 μm) formed during cutting were captured and the particle diameter distribution was measured using a laser diffraction method and examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The particles formed were spherical and found to range from micrometres to millimetres in diameter with a monomodal distribution for the airborne fraction. It was found that the airborne micrometre particle diameter range had a mean particle diameter that was directly related to the process quality measurands of cut edge surface finish, cut width and heat-affected zone (HAZ) width.
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