Primary losses in disk and CO2 laser beam inert gas fusion cutting

Cutting experiments with CO2 and disk lasers were carried out using a design of experiments (DOE) approach. The experimental evaluation of primary energy losses through the cut kerf and their dependence on the type of the applied laser source was performed. The primary energy losses consisting of directly transmitted and reflected laser power were gathered by collecting them within polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) blocks placed under the sheets being cut. Cutting trials were performed on cold work steel test specimens with different sheet thicknesses. The particular feature of the applied experimental setup was the similar geometry of both the CO2 and the disk laser beam with comparable values of the focus diameter and the Rayleigh length. Experimental results revealed lower values of primary energy losses in case of disk laser cutting if both processes are compared at the same values of relative cutting speed.